Muss I Denn

[MikeFromHolland]

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Inspired by this (derailed/deleted) topic:
"What's She Really Like" by Juan Luis
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94832#p1524744
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Let's keep THIS thread on track please.


Muss I Denn (Wooden Heart)

The farewell song "Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städtele naus" ("Must I have to go to the city") was written by German composer Friedrich Silcher (June 27, 1789 - August 26, 1860) and first published in 1827 in Friedrich Silcher's second volume of the music book "Volkslieder, gesammelt und für vier Männerstimmen gesetzt" ("Folk songs, collected and set for four men's voices"), Edition A.


Friedrich Silcher


Silcher used a traditional melody and integrated two verses in it, that were composed by Heinrich Wagner.




Soon it was a well known and loved song among military soldiers, and travelers. The tune was widely distributed and already crossed the borders of Germany in the 19th century. It might have sounded a bit like this:

..


In 1856 already an English translation by Henry William Dulcken (1832-1894) appeared. Dulcken was an English translator and children's writer, best known for translating the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. He called his version "Must I, then?"

Must I, then?

Must I then, must I then,
Leave this little town, little town,
And you, my dear, stay here?
If I come, if I come,
If I come back again, come back again,
To you I'll rush, my dear.
If I cannot always be right near,
Still your love's my joy, I swear;
If I come, if I come,
If I come back again, come back again,
To you I'll rush my dear.

How you cry, how you cry,
When I have to go, I have to go,
As if our love was through.
Even though, even though
Many girls are around, girls are around
To you dear love, I'll be true.
Do not think that when I see some girl
That my love is gone for you.
Even though, even though
Many girls are around, girls are around
To you, dear love, I'll be true.

By next year, by next year,
When the grapes are ripe, grapes are ripe,
I'll come back and settle down;
If I'm then, if I'm then,
Your sweetheart still, sweetheart still,
We'll get married in this town.
By next year, that's when my time is up,
Then you you alone I'll be bound,
If I'm then, if I'm then,
Your sweetheat still, sweetheart still
We'll get married in this town.

The farewell of one (or several) soldiers was a frequent motif of songpostcards in the early 20th century (during WorldWar I), with verses from "Muss i denn ...":


Postkarte, ohne Angaben, angelaufen. DVA: LP 4542



Postkarte, Dresden: Verlag Vitus Noever, Nr. 640, gelaufen 6. August 1914. DVA: LP 3749



Postkarte, PM 4238-1, handschriftlich datiert 9. März 1917. DVA: LP 4532



Postkarte, R & K Serie 2588/1, angelaufen. DVA: LP 4223



From a book about soldiers of the First World War, about the song Muss I Denn: "It is a must for military marching everywhere, so it is popular with so many non-Swabian troops" (Schuhmacher 1928).


The song about a person leaving his sweetheart was also a theme among hikers. In 1914, in the "Liederbuch der Jüdischen Wanderbundes Blauweiss" (Edition G), the connection with "Wandering in the Mountains" was made. The song was very popular among travelers as well. Up to the present, "Muss i denn ..." is one of the most popular traditional songs in Germany.

.....
Dark black period
In the Second World War many different versions of the song were made. Some variations on the text are very painful to read. In Offenburg the Jews transported to Dachau after the Pogromnacht in 1938 were kept on the way to the railway station, the song with the modification "If i come when I come when I never come again". From a Jewish deportation in 1942 from Würzburg, photographs of the Gestapo there were preserved, which were cynically portrayed for the files: "Excerpt of the children of Israel from the beautiful Würzburg!" ... must I have to go out to the cities ... ". In his own narrative "The Seventh Fountain" (1971), Fred Wander reports that in the camp of the camp Buchenwald concentration camp in early 1945, a prisoner chaplain accompanied the marches to working groups with, "they blown us: For to the city. "
.....


The history of the song took a completely new twist after the Second World War.

In 1959, while Elvis was stationed in Germany, the German singer/actress Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) released a single "Lili Marleen", with on the B-side her version of Muss I Denn:

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In the film "GI Blues" (1960) Elvis Presley (in the role of a soldier in Germany) sings "Wooden Heart", an adaptation of "If I have to, then I must go to the city center" . The adaption was made by Fred Wise and Ben Weisman, known for composing more Elvis songs.



The German edition of the single as released on September 23, 1960:



The flip side was "Tonight's All Right For Love" which was based on "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (op. 325)" from Johann Strauß (1868). Another European classic.

