The Obernkirchen Children's Choir 'The Happy Wanderer' 1953 78 rpm
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2010
- The Happy Wanderer or Der fröhliche Wanderer in German was recorded by a small amateur children's and youth choir from the German town of Obernkirchen in Schaumburg County, Northern Germany.
The choir won the 1953 Llangollen International Eisteddfod in North Wales, the BBC aired the winning performance, on 22nd January 1954 the record entered the UK chart reaching #2, it stayed on the chart for 26 wks a feat made all the more remarkable as the chart was only a top 12 
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![Die frohen Wanderer [German hiking potpourri]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YJvrQTLCNsw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Die frohen Wanderer [German hiking potpourri]](/img/tr.png)
OMG my mom was a part of this choir,. Right after the war she was an orphan in a children's home close to the church. Every Saturday the girls would line up and wait to see if their parents had found them. She was repatriated with her mom and dad on the 17th Saturday, but in the mean time started singing with this choir, When they made this recording she came back to sing.
One of my favourite songs when I tiny back in the 50’s
That is one of the coolest stories ever! Somebody should make a movie of that!
Wonderful!
I was born in Germany in 1953.
Amazing story! As a German American, I know the horrors my German family faced after and during the war. So I can relate and what a wonderful ending to your story.
@@Erik-sw8wm thank you
I went to see them perform In my hometown in England about 1954. They were wonderful. I still have the programme
I was impressed children's cheerful and refreshing singing voices. Although I am Japanese, I learned this song at music class when I was in elementary school in the old days. The lyrics was expressed in Japanese, but I became to love this song. I felt that I wanted to walk in the beautiful nature singing it to myself. The song is familiar to Japanese. I thank to upload this magnificent song on RUclips.
Music unifies us!!
We were a remarkable nation then. Within a very few years of the end of WW2, a song in German , a marching song at that,- was in the Hit Parade.
The wrong people were defeated.
My mother used to play this record over and over again during my early childhood years, this exact recording, Thankyou for posting it! It brought back precious memories, when I used to think that there were real people inside the record player singing it! That was more than 50 years ago! Of course, I did not understand how the sound was reproduced back then!
The soundtrack of the fifties for every English coach trip. Angels with pigtails as Dylan Thomas described them. They performed this at The Welsh National Eisteddfod. The choir is still going strong, although very few Germans know of this song, a song that became second nature to sing on every journey.
Yes. As an English kid in the early 50s I was enchanted by the song, long before I was aware of or cared about nationalities. But recently in the last few years when mentioning it to Germans, young and middle-aged, I was astonished they didn't know it. It seems like an English person not knowing, well, Blake's "Jerusalem" or something like that.
My dad was captured at Monte Casino and brought to England as a prisoner of war. He became an English National Citizen (is that the correct title for naturalisation?) and never went home. This recording was played frequently on the radio and, always, Dad went very quiet and still. Occasionally, I could see his eyes well up but he never said anything. Makes me wonder what war does to people.
+Chris Petz This recording takes me back to my childhood in England.
Sorry, no such a thing as 'English National Citizen'. Upon naturalization (assuming that occured before 1983), your father would have become a "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", under the terms of the British Nationality Act of 1948, which came into effect the 1st January 1949. Most of the Act of 1948 was replaced by the British Nationality Act of 1981, which came into effect the 1st January 1983.
Chris Petz my dad too, but at Berlin
2coool Foskool piss off creep
Chris Petz , that is rather poignant, thanks for sharing
thank you,,, i am nearing 70,,, i remember this song very well and listened to it regularly on BBC Radio,, Uncle Mac,,,, Children's Favourites every Saturday morning in the early 50's,,,, oh to be able to wind back the clock,,,,,,,,
....and I on "Rumpus Room" with "Uncle Lionel" on radio 6ky in Perth Western Australia
Uncle Mac's children's favourites, that's a blast from the past. Have happy memories of listening to it on Saturday mornings.
