Theo Prosel:
(Musik: Ludwig Schmidseder)

I hab die
schönen Maderln
net erfunden

I hob di schönen Maderln net erfunden,
dea guade Wei is ah net mei Patent,
i bin ned schuid aun de gewissen Stunden,
wo ma foa Freid fosd aus da Haut foan kennt.

I hob die easte Geign net mochn lossn,
i heas nua fia mei Leb'n sofü gean;
und wem's net recht is, dea soi Trübsoi blohsn
und soi si bei dem Hean do ohm beschwean.

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      Ich hab' ein Problem, charmante Leserin, verehrter Leser. Die rechte Seite diskutiert die Überlebenschancen des alten Wienerliedes. Welche Wiener Bilder könnten das denn illustrieren, oder zumindestens glaubwürdig begleiten?

      Bilder vom Heurigen, sagen Sie? Habe ich keine. Ich fühle mich unbehaglich, schuldig sogar, wenn ich in die Privatsphäre anderer Leute mit meiner Kamera eindringe. Und der Heurige ist Privatsphäre, auch wenn man nebeneinander sitzt...

      Dann vielleicht etwas den Zeitenwechsel betreffend? Das uns darauf hinweist, daß in schlechten Zeiten das gute Lied aufblüht und daß es ihm in guten Zeiten schlecht ergeht? So wie es auf der rechten Seite erwähnt wird, und wie es auch auf viele andere Gefühlsausdrücke - zum Beispiel künstlerische, religiöse, und zwischenmenschliche - zutrifft?

      Sagen wir die "U" (U-Bahn, Metro). Die den Wiener schnell und bequem überall hinbringt und die meist im zwei-Minuten Intervall läuft. Wunderbar. Viel schneller als jedes Auto.

      Steigen wir doch in die U-Bahn (oder die Bim oder den Bus) ein und vergleichen die Menschen dort mit jenen, na sagen wir, vor einem halben Jahrhundert. Nachkriegszeit. Eine schlimme Zeit. Hungersnot und Besatzung in einem Wien, von dem ein Drittel in Schutt und Asche lag.

      Die Menschen waren abgemagert und sorgengebeugt - aber sie redeten miteinander, sie machten Witze, sie lächelten und lachten sogar. Damals haben Menschen oft auch Wienerlieder gesungen oder vor sich hingesummt. Heute kann man sich das kaum mehr vorstellen. Heute sind die Wiener dicker (oder auch bulämisch), ein jeder so für sich schwer gestresst - und nach einem Lächeln oder einem Witz kann man lange suchen. Dabei ist Wien wieder aufgebaut und jedem geht es materiell um vieles besser.

      Naja, in meinen Bildern sehen sie die heutigen Wiener nicht. Sie wissen schon, Privatsphäre. Aber die Bim und den Bus und die U-Bahn zeige ich Ihnen gerne:

Straßenbahn ("Bim") nahe der Urania

Bus (mit Fiaker), Innenstadt

U-Bahn (Metro)

      Es wundert Sie, daß man die Untergrundbahn auch von oben sehen kann? Ja, das ist manchmal so. Und noch ärger: Die U-Bahn fährt auf den Geleisen der alten Stadtbahn, deren Trasse weit unter, aber für lange Strecken auch weit über Straßenniveau führt.

      In Wien behauptete Sigmund Freud, daß Untergründiges oft zu Tage trete und dann den Leuten über den Kopf wüchse. Hat er dabei an die Stadtbahn (heute: U-Bahn) gedacht? Zum Beispiel am wohlbekannten, sogenannten "Gürtel"strich?

Theo Prosel:
(Music: Ludwig Schmidseder)

It wasn't me
who made
the pretty girls

It wasn't me who made the pretty girls,
the tasty wine is none of my invent,
I had no say in how that hour unfurls
in which the joys of life are richly spent.

It wasn't me, who made the first of fiddles,
it's listening to them that I truly love:
but if you don't, go solve your cosmic riddles
and lodge a protest with the Lord above...

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      Ludwig Schmidseder (a.k.a. Louis Fabro, 1904-1971) was German; Theo Prosel (1889-1955) was Viennese - and it shows.

