ME = Moderately Easy
M = Medium
MD = Moderately Difficult
D = Difficult
Die Gedanken Sind Frei, arr. (16th century German protest song, English singing translation by Elizabeth Alexander)
SATB, piano - SEA-087-00 - $2.50/copy NEW FOR 2010!alto voice, baritone voice and piano - SEA-087-01 - $5.00/copy NEW FOR 2010!
3 minutes - ME
"Die Gedanken sind frei" — "My thoughts are free" — was the rallying cry and protest song of the German Peasant Wars, class uprisings which predated the French Revolution by two centuries. The song reappeared in the 1960s, popularized by Pete Seeger. Here, this timeless demand for free thought is given a feisty new English singing translation and an arrangement full of wit, color, surprises, and some healthy defiance. (Fie!)
Die Gedanken Sind Frei (SATB) - Score
Die Gedanken Sind Frei (vocal duet) - Score
Die Gedanken Sind Frei (vocal duet) - Recording (excerpt)
Tenor John Hubert & mezzo Jennifer DeDominici, with pianist Sarah Libert
Tenor John Hubert & mezzo Jennifer DeDominici, with pianist Sarah Libert
Die Gedanken Sind Frei is also a movement from Go Out! - A Musical Celebration of Liberal Religion and Freedom of Thought
Die Gedanken Sind Frei
Die Gedanken sind frei, I proudly profess them.
As hard as you try, you cannot suppress them.
No fence can confine them,
No creed undermine them,
They ring from on high:
Die Gedanken sind frei!
They laugh like a child, and sing and make merry,
They bloom ever wild like flow'rs on a prairie,
They wind and they wander,
They pensively ponder,
They soar to the sky.
Die Gedanken sind frei!
If you try to bind my thoughts in a prison,
The next day you'll find that they have arisen!
A brainstorm will thunder,
And burst chains asunder,
And off they will fly,
Die Gedanken sind frei!
They're liable to change as I become older,
So don't think it strange if they become bolder!
They won't remain static
Packed up in some attic;
To that, I'll say: "Fie!"
Die Gedanken sind frei.
...Tho' you may despise them,
I shall not disguise them,
You can't codify them,
And I won't deny them,
Go on and deride them,
I'm not going to hide them
,
Assail me or jail me,
My thoughts shall not fail me,
It's useless to ban them,
Or pan them or can them,
So don't even try....
Die Gedanken sind frei!
Copyright 2010 by Elizabeth Alexander. All rights reserved.
Die Gedanken sind frei, I proudly profess them.
As hard as you try, you cannot suppress them.
No fence can confine them,
No creed undermine them,
They ring from on high:
Die Gedanken sind frei!
They laugh like a child, and sing and make merry,
They bloom ever wild like flow'rs on a prairie,
They wind and they wander,
They pensively ponder,
They soar to the sky.
Die Gedanken sind frei!
If you try to bind my thoughts in a prison,
The next day you'll find that they have arisen!
A brainstorm will thunder,
And burst chains asunder,
And off they will fly,
Die Gedanken sind frei!
They're liable to change as I become older,
So don't think it strange if they become bolder!
They won't remain static
Packed up in some attic;
To that, I'll say: "Fie!"
Die Gedanken sind frei.
...Tho' you may despise them,
I shall not disguise them,
You can't codify them,
And I won't deny them,
Go on and deride them,
I'm not going to hide them
,
Assail me or jail me,
My thoughts shall not fail me,
It's useless to ban them,
Or pan them or can them,
So don't even try....
Die Gedanken sind frei!
Copyright 2010 by Elizabeth Alexander. All rights reserved.
Die Gedanden Sind Frei, arr. (SATB) - Score
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
Die Gedanden Sind Frei, arr. (alto voice, baritone voice and piano) - Score
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
Performance Note: Die Gedanken...