I too am your age. I also listened to Uncle Mac.. Derek McCollach.. Unsure of exact spelling but there was something Angelic about this song that still gets me today.. Unsure why but it does. Best sung in German like Lilly Marlain. Children's Favourites started with Puffing Billy as the theme. The other well known tune which I never liked much was Sparky's Magic Piano. The electronic voice reminds me of Mister Blue Sky!! Happy days, really wish I could go back. Maybe in another dimension we can?
I was there too at the eisteddfod and heard them sing The Happy Wanderer. - I was about the same age & thought they were amazing. Dylan Thomas described them as the Pigtail Angels ...... :)
Wonderful - many thanks for posting the recording. I remember this song from my early childhood (I'm 70) and still have the 78 rpm record. My godfather Karl Fauser from Ludwigsburg was a p.o.w. who became a good family friend. Karl and I remained very close until he died aged almost 90 and I'm still in touch with his grandchildren. Ich spreche immer noch Deutsch - und fliessend Schwäbisch!
I learned it in school in Germany, ironically as a child stationed there with my family where my dad was overseas, near the town where the Grimm brothers grew up!
Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann
und mir steckt´s auch im Blut
D´rum wand´re ich froh so lang ich kann
Und schwenke meinen Hut
Faleri falera
faleri falera ha ha ha ha ha ha
Faleri falera
und schwenke meinen Hut
Das Wandern schafft stets frische Lust
erhält das Herz gesund
Frei atmet draußen meine Brust
froh singet stets mein Mund
Faleri falera
faleri falera ha ha ha ha ha ha
Faleri falera
froh singet stets mein Mund
Warum singt Dir das Vögelein
so freudevoll sein Lied
weil´s nimmer hockt Land aus Land ein
durch and´re Fluren zieht
Faleri falera
faleri falera ha ha ha ha ha ha
Faleri falera
durch and´re Fluren zieht
Was murmelt´s Bächlein dort und rauscht
so lustig hin durch´s Rohr
weil´s frei sich regt, mit Wonne lauscht
ihm dein empfänglich Ohr
Faleri falera
faleri falera ha ha ha ha ha ha
Faleri falera
ihm dein empfänglich Ohr
D´rum trag ich Ränzlein und den Stab
weit in die Welt hinein
und werde bis an´s kühle Grab
ein Wanderbursche sein
Faleri falera
faleri falera ha ha ha ha ha ha
Faleri falera
ein Wanderbursche sein.
Text: Friedrich Sigismund (1788-1857) und Edith Möller
Musik: Die hier zum Download bereit stehenden Noten sind von Michael Anding . Dass Lied wurde mehrfach vertont, von Friedrich W. Möller , bzw. Michael Anding , Georg Federich , Otto Richter , Franz Abt , Ludwig Kageler u.a.
u.a. in: Albvereins-Liederbuch (ca.1900 , Franz Abt ) - Berg Frei (1919) - Auf froher Wanderfahrt (ca. 1921) - Liederbuch des Thüringerwald-Vereins (1927) - Liederbuch der Fallschirmjäger (1983) -
I had this record (album) when I was a little girl in Texas. Listened to it ALL the time!
I took my Grandmother to Switzerland this year, because she hadn't been since she was sixteen in 1954. She recalled a choir singing this as they got off the coach on arrival. When she returned to Britain it was in the charts! Since then it has always been a favourite of hers. Thanks for posting this, she has really enjoyed hearing it again.
It was originally written in German but has been translated into many languages. My "kids singing" playlist includes this song sung in Mandarin.
During national service our drill seargent made us sing this song on route marches HAPPY memories l am 80 now
I LOVE this recording..my dad brought this record home from the Donnel Library in NYC when I was a kid!!
Nobody had these recordings, we certainly couldn't in the early '50s, but they could requested for the children's programme on the light programme on Saturday morning with Uncle Mac!
