Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)

by

Joe Dowell

Album: Wooden Heart     Released: 1961

US Chart: 1     

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This is an English version of the German song "Muss I Denn." Producer Shelby Singleton got Joe Dowell to sing a half-English, half-German version, which shot to #1 upon release.

Elvis Presley sang this in the movie G.I. Blues. His version was a huge hit in the UK, but RCA Records had no intention of releasing it in the US. When this hit #1 for Elvis in the UK, he became the first artist there with 7 #1 hits. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for above 2)

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Comments:

I am not fluent in German; but I beleive the lines Sei mir gut... translate to "Be good to me...", not "Is good to me...". I presume the "i'" is a shortening of "ich" which means "I". I did speak German as a young child; but have never heard the dialect that shortens "ich" or the diminutive ending "ele"; but that is probably my ignorance. That all makes the words make sense to me. I had never seen them written before and could by listening I could not make sense of them before.
- Al , Dallas, TX

From which site that I can download this nice Song?
- Dinesh , Colombo, Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

That is a really terrible translation. Can he speak either of the two languages at all? The first line means roughly: 'Must I then (must I then) leave this (little) town' (Staedtele = diminutive of Stadt, in dialect) The next line is right, but 'while you my treasure' would be more poetic.
- jerry , edinburgh, United Kingdom

hi,every1 at last the translation of german words are here:Muss i' denn, muss i' denn zum Staedtele hinaus, Staedtele hinaus Und du mein Schatz, bleibst hier? Muss i' denn, muss i' denn zum Staedtele hinaus, Staedtele hinaus Und du mein Schatz, bleibst hier? now translation: Must go of i' then, must go of i' then from the Staedtele, Staedtele out And you my treasure, stay here? Must go of i' then, must go of i' then from the Staedtele, Staedtele out And you my treasure, stay here? Sei mir gut Sei mir gut Sei mir wie du sollst wie du wirklich sollst translation: Is good to me Is good to me Is to me like you should go how you really should go
- mohammad , bandarabbass, Israel

i had actually wanted to know the meaning of the german lyrics in the wooden heart song
- ruby , bangalore, India

Actually, the German song dates back long before either Elvis' or Joe Dowell's recordings. The English words have nothing to do with the original German lyrics, which are about leaving home and lover behind. The title and sound were intended to suggest that the song was Dutch (making a false connection to the traditional Dutch wooden shoes), due to a certain amount of residual anti-German social sentiment, a decade and a half after Hitler. The only German line is the first line of the song, repeated, because the original second line sounded "too German" to American ears.
- Keith , SLC, UT

Upon hearing the Joe Dowell version, many people thought that it was Elvis Presley.
- Charles , Alexandria, VA

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