On St. Martin’s Day in Germany, November 11th, children parade at night carrying lanterns. Sometimes the parade ends with a bonfire. Kids often go door to door caroling and receiving treats or money. People also eat goose and Wechmann (a sweet bread in the shape of a gingerbread man).
Here are two songs children sing in Germany for St. Martin’s Day, each in German and with an English translation…
Laterne, Laterne
(German)Laterne, Laterne
Sonne, Mond und Sterne
Brenne auf, mein Licht,
Brenne auf, mein Licht
Aber nur meine liebe Laterne nicht.Here’s the English translation for Laterne, Laterne…
Lantern, Lantern
Lantern, Lantern,
Sun, moon and stars,
Burn, my light,
Burn, my light,
But not only the light of my dear lantern.
The midi music for Laterne, Laterne
Here’s another German Lantern Song for St. Martin’s Day.
Ich geh mit meiner Laterne
Ich geh mit meiner Laterne
Und meine Laterne mit mir.
Dort oben leuchten die Sterne
Und unten leuchten wir.
Mein Licht ist aus,
Ich geh nach Haus,
Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum
Here’s the English translation of Ich geh mit meiner LaterneI Walk with My Lantern
I walk with my lantern,
And my lantern with me.
There above, the stars shine,
And we shine here below.
My light is off,
I go home,
Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum.
Many thanks to Ulrike Bernhard for contributing this song, to Maguy Cabrol and Monique Palomares for the translation from German and to Monique Palomares for creating the midi music . Vielen Dank!
My entry about The History and Traditions of St. Martin’s Day.
A legend and a song about St. Martin in Northern France
Belgian songs sung on St. Martin’s Day, plus about how St. Martin’s Day is like Christmas in parts of Belgium.
And here’s a Recipe for Wechmann (Gingerbread Man Bread).
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s German page for more German children’s songs with their English translations
And
The Mama Lisa’s World en français German page for German Kids’ Songs with their French Translations
This article was posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2005 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, German, German Children's Songs, Germany, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Ich geh mit meiner Laterne - I Walk with My Lantern, Languages, Laterne, Laterne - Lantern, Lantern, Midis, Recordings of Songs, St. Martin's Day, St. Martin's Day Songs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
14 Responses to “Two German Lantern Songs, with a midi, for St. Martin’s Day”
Leave a Reply
February 23rd, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Mrs. B. sent me an alternate translation for “Laterne, Laterne”.
Here’s what she wrote (in German and with an English translation) followed by her English translation of “Laterne, Laterne”…
Als ich zuerst hier in Amerika ankam, konnte ich einfach nicht glauben, das wir hier keinen Laternenzug hatten!
Wir wollten aber, das man das nette Liedchen hier auch verstand, somit hatte ich dann an einer Uebersetzung gearbeitet. Wir benutzen nun eine Uebersetzung des Liedes “Laderne, Laterne”. Es kann sogar mit der selben Melodie gesungen werden und es reimt!
In English… After I arrived here in America, I couldn’t believe that the tradition of the Lantern Walk wasn’t celebrated. I wanted to make certain that this nice little song was understood. Here is a translation of “Lantern, Lantern”. You can even sing it to the same melody as the original!
Here it is:
Little Lantern, Little Lantern
The sun, the moon , and twinkle stars
Bu-urn bright, my light
Bu-urn bright, my light
But please not my little lantern tonight
Ms. B.
January 19th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I am interested in purchasing some lantern lights for my children since we are no longer in Germany but wish to make some lanterns. Do you happen to know anywhere on-line I can buy them?
January 19th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Sorry I don’t – does anyone else know where you can buy lantern lights online? Which country do you want them shipped to?
-Lisa
September 29th, 2008 at 2:17 am
There is an online store called Germanplaza.com just google it, they have stuff like the lanterns and also the rods and Schultueten and other neat stuff from Germany. Bettina
February 15th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
In 1957 I went to Hamburg with my mum. We walked around the parks and the red squirrels were everywhere. We had spent three months in the bombed spaces, during the summer months; a bomb went off during the time we were there, but my sisters and I had our lanterns. In that year I learned the Lanterne song and it has remained with me ever since.
I am now 58 and every Xmas I light up my lanterns, but I never knew it was for St. Martins day, I only knew that I walked the streets with my mum and we sang our hearts out. And the red squirrels watched on.
Lixxie xx
November 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am
In the Rhineland we sang, going in procession and carrying lanterns, the St. Martin’s Song that has many stanzas. Here is a rough translation of the first one:
“Saint Martin, Saint Martin,
Saint Martin rode through snow and wind,
His steed carrying him with speed;
Saint Martin rode not doing harm,
His cloak him covering good and warm.
In the snowe there sat a poor man,
Wore rags. not clothes;
Please help me in my distress,
he said,
Or bitter cold will be my death.
October 5th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Here are some ideas of how to make a lantern yourself:
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-make-a-lantern-a156899
October 5th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Here are some ideas of how to make your own lantern plus translations of German lantern songs
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-make-a-lantern-a156899
October 22nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I have a nice translation of the german lantern song “Ich gehe mit meiner Laterne”. It goes nicely along with the melody. Here it is:
I’m going with my little lantern
And my little lantern with me.
And up in the sky the stars shine
And down below are we.
I carry my light through the darkest night
labimmel, labammel, labumm.
March 22nd, 2013 at 6:02 pm
We asked Christina from Germany about the lanterns and here’s what she replied:
“As for the lanterns, there are two types that exist: there are lanterns perfectly made (i.e. manufactured), but we also tinker with the kids to make pretty lanterns. What matters most is to find a safe way so that the lantern doesn’t burn the kid or go on fire because there IS a candle inside.”
September 4th, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Do you have a midi file for the second song you listed?
November 11th, 2019 at 5:58 pm
The English translation you list first is correct. The other two fanciful and inventive translations are NOT correct. The text says, ‘Mein Licht ist aus’, which is My light (my candle) is out. The original St. Martin’s lanterns use votive candles which do not last that long. This is, afterall, for small children. They cannot be walking around that long anyway and it has to be light enough for them to carry.
November 4th, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Hi!
We translate the laterne song ending like this
(I’m going…
My lantern is going…
Up in the sky…
And down below..)
My little light, you shine so bright
Please help me to find my way in the night
My little light, you shine so bright,
Please help me to find my waaaaay
November 4th, 2020 at 9:42 pm
Also, in the Netherlands where I grew up, we sang:
11 November is de dag
Dat mijn lichtje
Dat mijn lichtje
11 November is de dag
Dat mijn lichtje
branden mag
Which translates to:
11 November is the day
that my little light
That my little light
11 November is the day
that my little light
May burn