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The song was a hit single for Elvis in the UK Singles Chart, making #1 for six weeks there in March and April 1961,but was not released on a single in the United States until November 1964, where it was the B-side to "Blue Christmas".

However, a cover version by Joe Dowell did make it to number one in the US at the end of August 1961, knocking Bobby Lewis' "Tossin' and Turnin'" off the number-one spot of the Billboard Hot 100 after seven weeks. Dowell's version also spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart.

..



Joe Dowell passed away only recently. On February 4, 2016 in Bloomington, IL.



Tonio Areta hit the Spanish charts in 1961 with a Spanish translation of the song, now titled: "Corazón de Madera".

..



In addition to Elvis, Gus Backus made the filmsong popular in Germany:



..


Since the 1960s, many German hit singers sang "Muss i denn ...". It played an important role in the area of ​​the popular entertainment industry (including Roy Black, Freddy Breck, Karel Gott, Heino, Andrea Jürgens, Vicky Leandros, Peggy March, Tony Marshall and Mireille Mathieu , Nana Mouskouri, Freddy Quinn).


It was surprising that on December 13, 1975 Elvis performed a part of the song live in Vegas:
..


Soon after his death in 1977 the song became a hit in The Netherlands, reaching #2 (while the debut song I'll Remember Elvis Presley by Danny Mirror prevented it from becoming #1). It remained in the "Nederlandse Top 40" for a total of 11 weeks. And this is the clip which was shown almost every week in TopPop:


..


I hated it.


Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_Heart
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muss_i_denn,_muss_i_denn_zum_Städtele_hinaus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muss_i_denn
http://www.liederlexikon.de/lieder/muss_i_denn_zum_staedele_hinaus
http://www.liederlexikon.de/lieder/muss_i_denn_zum_staedele_hinaus/abbildung1
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Silcher
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_William_Dulcken
http://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list10.html#S1574
https://secondhandsongs.com/work/52408/versions#nav-entity
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=157839949

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[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Fantastic read "MikeFromHolland"! . Keep up the good work . Bye for now .

[drjohncarpenter]

What happened to this one?

Wooden Heart
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94856

[poormadpeter2]

What happened to this one?

Wooden Heart
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94856

I think we blame Rowan and Martin for it's disappearance.

[Arvis Paisley]

Great song.

[Stvimpe]

What happened to this one?

Wooden Heart
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94856

I think we blame Rowan and Martin for it's disappearance.

So another thread down the drain? Because a few people just won't stop making the same point over and over and over again? Jeez

Nice thread, Mike, with lots of information. Thank you.

[Scarre]

What happened to this one?

Wooden Heart
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94856

I think we blame Rowan and Martin for it's disappearance.

So another thread down the drain? Because a few people just won't stop making the same point over and over and over again? Jeez

Nice thread, Mike, with lots of information. Thank you.

There were some interesting observations made in the original topic about Wooden Heart and the GI Blues movie.

These take time to write and it doesn't seem appropriate to have peoples on topic and relevant replies deleted without even an explanation. Not to mention how long it must have taken Mike to compile his opening post.

True.
Regarding the song...While driving to my cottage yesterday I was listening to 30 #1 hits and naturally Wooden Heart was on it. It's been a while since the last time I heard it but...gotta say...I'm still not that fond of it.

[MikeFromHolland]

True.
Regarding the song...While driving to my cottage yesterday I was listening to 30 #1 hits and naturally Wooden Heart was on it. It's been a while since the last time I heard it but...gotta say...I'm still not that fond of it.

Knowing the background and history of this song, does that effect your listening pleasure in one way or another? I noticed I listen with different ears now and came to appreciate it as part of Elvis' legacy.

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[Scarre]

True.
Regarding the song...While driving to my cottage yesterday I was listening to 30 #1 hits and naturally Wooden Heart was on it. It's been a while since the last time I heard it but...gotta say...I'm still not that fond of it.

Knowing the background and history of this song, does that effect your listening pleasure in one way or another? I noticed I listen with different ears now and came to appreciate it as part of Elvis' legacy.

.

Nice work with this thread MikeFromHolland. I would not say that it changed the way I listen to it. The scene from the movie is what always comes to my mind. I was somewhat familiar with the history of the song but not to that extent that you have showed us here...

[MikeFromHolland]

The scene from the movie is what always comes to my mind.

Yeah, I have the same. I hated it as a child. But that also changed a bit when I learned something about the puppeteer. They really used the best out there:




Bob Baker (1924–2014) was an American puppeteer whose marionettes have entertained thousands of children and adults worldwide for more than 70 years.

