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Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht! Gar schön und groß ist meine Pflicht. Und [meine Pflicht und mein Gebot: Ich will]1 sie halten bis zum Tod. Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht! Es zittert nur [ein feiger]2 Wicht [Und]3 wird verachtet früh und spat Vom Bürger und vom Kamerad. Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht,! Die Narbe schmückt mein Angesicht [Und dieses biet ich stark und wahr Dem Feinde in der Schlachtgefahr.]4 Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht! Die Kugel nur das Leben bricht, Denn auch der Tod vom Feuerrohr Trägt [meinen]5 Geist zu Gott empor. Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht! Durch Pulverdampf zum Siegeslicht! Vom Siegeslicht zum Freiheitsstrahl! In Freiheit nur zum Todtenmahl!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Penelope. Taschenbuch für das Jahr 1834 , Herausgegeben von Theodor Hell, 23. Jahrgang, Leipzig: [J.C. Hinrichsche Buchhandlung], 1834, pages 385-386.
1 Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "seine Pflicht und sein Gebot / Er wird"2 Rungenhagen: "der feige"
3 Rungenhagen: "Er"
4 Rungenhagen: "Dem Feinde biete ich es dar / In Kampf und Schlacht, in Todsgefahr."; Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "Dem Feinde bietet er es dar / In Kampf und Schlacht, in Todsgefahr."
5 Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "unsern"
Text Authorship:
- by (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), "Soldat" [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- by Ignaz Assmayer (1790 - 1862), "Soldat", 1854 [ voice and piano ], unpublished, confirmed with the manuscript in Huldigung der Tonsetzer Wiens an Ihre Majestät die allerdurchlauchtigste Frau Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Kaiserin von Österreich, Königin von Ungarn und Böhmen etc. Überreicht von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde des österreichischen Kaiserstaates 1854 held in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Friedrich Rungenhagen (1778 - 1851), "Der Soldat" [ men's chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eduard Tauwitz (1812 - 1894), "Der Soldat", op. 22 (Zwölf Soldatenlieder für vier- oder fünfstimmigen Männerchor) no. 9, published 1847 [ men's chorus ], Breslau: F.E.C. Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 120
I am a soldier, [I]1 do not quake! My duty is quite beautiful and great. And [my duty and my command: I]2 shall fulfill them unto death. I am a soldier, [I]1 do not quake! Only a cowardly wretch quakes]3 [And]4 is scorned early and late By the citizens and by his comrades. I am a soldier, [I]1 do not quake! The scar adorns my face [And this I offer strongly and truly To the enemy in the dangers of battle.]5 I am a soldier, [I]1 do not quake! The bullet only takes my life, [For]6 death even by the fiery weapon Carries [my spirit]7 up to God. I am a soldier, [I]1 do not quake! Through the fog of gunpowder to the light of victory! From the light of victory to the beam of freedom! [In]8 freedom only to the funeral banquet!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of titles:
"Der Soldat" = "The soldier"
"Soldat" = "Soldier"
2 Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "his duty and his command, he"
3 Assmayr: "He who trembles is a poor wretch"; Rungenhagen: "Only the cowardly wretch quakes"
4 Assmayr, Rungenhagen: "He"
5 Rungenhagen: "I offer it to the enemy / In combat and battle, in mortal peril."; Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "He offers it to the enemy / In combat and battle, in mortal peril."
6 Assmayr: "Yet"
7 Rungenhagen (when text is repeated in a refrain): "our spirits"
8 Assmayr: "From"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 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 (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), "Soldat"
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 155