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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Rudolph von Gottschall (1823 - 1909)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Rührt die Trommeln ernst und dumpf
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Rührt die Trommeln ernst und dumpf,
Senkt die Fahnen feierlich!
Jedem Heil, der im Triumph
Für das Vaterland verblich.
In der fremden Erde Schos
Ruht er nimmer heimathlos,
Der die Heimath unvergessen
Sich in unsern Herzen schuf!
Eine Thräne den Cypressen,
Doch den Lorbern Jubelruf!

Und wer friedlich rasten will,
Mag daheim zu Grabe gehn,
Unter Lindenwipfeln still,
Wo der Väter Kreuze stehn,
Wo der Epheu flüsternd bebt,
Der den Hügel grün umwebt.
Priesterlich verstreut die Linde
Liedersang und Blüthenduft;
Weinend legt ihr Kranzgewinde
Treue Liebe auf die Gruft.

Doch im Grabe öd' und fern
Ruhn die Kämpfer stumm gesellt;
Und nur Mars, der blut'ge Stern,
Grüßt herab vom Himmelszelt.
Unter Disteln blüht empor
Ungepflegter Blumen Flor.
Eine Gruft für hundert Herzen,
Die beseelt der gleiche Schlag;
Doch aus dieser Saat der Schmerzen
Reift der Ernte gold'ner Tag.

Die der Sturm dahingerafft,
Die der Schlachtengott verklärt,
Deutscher Einheit stolze Kraft
Haben fallend sie bewährt--
Und ihr Heldenarm zerbrach
Eines langen Wahnes Schmach.
Kommt die Wolke stumm gezogen,
Weint sie Thränen auf das Grab;
Und des Himmels farb'ger Bogen
Senkt verklärend sich herab.

Rührt die Trommeln ernst und dumpf,
Senkt die Fahnen feierlich!
Jedem Heil, der im Triumph
Für das Vaterland verblich.
In der fremden Erde Schos
Ruht er nimmer heimatlos,
Der die Heimat unvergessen
Sich in unsern Herzen schuf!
Eine Thräne den Cypressen,
Doch den Lorbern Jubelruf!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Rudolph Gottschall, Kriegslieder, Berlin: Franz Lipperheide, 1870, pages 32-34


Text Authorship:

  • by Rudolph von Gottschall (1823 - 1909), "Requiem", subtitle: "(September 1870)" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Requiem für die gefallenen Krieger", op. 103 (Männerchöre [published first as Acht Gesänge, without #9]) no. 2 (1870) [ four-part men's chorus and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , subtitle: "(September 1870)", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-11-22
Line count: 50
Word count: 227

Sound the drums, solemn and muffled
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Sound the drums, solemn and muffled,
Lower the flags ceremoniously!
Hail to everyone who in triumph
Perished for the Fatherland.
In the lap of foreign soil
He never rests homeless
Who created for himself
An unforgettable homeland in our hearts!
A tear for the cypresses,
But rejoicing cries for the laurels!

And he who wishes to rest peacefully,
May go to his grave at home,
In the quiet place under the linden treetops
Where the crosses of his fathers stand,
Where the whispering ivy trembles,
[The ivy] that twines verdantly about the hill.
In a priestly manner, the linden tree strews
Songs and the scent of blossoms;
Weeping, true love lays her
Woven wreaths upon the grave.

But in the grave, desolate and distant,
The warriors rest, mutely congregated;
And only Mars, the blood-red star,
Send them greetings from the canopy of the heavens.
Under thistles there blooms
A plethora of untended flowers.
One grave for a hundred hearts
Whom the same pulse inspired;
But out of this sowing of pain,
The golden harvest day is ripening.

Those who were carried off by the storm,
Those whom the god of battle transfigured,
In falling they preserved 
The proud strength of German unity--
And their heroic arm destroyed
The dishonour of a long delusion.
When the cloud mutely draws near,
It sheds tears upon the grave;
And the colourful bow of the heavens
Sinks, transfiguring, down [upon it].

Sound the drums, solemn and muffled,
Lower the flags ceremoniously!
Hail to everyone who in triumph
Perished for the Fatherland.
In the lap of foreign soil
He never rests homeless
Who created for himself
An unforgettable homeland in our hearts!
A tear for the cypresses,
But rejoicing cries for the laurels!

Subtitle: "(September 1870)"

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Requiem für die gefallenen Krieger" = "Requiem for fallen warriors"
"Requiem" = "Requiem"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Rudolph von Gottschall (1823 - 1909), "Requiem", subtitle: "(September 1870)"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2017-07-28
Line count: 50
Word count: 288

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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