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Heinrich Nicol Philipp was a music teacher in Seibis, Thuringia, and a member of a musically talented family. He collected 175 dance pieces written in unison in a manuscript, including the melody that Franz Wiedemann later used for his children's song. Most of the dance pieces had no title, including this melody. It is impossible to determine whether he composed it himself or merely wrote it down. The booklet was passed down from generation to generation and is now in the archives of the Marteau House in Lichtenberg, Upper Franconia. The farmer's wife Johanne Dietzel, the great-great-granddaughter of Heinrich Nicol Philipp, gave it to the violinist Henri Marteau, and that is how it came to be in the archives. A partial reprint of the booklet is included in the appendix of the second edition of the book “Die Notenhandschrift des Heinrich Nicol Philipp” (The Musical Manuscript of Heinrich Nicol Philipp) by Erwin Zachmeier.

Franz Wiedemann wrote the lyrics to the old melody. In addition to his lyrics, other versions of the lyrics were written in the years that followed, including parodies.