Yes, Uncle Mac and then ( I've momentarily forgotten - into the 70's) Radio never been the same!
Yes that’s how I remember it too. I can picture myself crawling round the floor.
@@culmalachie I think you're thinking of, for the '70s, Junior Choice with Ed "Stewpot" Stewart.
Jings, I commented 3 yrs ago.... Ha ha ha! Aye , dates
This always blesses my heart.
Love this! Thanks! Happy wanderer was a favorite of mine as a child.
oh happy days this was played constantly in my home
Maryjo Felstead ..same here
same here too
MY MUM GLORIA REES USED TO SING THIS WHEN I WAS A CHILD . ❤ I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER IT. MISS THOSE DAYS 😢
An absolute gem from a bygone age, such refreshing singing from a group of youngish children, very popular on childrens hour with "Uncle Mac" on Saturday mornings in the 1950s, did they record very much after this?
I greatly love this song.
Oh thank you, I remember this song and the choir from my childhood, and it inspired me to join a choir! I still sing this song on the trail, as I was often hiking in the last few decades.
I remember this from when I was 6. It wasn't until I saw "Schindler's List" many years later, that I learned it is a German hiking song.
The fact that it was in Schindler's List is a goof on their part. The song was not written until after the war.
we learned this in school music class about 1960, along with "Au Clair de la Lune Mon Ami Pierrot" and my all-time favorite, "Asham was a Tooting Turk"
"Asham's wife was just like you / so she learned to tootle too" etc.
Good old days, sort of.
I was there at Llangollen that day. not at the eisteddfod, but lining the route for the Queens visit, a young airman, barely 17 years old, standing proudly at attention, and presenting arms.
Danke fur das classic. Thanks for this classic. Sorry for my bad German.
First heard this when I was thirteen. Stunning then and just as beautiful now.
If you can find their Christmas album, it's gorgeous - ethereal and lovely. Their versions of "Silent Night" and The Cherry Tree Carol are just angelic.
Just found a copy of the Christmas album in a thrift store yesterday!
@@dylanthatcher1613 Enjoy it! :-)
I first heard the Frank Weir version as a child on the car radio in the 1950s I loved it but had no copies of it and i did not hear it again until the 1970s. Now RUclips has made it possible to hear it in many forms and renditions of people and choirs
A wonderful song with different meanings. I think the Germans sang it to salute their "wandering fathers" aka German soldiers who never returned from war.
I think Hiltler's children sang it during the time when nature was emphasized during the late 1930's under the direction of Madame T. Enjoying nature and music is important. I am sorry they didn't get all of it right.
@@sunflowerroark5170 No, this is a postwar composition. The original text of "Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann" is from Florenz Friedrich Sigismund (1791-1877) and there were early music versions. This one is a postwar composition for the Schaumburger Märchensänger children's and youth choir (Obernkirchen Children's Choir). In 1953, a BBC radio broadcast of the choir's winning performance at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod turned the song into an instant hit. So it's an anachronism that the song appears in Schindler's list. Folk songs especially about wandering were very popular in Germany.
@@sunflowerroark5170 please stop making up falsehoods online
Imagine this was the roadmarch 1955 in Trinidad and Tobago. I just trying to wrap my mind around that fact
These little girls sure are wonderbar!
That is a picture of the choir, wether it was taken of the actual choir on the recording or of a later group I don't know, glad you liked the video
@tritonusgesang - Vielen dank, ich bin so froh, das sie genossen es weider gehor
Of the overseas tunes this, Davy Crockett and the Three Bells, was the most popular in England in the 1950's and this lovely song was very popular. Of cause it belongs to the period but is fondly remembered.
Yes, I can remember my mother playing the three bells recording and also Davey Crockett!!! It was a great era back then...Sadly missed!
so were Alma Cogan's 'My little corner of the world', Marty Robbins' 'A white sports-coat and a pink carnation', Perry Como's 'Catch a Falling Star', Pat Boone's 'April Love'.and 'The Wayward Wind' by Gogi Grant. I can remember these playing on the 'wireless' constantly in the mid-50s. There were some others too that were constantly on, I can't think of them right now..
