It describes the adventures of the narrator with his dog Bauschan (Bashan) in the nature surrounding the author's home [de] in Munich.

[4] In his diary entry for 27 October 1918, Thomas Mann explained his reasons for writing the narrative in relation to the war: Es [Gesang vom Kinde] ist, wie auch Herr und Hund, dem es sich anschließt, eine seelische, idyllisch-menschlische Reaktion auf die Zeit, ein Ausdruck einer durch Leiden und Erschütterungen erzeugten weichen Stimmung, des Bedürfnisses nach Liebe, Zärtlichkeit, Güte, auch nach Ruhe und Sinnigkeit [...].

It [Song of the Newborn], like A Man and His Dog, which it joins, is a spiritual, idyllic-human reaction to its time, an expression of a soft mood generated by suffering and upheavals, of the need for love, tenderness, kindness, also for peace and sensuality.

In Germany, the narrative was first published individually by the Knorr & Hirth-Verlag [de] in Munich in the fall of 1919 as a special edition of 120 numbered and signed copies.

It contained an introduction by Thomas Mann where he explained – with a hint of irony – that he only intended to write about the real life of his dog Bauschan and did not want to deal with societal or "higher" issues.

[1] He explained: Im Folgenden ist ausschließlich von meinem Hunde Bauschan die Rede, wovon reellerweise im voraus jedermann ausdrücklich verständigt sei, damit niemand später getäuschte Erwartungen einklagen könne, sondern jeder, den die Beschäftigung mit einem so nebensächlichen Gegenstand unter seiner geistigen Würde dünkt, diese Blätter […] sogleich beiseite werfe […].

In the following, only my dog Bauschan is being discussed, of which, as a matter of fact, everyone is expressly informed in advance, so that no one can later sue for deceived expectations, but everyone who considers the occupation with such a trivial subject beneath his intellectual dignity should immediately throw these sheets [...] aside [...].

For neither are higher problems of morality raised in them, nor are important characters dissected, let alone is the social question brought closer to its solution.

[9] The narrative was again translated by Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter under the new title A Man and His Dog and published in 1936 by Knopf in New York as a part of Stories of Three Decades.

[9] In A Man and His Dog Thomas Mann describes his experiences with his chicken-dog (Hühnerhund [de]) mongrel Bauschan (or, in English translations, Bashan) on the banks of the Brunnbach in Munich.

Many – including Konrad Lorenz – remarked upon the excellent analysis of a dog's soul and praised the description of the animal's character.

[6] In an academic paper, his son Michael interpreted the narrative allegorically: One could turn left and engage with civilisation or go right into idyllic timelessness.

[18] The name of the fictional and real Bauschan is taken from Fritz Reuter's novel From My Farming Days (Low German: Ut mine Stromtid)[1] and is probably a corruption of Bastian.