      Here again is that seemingly worry-free pleasure*   of the moment, that dancing on the volcano. But closely underneath lurk some of the "big" questions of human existence. For what reason is the human made to enjoy, for what reason is the human made to suffer?

      Was pleasure made to lead us into temptation - or into enjoyment? Viennese had enough of troubles: they'll take enjoyment any old time. And if the others don't like it, then let them lodge a protest with "the Lord above", i.e. with the creator of joy (and pain)...

      And again surfaces the familiarity of the Viennese mit ihrem lieben Herrgott (roughly: with their good Lord and God). Which is one of those roundabout Viennese ways of saying that nobody knows who/what/whether God "is" - and, that being so, "He" might as well be Viennese. (In Sanskrit terms: The Viennese atman is braman - but only if it should take those New-Age enticement to get you to agree with me...)

      I am sure "He" would agree with me, though. After all, "His" pleasure we encounter first hand. It is we who read "His" scroll of life. But about "Sin" we read only in second-hand scriptures and are taught only by third-hand sources. So there...

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*     Later and in a more realistic mood: Why is it that this "worry-free pleasure" of the Wienerlied still emanates from some of the most dire times for the Viennese?

      And, if the good days of the Wienerlied were indeed related to the bad times the population had, what chances does the Wienerlied have now that times are much better?

      That poor economic conditions produce escapist art is no news. The phantasy world of Broadway and Hollywood owed much to problems that faced the American people at the time. (That those classics are now highly regarded the world over, while the Wienerlied is treasured only by a select few - and considered corny, old-fashioned and politically incorrect by the cultural powers that be - that is quite a different matter.) So, will the Wienerlied survive and blossom again (without a nuclear war propping it up)?

      Sorry! There is still one thing I wanted to add. Many songs have been written and sung in Vienna since the haydays of the "Wienerlied", foremost among them some carbaret songs from after the Second World War and some songs from the "Liedermachern" (songwriters). Indeed, certain professional classifiers now consider these a "continuation" of the old traditions: similar in format, bleaker (they would say, more realistic) in content.

      Whatever the truth may be, it isn't my truth. And as for your truth, why don't you consult the text of (and my comments about) a "modern" Wienerlied - one of the gentler kind that, for me, stands between the time that went and the time that comes - and which I recently attempted to translate. This celebrated poem is Trude Marzik's "Untern Packpapier" ("Under the Cloth"; "Unterm Packpapier" in the Sowinetz version). And it does indeed have some of the hallmarks of the old Wienerlied. The Viennese preoccupation with death, with black-humored curiosity, with enjoying one's good food and drink, with fearing one's impending demise...

      What would Sigmung Freud have thought about all that? Is it all under the cloth now?

      Well, as I said before, you tell me...

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Metro Station Volkstheater

Metro Station Opera (Exit)

Metro Station Opera (Toilet)

Sorry, got to go...

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And sorry, that was below the belt. To make up for it: I just found out that that song has made it on YouTube, with one of the best - though not Viennese - tenor voices of the 20th century, that of Fritz Wunderlich. Enjoy!

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Recently some colleagues, avid railroad buffs both, gave me the third degree re the Bim in Vienna. Was it really standard gauge? And which side of the road did it use? And were there recent developments or - preferable to them - were we still stuck somewhere between the World Wars?

I referred them to this page, which only prompted more questions. I stooped to google. And was rewarded. Why had I not thought of that? There's a museum for everything in Vienna. I started counting, just for the record, but when I had counted over one hundred museums I gave up. Of course, most of the museums I had never heard of. But indeed, here it was, the Vienna Tramway Museum.

I didn't investigate further, but I was sorely tempted to pick up the connection between Wienerlied and Transportation. There are several Viennese songs that deal with this theme, some quite charming. But, if you'll forgive me, I'll leave that to better informed aficionados to explore...

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      By the way, if still interested you may consider changing from verbal to visual. The message is pretty much the same - how could it be otherwise? - but only in 2011 did I get to combine most of my Vienna photos in a Flickr "collection". Have a look at them. Vienna is well worth it - and only if you "understand" Vienna can you understand Viennese song.