Glad to join the oldies! This is one of my earliest songs I remember. I was born in Cologne 1951 and brought up in early years in Bad Honnef before coming back to England. I must say that I was never good at the German language though :-) It always was a very happy song.
I remember when this was a hit.
BEAUTIFUL
Beautiful!
Wikipedia says ""The Happy Wanderer" ... is a popular song by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller written shortly after World War II. It is often mistaken for a German folk song, but it is actually an original composition. His sister Edith Möller conducted a small amateur children's and youth choir in Schaumburg County, Northern Germany, internationally named Obernkirchen Children's Choir, in Germany named Schaumburger Märchensänger."
A sign of the solidarity of ordinary citizens of the world United.
This song came to fame when it was performed at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod
Peace and Harmony
Lived near Bonn in the early 50's. This song so reminds me of childhood memories.
Orginal Text of this Song : Friedrich Sigismund (1788-1857) und Edith Möller
The actual song sung here is the original "Mein Vater War Ein Wandersmann" (my father was a wanderer)
Do not confuse this Moller with the general executed by the Greeks for wartime atrocities.
Do you have shiny teeth?
how I love the 'tics' of vinyl great one AL
78s were mostly on shellac, noy vinyl.
sounds so sweet
Happy memories!-1954,I was about nine year old!
I wrote this song in an orphanage in Germany in 1949 and was first to sing it in 1950
Great song! It captures the traditional German spirit of enjoying the great outdoors and having a free spirit. Reminds me of the "Wandervogel",or hiking groups,which were so popular in Deutschland before WW2. The Nazis too,when they came to power, tried to promote enjoyment of the outdoors with the various Hitler Youth groups.
Wonderful! Thanks for posting.
So cool 🆒😎
I love this song
Every Saturday morning on the Light Programme at 10am if I remember correctly Uncle Mac, played these timeless records, no on had a record player in the 50s, we certainly didn't
@Meanmanmartin2007 in german :D
i'm a member of the choir today and we have to sing it so often!
Wonderful ! xxxxxxx
@lanzanut They have continued to record over the years though obviously the members change regularly. Information on the choir is scarce and mainly found on german websites.
When I was a kid we sang it on Boy Scout hikes. There was also a male chorus version in English that charted in the US; it might have been Frank Chacksfield's Orchestra & Chorus from Britain.
It is sad that they leave God out of the last stanza on some versions found on You Tube.
What is 'god'?
wow an original old '78!
There are many n RUclips!
Very popular in England when I was a child - nice
Must have been a proud day and a great memory in this Diamond Jubilee year.
I have this exact same record but I've not been able to play it since the gramophone was thrown out ages ago. My mother came to England from Germany in 1929 and I recall this recording since I was a child of the early 50s.
@ferrarial Thanks for explaining
@Meanmanmartin2007 it was originally written in German shortly after WWII by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller the brother of Edith Möller who conducted the choir
Vielen Dank, mein Freund
The very best work of Obernkirchen is not on RUclips. It is called The Bremen Town Musicians - a telling in song of the Grimms' Fairy Tale by the same name - about a donkey, a dog, a cat and a cockerel.
Go to iTunes to find it and play the 90 second preview from the 21 minute performance. You will hear that it is a masterpiece. (A two minute clip should be uploaded here.)
This record was taken up by fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the late 1940's and early 50's and played at many a match at molineux
Viiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeelen Dank für die Veröffentlichung dieses wunderschönen Videos! - Es ist eine Erinnerung aus früheren Zeiten, meine Entdeckung des ersten wirklich guten deutschen Kinderchors. -
A favourite of my uncle. Dad said.
Wonderbar
“The Fast Show” did this song as a running gag through one of their shows( season 3, episode 2, I think).
