Victor Hugo and Arthur Frackenpohl
While in Ann Arbor visiting our daughter Iona last week, we went to an impressive library book sale, where I acquired, among other things a 1935 book callled Sung Under the Silver Umbrella: Poems for Young Children, chosen by the Association for Childhood Education. Looking through the book this evening, I came upon a familiar lyric, attributed to Victor Hugo. (actually, there are a lot of other gems in this book, too)
A while back I asked if anybody knew the origin of the song "Be Like a Bird", that Libana sings. It turns out that it is a translation of a saying/poem of Victor Hugo, set to a tune by Arthur Frackenpohl. Knowing the Victor Hugo connection, it was easy to find out more using Google. I still have not tracked down the specific source of the original Victor Hugo quote, which is, in French,
Soyez comme l’oiseau posé pour un instant sur des rameaux trop frêles qui sent plier la branche, et qui chante pourtant, sachant qu’il a des ailes. and is certainly in the public domain, and I don't know the name of the translator or when the words were translated, so I don't know if the translated words are in the public domain, but I guess that the tune is not in the public domain, since the writer of it was born in 1924 and is seemingly still alive. Having already recorded my parody version of it, I am wondering whether it qualifies as a fair-use parody or whether I should try to contact Mr. Frackenpohl for permission, or take it down.
Two translations that are close but not identical to the song text are found in the 1901 magazine:
New Outlook, by Alfred Emanuel Smith
Any ideas?
A while back I asked if anybody knew the origin of the song "Be Like a Bird", that Libana sings. It turns out that it is a translation of a saying/poem of Victor Hugo, set to a tune by Arthur Frackenpohl. Knowing the Victor Hugo connection, it was easy to find out more using Google. I still have not tracked down the specific source of the original Victor Hugo quote, which is, in French,
Soyez comme l’oiseau posé pour un instant sur des rameaux trop frêles qui sent plier la branche, et qui chante pourtant, sachant qu’il a des ailes. and is certainly in the public domain, and I don't know the name of the translator or when the words were translated, so I don't know if the translated words are in the public domain, but I guess that the tune is not in the public domain, since the writer of it was born in 1924 and is seemingly still alive. Having already recorded my parody version of it, I am wondering whether it qualifies as a fair-use parody or whether I should try to contact Mr. Frackenpohl for permission, or take it down.
Two translations that are close but not identical to the song text are found in the 1901 magazine:
New Outlook, by Alfred Emanuel Smith
Any ideas?