# Does anyone know the Mozart piece with lyrics about coffee and the name of French con



## cristoo (Jun 24, 2014)

Hi! 

A long time ago I was told there was a Mozart song with lyrics that translated as something along the lines of "I like a strong cup of coffee in the morning." 

Does anyone know which piece of music this might be?

Also, I'm trying to find the name of the French composer who supposedly learned music in prison on a violin with only one string.

If anyone could please answer these nagging questions that would be awesome!


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Ah! The Mozart Kafeelied, a "Kanon zu drei Stimmen" ("Canon for three Voices):

C-A-F-F-E-E, trink nicht so viel Kaffee!
Nicht für Kinder ist der Türkentrank,
Schwächt die Nerven, macht dich blaß und krank,
Sei doch kein Muselmann, der ihn nicht lassen kann.

Translation:

C-o-f-f-e-e, coffee is not for me,
It's a drink some people wake up with,
That it makes them nervous is no myth,
Slaves to a coffee cup, they can't give coffee up.

Well ... I think that was once attributed to W.A. Mozart, but has since been found to be the work of a lesser known German composer named Karl Gottlieb Hering (1766-1853).









See: http://mysongfile.com/songs/coffee_canon


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Apparently Bach composed a cantata about coffee addiction though: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweigt_stille,_plaudert_nicht,_BWV_211


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

As far as a French convict goes ... there's Jean-Baptiste Forqueray who was imprisoned due to the efforts of his jealous father. The story is interesting, but it may not coincide with what you're looking for.


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## cristoo (Jun 24, 2014)

Thanks a lot for all the replies! All the best to you all! I think I confused the violinist. He was Italian, Niccolo Paganini. I'm quoting a website I now can't re-find, I hope that's cool, I don't mean any plagiarism or anything, I will remove the quote if it's a problem: "It was said that Paganini had been imprisoned for a love affair with only his violin for company. During the alleged prison term all three upper strings had broken, and so Paganini had continued to play on only his G-string. Paganini claimed that the stories were false, but they took root among the audiences, and the reputation stuck."


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