At age eight, Baker trained with several different Los Angeles-based companies before giving his first professional performance for director Mervyn Leroy. While attending Hollywood High School, he began manufacturing toy marionettes that sold both in Europe and the United States. After graduation he became an apprentice at the George Pal Animation Studios. A year later he was promoted to head animator of Puppetoons. After World War II, Baker served as an animation advisor at many film studios, including Disney. His puppetry was featured on TV in Bewitched, Star Trek, Land of the Giants and NCIS; and on film in the 1944 movie Bluebeard, in A Star Is Born, G.I. Blues, Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.








More:
Wooden Heart Puppeteer Bob Baker
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71698#p1072548
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[Juan Luis]

The scene from the movie is what always comes to my mind.

Yeah, I have the same. I hated it as a child. But that also changed a bit when I learned something about the puppeteer. They really used the best out there:




Bob Baker (1924–2014) was an American puppeteer whose marionettes have entertained thousands of children and adults worldwide for more than 70 years.

At age eight, Baker trained with several different Los Angeles-based companies before giving his first professional performance for director Mervyn Leroy. While attending Hollywood High School, he began manufacturing toy marionettes that sold both in Europe and the United States. After graduation he became an apprentice at the George Pal Animation Studios. A year later he was promoted to head animator of Puppetoons. After World War II, Baker served as an animation advisor at many film studios, including Disney. His puppetry was featured on TV in Bewitched, Star Trek, Land of the Giants and NCIS; and on film in the 1944 movie Bluebeard, in A Star Is Born, G.I. Blues, Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.








More:
Wooden Heart Puppeteer Bob Baker
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71698#p1072548
.

The impeccable timing with Elvis and the puppets was the benefit of hard work with rehearsal, and a long shoot, IIRC.

[drjohncarpenter]

The scene from the movie is what always comes to my mind.

Yeah, I have the same. I hated it as a child. But that also changed a bit when I learned something about the puppeteer. They really used the best out there:




Bob Baker (1924–2014) was an American puppeteer whose marionettes have entertained thousands of children and adults worldwide for more than 70 years.

At age eight, Baker trained with several different Los Angeles-based companies before giving his first professional performance for director Mervyn Leroy. While attending Hollywood High School, he began manufacturing toy marionettes that sold both in Europe and the United States. After graduation he became an apprentice at the George Pal Animation Studios. A year later he was promoted to head animator of Puppetoons. After World War II, Baker served as an animation advisor at many film studios, including Disney. His puppetry was featured on TV in Bewitched, Star Trek, Land of the Giants and NCIS; and on film in the 1944 movie Bluebeard, in A Star Is Born, G.I. Blues, Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.








More:
Wooden Heart Puppeteer Bob Baker
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71698#p1072548
.

The impeccable timing with Elvis and the puppets was the benefit of hard work with rehearsal, and a long shoot, IIRC.

Only the finest puppeteers for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

[bajo]

Very nice stories, indeed! As for the song, it has to be Elvis' version. The other one from Joe Dowell sounds very dull to me. Even if Elvis missed another US #1 spot, the song at least went on to be a great #1 hit in the EU.

[Juan Luis]

The scene from the movie is what always comes to my mind.

Yeah, I have the same. I hated it as a child. But that also changed a bit when I learned something about the puppeteer. They really used the best out there:




Bob Baker (1924–2014) was an American puppeteer whose marionettes have entertained thousands of children and adults worldwide for more than 70 years.

At age eight, Baker trained with several different Los Angeles-based companies before giving his first professional performance for director Mervyn Leroy. While attending Hollywood High School, he began manufacturing toy marionettes that sold both in Europe and the United States. After graduation he became an apprentice at the George Pal Animation Studios. A year later he was promoted to head animator of Puppetoons. After World War II, Baker served as an animation advisor at many film studios, including Disney. His puppetry was featured on TV in Bewitched, Star Trek, Land of the Giants and NCIS; and on film in the 1944 movie Bluebeard, in A Star Is Born, G.I. Blues, Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.








More:
Wooden Heart Puppeteer Bob Baker
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71698#p1072548
.

The impeccable timing with Elvis and the puppets was the benefit of hard work with rehearsal, and a long shoot, IIRC.

Only the finest puppeteers for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Elvis most probably had to work much harder than the puppeteer. Just wonderful!

