Oh My Pa-Pa (O Mein Papa)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Oh mein Papa" is a German language song about the death of a beloved clown father, written by Paul Burkhard in 1939 for a musical called Der Schwarze Hecht (reproduced in 1950 as Feuerwerk (Fireworks)), lyrics by Erik Charell, Jürg Amstein, and Robert Gilbert.

Contents

[edit] Recordings

The song has been performed and recorded by numerous artists since then, including Alan Breeze, Annette Klooger, Billy Cotton, Billy Vaughn, Connie Francis, Diana Decker, The Everly Brothers, Harry James, Ken Mackintosh, Lys Assia, Malcolm Vaughan, Muriel Smith, Ray Anthony & his Orchestra, Russ Morgan & his Orchestra, The Beverley Sisters, The Brasshats, The Radio Revellers, and many others.

Under the original German title, an instrumental version by trumpeter Eddie Calvert topped the United Kingdom charts in 1954 and was also a top ten hit in the USA.

It was adapted into English by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons under the title "Oh! My Pa-Pa". A recording by Eddie Fisher became a #1 hit on the US charts in 1954. Fisher's version also made the UK top ten; thus, in the UK, Calvert's version was number one while Fisher's made the top ten but missed the top spot, and in the US, the roles were reversed.

[edit] Lyrics

[edit] English lyrics[1]

Oh, my Papa, to me he was so wonderful,
Oh, my Papa, to me he was so good.
No one could be so gentle and so lovable,
Oh, my Papa, he always understood.

Gone are the days when he could take me on his knee
And with a smile he'd change my tears to laughter.

Oh, my Papa, so funny, so adorable,
Always the clown so funny in his way.
Oh, my Papa, to me he was so wonderful,
Deep in my heart I miss him so today.



[edit] Complete German lyrics[2]

Papa wie ein Pfeil
sprang hinauf auf die Seil,
eh la hopp, eh la hopp, eh la hopp.
Er spreizte die Beine
ganz breit auseinand’,
sprang hoch in die Luft
und steht auf die Hand
Eh la hopp, eh la hopp, eh la hopp.

Er lachte: “Haha, haha”
und machte: Haha haha.
Dann sagt’ er: “Haha haha”
und rief: “Eh la hopp, eh la hopp
eh la hopp, eh la hopp
eh la hopp, eh la hopp
eh la hopp, eh la hopp.”

Er ritt auf die Seil
und rief er mir zu
“eh la hopp, eh la hopp, eh la hopp.”
Das konnte er machen
zwölfmal in ohne mieh;
er lachte dazu
und fürchte sich nie.
Eh la hopp, eh la hopp
…



Oh, mein Papa war eine wunderbare Clown.
Oh, mein Papa war eine große Kinstler.
Hoch auf die Seil, wie war er herrlich anzuschau'n!
Oh, mein Papa war eine schöne Mann.

Ei, wie er lacht, sein Mund, sie sein so breit und rot
Und seine Aug' wie Diamanten strahlen.
Oh mein Papa war eine wunderbare Clown.
Oh mein Papa, war eine schöne Mann.



[edit] References

  1. ^ John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons (1948). Oh My Pa-Pa (Oh Mein Papa). SingleAct. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  2. ^ Erik Charell, Jürg Amstein, Robert Gilbert. Lys Assia – Oh, mein Papa (German/Dutch). In de Overtuin, Marijke van Freek. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.

[edit] Literature

Flury, Philipp; Kaufmann, Peter (1979). O mein Papa… Paul Burkhard: Leben und Werk (in German). Zürich: Orell Füssli/Neue Schweizer Bibliothek. ISBN 3280011299. OCLC 6787865. 

Preceded by
Rags to Riches		 Cash Box magazine best selling record chart
#1 record
December 26, 1953–January 30, 1954		 Succeeded by
Stranger in Paradise
Preceded by
Stranger in Paradise		 Cash Box magazine best selling record chart
#1 record
February 13, 1954–February 20, 1954		 Succeeded by
Stranger in Paradise