Talk:O Tannenbaum

message: Shouldn't this be O Tannenbaum without the h?
Since no one has responded to this question, and a search on Google reveals O Tannenbaum to be the more accurate title, I am moving this. Euphoria 23:57, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Spelling

message: This is the version I learnt in school: Scott Gall 01:29, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, this seems to be the only Christmas carol without a standard English translation.  I've seen or heard variant lyrics like "How lovely are your branches", "Thy leaves are so unchanging", "Not only green when summer's here/But also green throughout the year", "...green in summer's glow/...in winter's snow", and almost certainly a few more; I've probably even heard the same set of lyrics in both modern and Old English (different pronouns). B7T (talk) 13:21, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Another translation 

message: English isn't the only language this has been translated to. In Cantonese (Hong Kong), the song is Tsung Man Tse, and has some unique lyrics that are somewhat unlike any of the other standard versions - including referring to the plastic needles. I don't have a full translation, as I never learned the full song, but this would be a relevant addition if anybody could find a legitimate source (given Wiki's rules on primary research, eh?).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.226.19.232 (talk) 04:09, 31 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cantonese Version? 

message: "Christmas Tree (song)" redirects here, although Lady Gaga has a song of the exact same name. I added a note to the beginning of the page in case someone searching for her song accidentally ends up here. 76.107.137.39 (talk) 05:23, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lady Gaga song 

message: I have never before seen the second and third verses as given on this page. I have, however, seen the first verse accompanied by three subsequent verses in which the constancy of the evergreen is sarcastically contrasted to the fickleness of the narrator's former lover:
O Mägdelein, O Mägdelein / Wie falsch ist dein' Gemüte! / Du schwurst mir treu in meinem Glück; / Nun arm ich bin, gehst du zurück! (O Madeline, O Madeline, how false is your warmth! You swore me troth when my luck was good; now that I'm poor, you go away again!)
Die Nachtigall, die Nachtigall / Nahmst du dir zum Exempel: / Sie bleibt solang, der Sommer lacht; / Im Herbst sie sich von dannen macht. (The nightingale, the nightingale, you took as your example: It stays as long as summer laughs [sic]; in autumn, it takes off.)
Der Bach im Tal, der Bach im Tal / Ist deiner Falschheits Spiegel: / Er strömt allein, wenn Regen fließt; / Beim Dürr er bald den Quell verschließt. (The valley brook, the valley brook is a mirror to your falsehood: It flows only when the rain falls; in a drought, it quickly exhausts its source.)
According to this source (in German), the above version, by August Zarnack, was written in 1820, antedating Anschütz's holiday carol by four years. --Geenius at Wrok (talk) 04:40, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  My Woman Done Me Wrong 

message: I can imagine that there are English versions "O Christmas tree" (by whom?), but it is misleading to say that the German song is "a Christmas carol". It is an early 19th century song about how the fir tree is evergreen, based on an older folk song.
It had nothing to do with Christmas when it was written, because at the time Christmas trees were an entirely local and eccentric custom limited to the Rhineland. Christmas trees only became the fashion in the second half of the 19th century, and the song must somehow have come to be associated with Christmas during that time. --dab (𒁳) 21:30, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: "Christmas carol"

message: The earliest English version I could find so far is this 1913 reference, which has "O Evergreen, O Evergreen, how are thy leaves so verdant?". I.e. "Tannenbaum" is here not rendered "Christmas tree", although the text clearly states the song is "addressed to the Christmas fir-tree".
The translation "O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, your branches green delight us" seems to be much younger, perhaps dating to the 1970s. --dab (𒁳) 20:56, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: English versions

message: I object to the recent merge, done without a prior merge notice, of  into this article. There are thousands of recordings, and many or most more notable than TMBG – why should that version appear here? Either it goes back to its own article, or gets merged into They Might Be Giants discography or be deleted altogether, following the proper AfD procedure. Me preference is to restore the previous situation. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 20:40, 25 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: They Might Be Giants version

message: If I am reading this correctly, should I expect to find a version of the lyrics mentioning a story about a faithless lover? --Makkachin (talk) 14:25, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: What makes you think that? The word "faithful" applies to the tree and its leaves (needles), which are  green. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 14:46, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I understand your confusion. You can see the version alluded to at this curiously named page. Sparafucil (talk) 21:23, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Faithless lover" 

message: In the included song file by the US Army Band Chorus, the lyrics that are sung do not match any of the included written versions. "How lovely are thy branches" which is one of their lines, are not seen anywhere in the article though it is sung as an example.
Also, shouldn't there be a literal translation of the original German lyrics included?
Thanks, and Merry Christmas.
Wiki nol ege █[:]====▶• 05:52, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Versions of Lyrics are Missing 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The first paragraph of the history section claims this, which is completely misleading. The second verse clearly states "Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit". "Weinachtszeit" is German for "Christmastime"  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.71.83.141 (talk) 17:16, 12 November 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  "The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas" 

message: Hello  and  - thanks for the revert here. I had attempted to play it on Chrome and it did nothing, so I incorrectly assumed it was just broken. Indeed it does work on other browsers. (As for this edit summary - indeed, I'm an admin, but that doesn't mean my edits are above scrutiny or that they're somehow better than others'. :) Feel free to revert me whenever you want ;).) — 🦊 18:20, 11 August 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: @User:Fox: Thank you for your message. My Chrome (84.0.4147.89 on Win 7) plays Vorbis files just fine. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 02:05, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
replies: text:  – I tend to assume that anyone who's gone through the admin process is far better at wikilawyering and wikipolitics than I am, so therefore I would always back off unless the edit is obviously wrong.  It's so easy to fall foul of an obscure guideline and particularly as a white English literate old man I'm usually politically incorrect, out of date or use too wide a vocabulary!  Regards, Martin of Sheffield (talk) 08:24, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  My removal