Die Frau ohne Schatten, Op. 65, Act I, Scene 2: "Dritthalb Jahr bin ich dein Weib" (Barak's Wife, Barak)

歌詞

She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee Her dress has got a tear She waltzes on her way to mass And whistles on the stair And underneath her wimple, she has curlers in her hair! I've even heard her singing in the Abbey! She's always late for chapel But her penitence is real She's always late for everything Except for every meal! I hate to have to say it, but I very firmly feel, Maria's not an asset to the abbey! I'd like to say a word in her behalf (Then say it Sister Margaretta) Maria makes me laugh! How do you solve a problem like Maria How do you catch a cloud and pin it down How do you find a word that means Maria? A flibberty-gibbet A will o' the wisp A clown! Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her Many a thing she'd ought to understand! But how do you make her stay And listen to all you say? How do you keep a wave upon the sand? Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? When I'm with her, I'm confused Out of focus and bemused And I never know exactly where I am! Unpredictable as weather She's as flighty as a feather She's a darling She's a demon She's a lamb She'd out-pester any pest Drive a hornet from his nest She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl She is gentle, she is wild She's a riddle, she's a child She's a headache, she's an angel She's a girl! How do you solve a problem like Maria How do you catch a cloud and pin it down How do you find a word that means Maria? A flibberty-gibbet A will o' the wisp A clown! Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her Many a thing she'd ought to understand! But how do you make her stay And listen to all you say? How do you keep a wave upon the sand? Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?