[norrie]

I remember having to get up early and get down to Virgin every Monday morning for 8 am to buy the UK 18 no 1 singles before they sold out -and they did - in fact at my local store the same guys and gals were waiting every week and Wooden Heart was the one that we all finally agreed that we must be nuts.sh*t song backed up by an even worse b side. (Puppet on a String)

[drjohncarpenter]

Only the finest puppeteers for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Elvis most probably had to work much harder than the puppeteer. Just wonderful!

Yes, there is no doubt Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll," gave his all to the stand-out scene in "G.I. Blues," singing to puppets.

[poormadpeter2]

I remember having to get up early and get down to Virgin every Monday morning for 8 am to buy the UK 18 no 1 singles before they sold out -and they did - in fact at my local store the same guys and gals were waiting every week and Wooden Heart was the one that we all finally agreed that we must be nuts.sh*t song backed up by an even worse b side. (Puppet on a String)

The B-side was Tonight Is So Right For Love. Puppet was included as a bonus track on the 2005 reissue.

[Hard Rocker]

According to this chart, it's Elvis's second biggest UK hit of the 60's and the thirteenth biggest hit of that decade overall:

http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/1960-to-1969.shtml

It was also the second biggest UK hit of 1961:

1 Del Shannon Runaway
2 Elvis Presley Wooden Heart
3 Helen Shapiro You Don't Know
4 Billy Fury Halfway To Paradise
5 Eden Kane Well I Ask You
6 The Allisons Are You Sure?
7 Helen Shapiro Walkin' Back To Hapiness
8 The Everly Brothers Walk Right Back / Ebony Eyes
9 Elvis Presley His Latest Flame
10 John Leyton Johnny Remember Me

Not forgetting this was a global smash and made the top slot in a number of territories. Certainly a much-loved and iconic Presley track which still resonates to this day.

[drjohncarpenter]

According to this chart, it's Elvis's second biggest UK hit of the 60's and the thirteenth biggest hit of that decade overall:

http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/1960-to-1969.shtml

It was also the second biggest UK hit of 1961:

1 Del Shannon Runaway
2 Elvis Presley Wooden Heart
3 Helen Shapiro You Don't Know
4 Billy Fury Halfway To Paradise
5 Eden Kane Well I Ask You
6 The Allisons Are You Sure?
7 Helen Shapiro Walkin' Back To Hapiness
8 The Everly Brothers Walk Right Back / Ebony Eyes
9 Elvis Presley His Latest Flame
10 John Leyton Johnny Remember Me

Not forgetting this was a global smash and made the top slot in a number of territories. Certainly a much-loved and iconic Presley track which still resonates to this day.

Yes, the puppet scene in "G.I. Blues" continues to inspire countless U.K. hearts and minds in the 21st century.

[Hard Rocker]

Yes, the reissue was a UK number 2 hit in 2005 and the track has featuring on numerous best-selling compilations over the years.

[jetblack]

Only the finest puppeteers for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Yes, there is no doubt Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll," gave his all to the stand-out scene in "G.I. Blues," singing to puppets.

Yes, the puppet scene in "G.I. Blues" continues to inspire countless U.K. hearts and minds in the 21st century.

I can see you are a huge fan of 'Wooden Heart'.

By 1960/61 Elvis was much more than just the King of Rock 'n' Roll exploring new avenues with his music. Lots of people agreed making 'Wooden Heart' the biggest selling single of 1961 here in the UK. This feat also followed 'It's Now Or Never' as the biggest selling single of 1960.

Both a long way from rock 'n' roll.

Andy

[Arvis Paisley]

It's a great song and a sweet moment in the film.

[Juan Luis]

Only the finest puppeteers for the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Yes, there is no doubt Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll," gave his all to the stand-out scene in "G.I. Blues," singing to puppets.

Yes, the puppet scene in "G.I. Blues" continues to inspire countless U.K. hearts and minds in the 21st century.

I can see you are a huge fan of 'Wooden Heart'.

By 1960/61 Elvis was much more than just the King of Rock 'n' Roll exploring new avenues with his music. Lots of people agreed making 'Wooden Heart' the biggest selling single of 1961 here in the UK. This feat also followed 'It's Now Or Never' as the biggest selling single of 1960.

Both a long way from rock 'n' roll.

Andy

Yes. The King of rock and roll wasn't just a rock and roller! Thank God for that.

[jurasic1968]

No, I don't thank God for that.

[MikeFromHolland]

No, I don't thank God for that.

I do I even thank Allah, Krishna and יהוה

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