"Edelweiss" is a Rodgers and Hammerstein song from musical and film The Sound of Music. It is named after the Edelweiss, a white flower found high on Alpine hills. In The Sound of Music, the song is used as a double metaphor: First it is sung by lonely Captain Georg Ritter von Trapp, a widower, as he rediscovers music and a love for his children, in a rebirth similar to the flower's rebirth after the snows of winter recede. Second, it is sung as a defiant statement of Austrian patriotism by the von Trapp family in the face of pressure to join the Third Reich. Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein (right), with Irving Berlin (middle) and Helen Tamiris, watching auditions at the St. ... The Sound of Music is a Broadway musical based on the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. ... Binomial name Leontopodium alpinum Cass. ... Kommandant Georg, Ritter von Trapp[1] (April 4, 1880 – May 30, 1947) headed the famous Austrian singing family immortalized in the musical The Sound of Music. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

The great popularity of the song has led many of its audience to believe that it is an Austrian folk song or even the official national anthem.^[1] In actuality, Austria's official anthem is "Land der Berge, Land am Strome". The Edelweiss, however, is a popular flower in Austria, and was featured on the 1 Schilling coin and can now be seen on the 2 cent Euro coin. The edelweiss is also worn as a cap device by certain Austrian Army mountain units. A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogizing the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nations government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Land der Berge, Land am Strome (Land of the mountains, land on the river) is the national anthem of Austria. ... The Schilling was the currency of Austria until the Euro exchange in 2002. ... Austrian euro coins have a unique design for each denomination, with a common theme for each of the three series of coins. ... In 1955, Austria declared her Everlasting Neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. ...

The music was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and was the final song that the great duo wrote together — Hammerstein would die nine months after the premiere of the musical. For more on his work with his two partners, see Rodgers and Hart and Rodgers and Hammerstein. ... For work done with Richard Rodgers, see Rodgers and Hammerstein Oscar Hammerstein II (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was a New-York born writer, producer, and (usually uncredited) director of musicals for almost forty years. ...

Lyrics

Edelweiss, edelweiss,

every morning you greet me.

Small and white, clean and bright,

you look happy to meet me.

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow,

bloom and grow forever.

Edelweiss, edelweiss,

bless my homeland forever.

American church use

During the 1970s in America, the song became a popular tune with which to sing the benediction in some Christian churches. At a United Methodist Women's Conference, revised lyrics for the song were handed out with instructions stating that the benediction was to be sung to the tune of Edelweiss. The trend spread quickly across different denominations of Christianity, and it is still very common to hear the benedictory lyrics ("May the Lord, Mighty God") sung to an organ or piano accompaniment of the song from the Sound of Music. A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of church worship service. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ... Look up trend, trendy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A denomination, in the Christian sense of the word, is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and/or doctrine. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ...

Modified (Benediction) lyrics

"May the Lord, mighty God,

bless, preserve you and keep you.

Give you peace, perfect peace,

courage in every endeavor.

Lift up your eyes and see His face,

and His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God,

bless, preserve you and keep you!"

Legal debate

Recent debate has centered around the legality of this; the parent company holding the rights to Rodgers and Hammerstein's music has explicitly stated that they will prosecute congregations who continue to use the song without permission.[1] A holding company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... A congregation is a group of people gathered together. ...

See also

• The Sound of Music
• Rodgers and Hammerstein

The Sound of Music is a Broadway musical based on the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. ... Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein (right), with Irving Berlin (middle) and Helen Tamiris, watching auditions at the St. ...

References

External links

• The Words of The Song
• The Words of the Song in English and German
• Legal information from the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church