The Happy Wanderer
My father was a traveling man, also known as the Happy Wanderer, is a German migrant song that goes back to a text by Friedrich Sigismund from the beginning of the 19th century. The tune to which the song is sung primarily since the early 1950s, is by Friedrich -Wilhelm Möller, whose sister Edith Möller text adapted for the Sigismund led by her choir Schaumburg fairytale singer. Under the title The Happy Wanderer song from the end of the year 1953 known also in the English-speaking world.
History
Lyrics and musical settings first
Friedrich Sigismund, who lived from 1788 to 1857, is the author of the lyrics " The Happy Wanderer ", which begins with the lines
"My father was a traveling man me and sticks it in blood. D' rum wand'r I pleased as long as I can, and wave my hat. "
1876 set to music Johann Michael Anding the text; his name is found as a composer in most songbooks from the first half of the 20th century. In the following decades there was at least one more melody to Sigismund's text, which was composed by Otto Richter. Settings of the " happy wanderer " various other composers were attributed beyond, including Georg Federich (1852-1895) and the Hanoverian Ludwig Kageler. In Songbook mountain free! Friends of Nature, which, however, only reprinted the text without notes, Franz Abt is specified as a composer; the youth songbook of 1929 wrote to Friedrich Wilhelm Sering the composition.
Revitalization in the 1950s
Edith Möller took the song composed by her brother in 4/4-time on the repertoire of tales founded in 1949 Schaumburg singer. The choir took Llangollen International Eisteddfod at 1953, an international choir competition in Wales Llangollen, in part. In our song of their own choice sang the tales singer "My father was a traveling man." The choir won the competition, which the BBC was on the radio. The Welsh writer Dylan Thomas, who attended the competition spoke enthusiastically of the " pigtailed angels", the " angels with pigtails " from Germany. The record company Parlophone released a recording of the song as the A- side of a 78/min-Single with the order R.3799. The name of the choir was specified on the plate as a generic Churches Children's Choir ( Obernkirchener children's choir). The song was on the label and in the charts the English title The Happy Wanderer with the small print subtitled " The Happy Wanderer " and also small printed notice ( Sung in German ). The single with the German sung song and the catchy chorus
" Faleri, falera, Faleri, Falera ha ha ha ha ha Faleri, falera, and wave my hat. "
Was so often sold to number 10 got in 12 on 22 January 1954 in the official British top and climbed to 19 March 1954, the second place they held five weeks. The Stargazers with I See the Moon and Doris Day with Secret Love prevented it climbed to the top position. Overall, the plate was 26 weeks to 23 July 1954 in the charts at that time only twelve comprehensive title.
The Happy Wanderer
Antonia Ridge wrote an English text to Möller's melody, in which the chorus was largely maintained phonetically:
" Val- de -ri - Val- de -ra Val- de -ri - Val- de -ha ha ha ha ha ha Val- de -ri - Val -de- ra, My knapsack on my back. "
The greatest success in the British charts celebrated so that the Stargazers, whose interpretation came in at number 12. More versions of saxophonist Frank Weir and singer Diana Decker were able to place in the top 12 Best Selling Hits in Britain by British Artists is beyond. " The Happy Wanderer " was the best-selling sheet music in the UK in 1954. Weir also came with the song in the top 30 of the U.S. charts of the year 1954. The Happy Wanderer was used in the United States as well as the theme song of the same name travel magazine on television.
The global broadcast of the BBC awareness of The Happy Wanderer was not confined to the United Kingdom and the United States. In Trinidad and Tobago, the song was so popular that it was voted the traditional calypso carnival parade 1955 top Road March song. Since other foreign songs as Skokiaan were in that year among the favorites, was then set that as the next carnival season only genuine Calypso music for the competition should be selected.
The film " The Happy Wanderer "
Based on a screenplay by Juliane Kay turned director Hans Quest 1955, after the great success of the song to the movie The Happy Wanderer, a home movie with other Rudolf Schock, Elma Karlowa, Waltraud Haas and Willy Fritsch. Shock leads in the movie as the Berolinahaus small town teacher a children's choir, seeks his fortune in the big city as an opera singer and eventually finds it after returning to his choir, with whom he goes on a world concert tour. The Schaumburg tale singers were involved in the recording and the film soundtrack. A single by Rudolf Schock and the children's choir with a potpourri of the Happy Wanderer and other songs of the film was released by Electrola.
Other recordings
After the success of the Schaumburg tale singers, many artists have the song " My father was a traveling man " recorded and released. In Germany there was next to the cover version of Rudolf Schock also recordings of such diverse artists as Heino, Andrea Jürgens, Udo Jürgens with the Tölz Boys Choir, Freddy Breck, Mickie Krause and Zeltinger Band. The English version of The Happy Wanderer published except the Stargazers, Diana Decker and Frank Weir among others, Joe Dowell, Mantovani, Louis Prima, Bill Staines, Lawrence Welk, Frankie Yankovic, Max Bygraves, Ken Colyer 's Jazzmen and John D. Loudermilk. In episode 401 of The Muppet Show singing three pigs wandering the song.