"Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon" ("In the Black Whale of Ascalon") is a popular academic commercium song. It was known as a beer-drinking song in many German speaking ancient universities. Joseph Victor von Scheffel provided the lyrics under the title Altassyrisch (Old Assyrian) 1854, the melody is from 1783 or earlier.[1]
| Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon | |
|---|---|
| Commercium song | |
 | |
| English | "In the Black Whale of Ascalon" |
| Other name | "Altassyrisch" |
| Text | Joseph Victor von Scheffel |
| Language | German |
| Published | 1854 |
Content
editThe lyrics reflect an endorsement of the bacchanalian mayhem of student life, similar as in Gaudeamus igitur. The song describes, with some references to the Classics, an old Assyrian drinking binge of a man in an inn. The tables are made of marble and the large invoice is being provided in cuneiform on bricks. However the carouser has to admit that he left his money already in Nineveh. A Nubian house servant kicks him out then and the song closes with the notion, that (compare John 4:44) a prophet has no honor in his own country, if he doesn't pay cash for his consumption. Charles Godfrey Leland has translated the poems among other works of Scheffel.[2] Each stanza begins with the verse "Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon, but varies the outcome. The initial Im is often stretched for humorous effect. Some of the stanzas:
Im schwarzen Wallfisch zu Ascalon
Da trank ein Mann drei Tag',
Bis dass er steif wie ein Besenstiel
Am Marmortische lag.
...
In the Black Whale at Ascalon
A man drank day by day,
Till, stiff as any broom-handle,
Upon the floor he lay.
...
![% Sources: https://www.lieder-archiv.de/im_schwarzen_walfisch_zu_askalon-notenblatt_600700.html
% and https://www.deutschland-lese.de/streifzuege/lieder/studentenlieder/im-schwarzen-walfisch-zu-askalon/
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Im schwar -- zen Wal -- fisch zu As -- ka -- lon, __ da
trank ein Mann __ drei Tag', __
\repeat volta 2 { bis dass er steif wie'n Be -- sen -- stiel am }
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{ Mar -- mor -- tisch -- e lag. __ }
{ Mar -- mor -- tisch -- e lag. __ }
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Im Schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon,
da bracht' der Kellner Schar,
In Keilschrift auf sechs Ziegelstein
dem Gast die Rechnung dar.
...
Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon
wird kein Prophet geehrt,
und wer vergnügt dort leben will,
zahlt bar, was er verzehrt.
In the Black Whale at Ascalon
The waiters brought the bill,
In arrow-heads on six broad tiles
To him who thus did swill.
...
In the Black Whale at Ascalon
No prophet hath renown;
And he who there would drink in peace
Must pay the money down.
In the typical manner of Scheffel, it contains an anachronistic mixture of various times and eras, parodistic notions on current science,[3] as e.g. Historical criticism and interpretations of the Book of Jonah as a mere shipwrecking narrative. There are various additional verses, including political parodies and verses mocking different sorts of fraternities.
The song has been used as name for traditional inns and restaurants, e.g. in Heidelberg and Bad Säckingen. In Bad Säckingen the name was used on several (consecutive) inns and for the still existing club "Walfisch Gesellschaft Säckingen" (Walfischia), honoring Scheffel.[4]
Mathematics International
editThere is exactly one verse for mathematics, called "International".[5]
In ancient times, upon the door
Of Plato, there was writt'n:
“To each non-mathematicus
The entrance is forbidd'n.
The same stanza is available in further 13 languages, including Greek (Μελαίνῃ τῇ ἐν Φαλαίνᾳ (Melaínē tē en phalaína – Black in the whale)) and Volapük, which are sung one after the other.
References
edit- ^ "Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon", lieder-archiv.de
- ^ Charles Godfrey Leland. Gaudeamus! Humorous Poems by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel at Project Gutenberg
- ^ Introduction to German Poetry: A Dual-Language Book, Gustave Mathieu, Guy Stern, Courier Dover Publications (2012) ISBN 9780486121796
- ^ "Die Geschichte des Hotel zum Schwarzen Walfisch", Hotel-Restaurant “Zum Schwarzen Walfisch”, Bad Säckingen (in German)
- ^ Craig Smoryński: History of Mathematics: A Supplement, Springer Science & Business Media, 2008
Further reading
edit- Manfred Fuhrmann: "Scheffels Erzählwerk: Bildungsbeflissenheit, Deutschtümelei", in Fuhrmann, Europas fremd gewordene Fundamente. Aktuelles zu Themen aus der Antike. Artemis und Winkler, Zürich 1995 ISBN 3-7608-1122-1
- Udo Kindermann: "Der Dichter Scheffel, der Mineraloge Kobell und der Industrielle Zugmayer und Scheffels 'Petrefaktisch Lied'", in: Josef Victor von Scheffel zum 100. Todestag am 9. April 1986. Karlsruhe 1986, pp. 25–43
- Heinz Linnerz: Das Trinklied in der deutschen Dichtung von Johann Hermann Schein bis Viktor von Scheffel (dissertation in philology). Cologne University 1952
External links
edit
- Lyrics including a Latin version, ingeb.org
- "Lyrics and melody", Catholic Studentenverband KStV Markomannia Münster
- Audio on YouTube, Günter Wewel (bass)