MovieChat Forums > Nora inu (1963) Discussion > German children's songs in the movie

German children's songs in the movie


I have noticed two German children's songs in Stray Dog and I am wondering, how they made it into a Japanese movie...? Has anyone an explanation?
The first one is "Alle Voegel sind schon da" playing when the two detectives are approaching the murder site where the second woman was killed in her house. The second is "Haenschen klein" sung by the children who are passing Murakami and Yuso lying after the fight exhausted in the fields at the end of the movie.

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A simple answer:

These songs have been very well known in Japan since late 19th century, as they have been commonly used in music textbooks in kindergarten and elementary school.


More detailed explanations:

"Alle Voegel sind schon da" is known as
"Kasumi ka Kumo ka" (roughly "hazze or cloud", published in 1883),
or "Kotori no Uta ("a bird song", published in 1892).

The version best known today is "modernized" version of "Kasumi ka Kumo ka", published in 1947.


As for "Haenschen klein", there was an old thread about it which seems to be gone now.

So allow me to quote myself from the old reply:

The song is called "Choucho" (choh-cho, butterfly) in Japan.
Lyrics are completely different, it goes like:

Butterfly, butterfly
Come to the leaves of rape blossoms
When tired of rape blossoms
Go to cherry blossoms
Of cherry blossoms
Flowers to flowers
Come and play
Play and come


(Sorry for bad translation....)

There are several versions of lyrics in Japan
but what's sung in the movie is this version,
and other versions are forgotten today.
(Also, the 2nd verse is less known and not heard in the movie.)

This song is very widely known in Japan.
Actually, I'm surprised if you can find any Japanse who does NOT know this song.

You may be surprised the song is usually described as
"originally Spanish folk song" in Japan,
sometimes with a remark "also popular in Germany and other parts in Europe".

Historically, though, it's not directly imported from Germany nor Spain.
In 1870s, a Japanese educator went to Massachusetts to study educational system.
There he heard an American folklore "Lightly Row",
which has the same melody as "Hanschen klein" but different English lyrics:

Lightly row, lightly row,
O'er the shining waves we go!
Smoothly glide, smoothly glide,
on the silent tide.


He introduced it to Japan for the first time.
Originally Japanese title and lyrics were more like literal translations of "Lightly Row",
but later replaced with (the early version of) "butterfly" lyrics above.
Then it was included in the music textbook for elementary school in 1881.
(The lyrics have been slightly changed since.)

I don't think the song was used because of the German or American lyrics,
because virtually no Japanese know them.
(I believe many think it's a Japanese song.)

If lyrics have any meaning to the scene it's 'butterfly' and 'flower',
which seemingly made Yusa to look at flowers, and eventually found a butterfly.
However, IMO, without the meaning of the lyrics, or even with different song,
just listening to "children's song" is enough to make Yusa to realize how far he came from those innocent days.




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German culture has more influence in Japan than western people realize. For example, much of medicine vocabulary used in Japan is German.

So if ask, today, 2015, where to anti-virus software, nobody will know what you are talking about. But if you pronounce the German people will understand.

The same is for gel pen. They read as "guel", the German way, rather than "jell" pen.

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