If you like this song, dig up that episode. It is *hysterical*!
*hysterical*
I have all the Fast Shows on dvd but don't remember that one, I'll have to dig it out the problem is finding a dvd player
Here on RUclips:
“Rambling hiker singing”
Das liegt daran, daß es bei uns auf englisch nicht bekannt ist, sonder "Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann" der Titel ist. Heute - am 15.9.2012 - war es im Musikantenstadl bei Andy Borg. Zwei damalig junge Sängerinnen waren dort zu Gast und haben die Geschichte des Chroes erzählt. Sie waren überall auf der Welt und in den Charts in England stand es auf Platz 2. Im damals noch ungeliebten Deutschland hat es in aller Welt wieder ein besseres Bild für Deutschland abgegeben. Musik verbindet.
I wonder if you still hear choirs like this in Germany.
I'm sure at certain festivals etc they still perform, I'm sure this school choir still exists
Never stopped playing on the BBC requests progs, I was an ankle biter then.
A fine romance
Dummkopf- these beautiful kinder are from Bavaria children of that horrible war and yet they sing so good. from Gerhard Brenner, Kempten.
No, they all lived in the vicinity of Bueckeburg in Schaumburg-Lippe. I sang with the choir when I lived in Rinteln an der Weser in 1974. Not a single one of these singers lived in Bayern.
Muller, the writer of this song, was a Nazi Lt.Col., so, no, the song was not co-opted from the Bavarians -- it was written by a German, to be sung by a North Germany children's choir that his wife led.
If he was a Lt. Col., he was probably not a Nazi; the Wehrmacht did not let its officers join the Party. If you mean fought for them, that would be right.
Did not stop him from committing atrocities though. The Greeks shot him for it in ‘47.
@jeffdarga1 It would be great if you could upload some of the songs
😌😊💖💖💖💖💖💖👏🙏🏻
It's, now, it's , us ,
Warum kein deutscher Kommentar? Sowohl die Gruppe als auch das schöne Volkslied verdienen Bestnoten!!!
Wonderful songs. Where are they today? What did they do since 1953?????????
the forerunner of the e s contest.
Ha ha so Germany's first Eurovision winner was in 1953 and not Nicole in 1982
Where would we be without Tape & Dolby ?
Bitte nie löschen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Sopranos brought me here 😊
G force , blessed two / Tass loved ,again ☺️vvvvvv, be be beautiful
Ich bin bei den aktuellen Märchensängern :)
LilliDuffy Tevau No! Never. Oder danke
Is the song about looking for their father??????/
Out of interest, was this song originally written in English or in German?
"Westfälische Nachtigallen" - ohne "h"!
Das ist nicht die originale Melodie!!!!Sie ist von Karl Reinik!Die originale von Johann Michael Anding 3:01 ist eine andere und zählt zu den Thüringer Volksliedern.
Please supply more details.
T Y I A
@ferrarial no the song was made before WW2. the german army often sung this song at there parties during the war.
How sweetly they sing, yet they must all have been old enough to have experienced the ugliness of WWII in their streets, right? Humans are resilient.
@lisbeth580 Thats really interesting stuff. I bet it gets a bit tiring after a while.
If people only sang songs instead of going to battle wouldn't the world be a better place
Yes; here's a nice song about a flower and a girl of the same name.
ruclips.net/video/qAzVYCs4BMY/видео.html
Actually, despite the style, it _is_ about what I said!
I feel like donning lederhosen. Yah, dos anyvon vant any sauerkraut vis der knackwurst?
Sounds like you'd be quite at home on Allo, Allo. If you do don your lederhosen please don't post any film of it
@@OldiesAl Oh but posting video is the fun part!
Problem with jolly german songs they sound like they are marching into poland.
i know....this was the poor little austrians whose innocent music was hijacked by marauding german troops for marches like 'wenn die soldaten.' those heinies sure can sing!