Het Schrijverke
Whirligig Beetle
The music for this beautiful Flemish (Belgian) song was written by Antoine Bauwens (1929-2009), a Belgian composer and poitician, to the words of a poem, written by the Belgian poet and priest Guido Gezelle (1830-1899).
At the time Gezelle wrote this poem, the Flemish literature had mostly developed in the regions of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels. The role it played was purely educative, and it was supposed to promote the own language, to create an interest for the own literature and tradition, and to raise the level on the political consciousness. It was only the western part of the Flemish region that preferred to live its own literary life: for them their own past, their own language, the Catholic religion of their region were felt to be more important. The author Guido Gezelle was the first author to be part of this particularism. |
Though Gezelle became famous for his subtle poems about nature and his depicting language, at that time he was little appreciated just because of that language, that was unorthodox, non-lofty for that time. However, he was impressed by nature, in which he saw the hand of his Creator, and nothing could prevent him from writing poems his own way. His poem "Het Schrijverke" was written about a little water beetle, and was one of his first successes. In this poem, that appeared in Gezelle's first poetry bundle "Vlaemsche Dichtoefeningen" "Flemish Exercises on Poetry" (1857), Gezelle expressed his amazement on the behaviour of the little creature, in which he saw a praise to God. With the rhetorical structure, the question and answer game, the poet created a virtuoso poem, with crescendos and culminations, that invited to compose a song on it.
In 1960, he finally succeeded, as the Champ Label accepted his song "Het Schrijverke", and published it together with three other songs from his one man shows on an extended disk. Though in the mid-fifties the public had largely dropped out, not being used to the chanson-like Flemish music, "Het Schrijverke" became Ferdy's second big success. Till 2014, the year in which he said goodbye to the theatre, "Het Schrijverke" remained a part of the singer's numerous performances, and time after time, Will Ferdy reaped great success with it.
Original text
Het Schrijverke O krinklende wrinklende waterding, met 't zwarte kabotseken aan, wat zien ik toch geren uw kopke flink al schrijven op 't waterke gaan! Gij leeft en gij roert en gij loopt zoo snel, al zie 'k u noch arrem noch been; gij wendt en gij weet uwen weg zoo wel, al zie 'k u geen ooge, geen een. Wat waart, of wat zijt, of wat zult gij zijn? Verklaar het en zeg het mij, toe! Wat zijt gij toch, blinkende knopke fijn, dat nimmer van schrijven zijt moe? Gij loopt over 't spegelend water klaar, en 't water niet meer en verroert dan of het een gladdige windtje waar, dat stille over 't waterke voert. o Schrijverkes, schrijverkes, zegt mij dan,- met twintigen zijt gij en meer, en is er geen één die 't mij zeggen kan:- Wat schrijft en wat schrijft gij zo zeer? Gij schrijft en 't en staat in het water niet, gij schrijft, en 't is uit en 't is weg; geen Christen en weet er wat dat bediedt: och, schrijverke, zeg het mij, zeg! Zijn 't visselkes daar ge van schrijven moet? Zijn 't kruidekes daar ge van schrijft? Zijn 't keikes of bladjes of blomkes zoet, of 't water, waarop dat ge drijft? Zijn 't vogelkes, kwietlende klachtgepiep, of is 'et het blauwe gewelf, dat onder en boven u blinkt, zoo diep, of is het u, schrijverke, zelf? En 't krinklende wrinklende waterding, met 't zwarte kapoteken aan, Het stelde en het rechtte zijn oorkes flink, en 't bleef daar een stondeke staan: 'Wij schrijven', zo sprak het, 'al krinklend af het gene ons Meester, weleer, ons makend en leerend, te schrijven gaf, één lesse, niet min nochte meer; wij schrijven, en kunt gij die lesse toch niet lezen, en zijt gij zo bot? Wij schrijven, herschrijven en schrijven nog, den heiligen Name van God!' |
Guido Gezelle
Will Ferdy
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English translation
A Whirligig Beetle O whirling and wriggling small waterthing! Your cassock is black and much quaint, I see Your firm head and with wonder think Of how the surface you paint! You live and you move and you run that fast Yet no limbs I see but try You turn and well know the way you pass Yet I don`t see one single eye What were, or what are or what will you be , Explain it and tell it me, please! A shiny small button, say, what are je? Why can you keep writing at ease? You run over the water mirror slick And it shows just a slight waft, Like touched with a mild wind, escaping quick, That over the water flies soft O writers, o writers, just clarify, - You are at least twenty or more And no one of you can specify: - What do you write, what do you draw? You write and the water keeps nothing seen, The written is out and gone; The Christians don`t grip what it does mean: O writer, what did you work on? And is that a little fish you depict? And is that the herbs you describe? A bloom, or a rock, or a leaf is it? What floating words do you type? Or, maybe, you picture a bird who whines, The firmament, with its blue wealth, That under and over you brightly shines, Or is that you, writer, yourself? The master of making the water signs, Whose cassock is black and much quaint, It lifted the ears like two straight lines, And such for a while they remained. It started to answer while floating: "We write what us in early times The Master-Creator told, coaching, Just one lesson learning the primes; We write, you can`t read, but we never knew Why you couldn`t learn on the spot! We write, we rewrite and we write anew The Holy and Blessed Name of God!" Translation by Accordeonworld |
Sources:
http://www.lyrikwelt.de/gedichte/gezelleg1.htm ; https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_Schrijverke_(gedicht) ;
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferdy ; https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_play ;
http://www.gezelle.be/index.php?pid=29 ; http://cobra.canvas.be/cm/cobra/muziek/1.2002768 ;
https://www.wikiwand.com/nl/Het_schrijverke_(lied) ;
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Dutch/Example_9 ; https://www.discogs.com/Will-Ferdy-Het-Schrijverke/release/11133594 ;
http://hitriders.be/artiesten/will-ferdy/ ; http://www.vlaamsewonderjaren.be/home/will-ferdy
http://www.lyrikwelt.de/gedichte/gezelleg1.htm ; https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_Schrijverke_(gedicht) ;
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferdy ; https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_play ;
http://www.gezelle.be/index.php?pid=29 ; http://cobra.canvas.be/cm/cobra/muziek/1.2002768 ;
https://www.wikiwand.com/nl/Het_schrijverke_(lied) ;
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Dutch/Example_9 ; https://www.discogs.com/Will-Ferdy-Het-Schrijverke/release/11133594 ;
http://hitriders.be/artiesten/will-ferdy/ ; http://www.vlaamsewonderjaren.be/home/will-ferdy