Show Synopsis:
About a fisherman wakes up early in the morning, lightly unfulrls his boat and sets out on his day. He sings the Golden Sun awake and revels in the mystery and beauty of nature, good work and freedom. He fishes and sings with a full and lively breast. A shepherdess is angling on a bridge but he tells the sly vixen that his freedom is his true happiness and that she cannot trap him in her sly ways.
Fun Facts:
1. This is a German lieder, which Franz Schubert was particularly famous for composing.
2. The text of this song comes from Franz Xaver Freiherr von Schlechta.
"GERMAN
Den Fischer fechten Sorgen
Und Gram und Leid nicht an;
Er löst am frühen Morgen
Mit leichtem Sinn den Kahn.
Da lagert rings noch Friede
Auf allen Flur und Bach,
Er ruft mit seinem Liede
Die gold'ne Sonne wach.
Er singt zu seinem Werke
Aus voller frischer Brust,
Die Arbeit gibt ihm Stärke,
Die Stärke Lebenslust.
Bald wird ein bunt Gewimmel
In allen Tiefen laut
Und plätschert durch den Himmel,
Der sich im Wasser baut.
Doch wer ein Netz will stellen,
Braucht Augen klar und gut,
Muß heiter gleich den Wellen
Und frei sein wie die Flut.
Dort angelt auf der Brücke
Die Hirtin. Schlauer Wicht,
Gib auf nur deine Tücke,
Den Fisch betrügst du nicht.
ENGLISH
The fisherman's not worried
By sorrow and by care;
He sets sail in the morning,
His heart as light as air.
Peace is all around him,
In meadows and in streams
With his songs he wakens
The golden sunshine's beams.
He sings while he is fishing
From full land cheery breast,
His works fills him with vigour,
His vigour gives him zest.
Then in the depths below him
A tumult starts to break,
And splashes through the heavens
Reflected in the lake.
But he who will a fish catch
Needs eyes that clearly see,
A heart as light as ether,
And as waves so free.
And on the bridge sits angling
The shepherdess so sweet.
Pray cease your tricks and cunning,
The fish you cannot cheat."