Meine Beine, deine Beine unterm Tisch

Stefan Weiß was never meant to be a composer. His father, a Viennese jeweller, expected Stefan to pick up the family trade. Back then, in 1920, it was quite common to obey your father, so Stefan gave it a try. But blood is thicker than water and in 1920 he gave up this lucrative business to devote himself completely to composing. You might know his music from the soundtrack of the tearjerker The Bridges of Madison County.

One of his best known pieces is Meine Beine, deine Beine unterm Tisch (Your legs meet my legs under the table). The lyrics are from Fritz Löhner-Beda. The refrain goes as follows (We’re sorry if your German is a bit rusty, but this cannot be translated, at least, not properly...):

Meine Beinen deine Beinen unterm Tisch,
haben sich gefunden und berührt.
Meine Beinen deine Beinen unterm Tisch,
während die Familie grad’ soupiert.
Tante Frieda liest entzückt Gedichte,
Vater spricht erregt von Welt Geschichte.
Und Meine Beinen deine Beinen unterm Tisch,
haben sich entzückend amüsiert!

Now arranged for Piano Trio by Marlous Smit – Van den Hoven. Parts (Piano, violin, cello) and score in PDF.

See the first page of the score here!