Musikanter (Ich Bin ein Muskanter)

DESCRIPTION: German: "Ich bin ein Musikanter und komm aus Schwabenland" (respose: "Wir sind" or "Du bist ein Muskantter und..." "Ich kann spielen Auf mein viola! Vio, vio, viola." Similarly for many instruments: piano, plank, plank, plank; Trumpet, rat, tat, tat, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 ("Songs of Many Nations")
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage music nonballad campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp, 316, 389, "Musikanter"/"I Am a Great Musician" (notes only)
SongsOfManyNations, "Musikanter" (1 German text, 1 tune) (12th edition, p. 41)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Instruments (The Orchestra Song; Zur Feier, Die Geige)" (theme of describing instruments)
cf. "Johnny Schmoker" (theme of describing instruments)
NOTES [100 words]: Unusually, the camp version of this is apparently very often sung in German, although there are several English versions e.g., "The Music Man": "I am a music man, and I can play." (Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs lists many others.) Oddly, the "Songs of Many Nations" version, which probably is responsible for the camp versions, lists most of the instruments by their English names.
There is pretty good proof that the piece went into oral tradition in English -- because Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 316, reports a version completely befuddled by it: "I am the music condor, I come from Slavic." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF316M

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