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Die Fahnen wehn! Auf ins Gewehr,
Den Säbel in die Faust!
Das deutsche Volk -- ein großes Heer,
Das von den Alpen bis zum Meer
Ein zürnend Wetter braust.
Es klopft an uns're Pforten an
Des Fremdlings Uebermuth!
Da opfert jeder deutsche Mann
Mit Freuden Gut und Blut.
Die Fahnen wehn im Morgenwind:
Gott schenk' uns Schlachtenglück!
Wir müssen siegen und geschwind,
Dann kehren wir zu Weib und Kind,
Zu Haus und Hof zurück.
Die gold'ne Saat, sie wallt und blinkt
In sommerlicher Pracht.
Auf, Schnitter, eure Ernte winkt
Auf blut'gem Feld der Schlacht.
...
Die Wogen rollt der Vater Rhein
Die Rebenhöh'n entlang!
Und der hier wächst, der deutsche Wein,
Wird nie in eurer Kelter sein,
Er trägt nicht fremden Zwang.
Die Fahnen hoch und sturmesschnell
In Feindesland hinein!
Wir trinken aus dem frischen Quell
Dort den Champagnerwein.
Und naht der Tod -- wir zagen nicht!
Leb' wohl, du schöne Welt!
Nacht decke unser Angesicht,
Doch ringsum wird von freud'gem Licht
Das deutsche Land erhellt.
Und Süd und Nord verknüpft zum Bund
Der Main, ein Silberband!
Wir legen einen festen Grund
Dem ein'gen Vaterland.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,5-6 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Franz von Holstein (1826 - 1878), "Kriegslied", op. 35 no. 6, published 1875, stanzas 1-2,5-6 [ men's chorus ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel
Text Authorship:
- by Rudolph von Gottschall (1823 - 1909), "Kriegslied", subtitle: "(Juli 1870)", first published 1870
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2017-05-13
Line count: 54
Word count: 277
The flags flutter! Arise, into the fray,
Take the sabre in your fist!
The German people, a great army
That, from the Alps to the sea,
Roars like a furious storm.
At our gates there knocks
The audacity of a stranger!
Thereupon every German man joyfully
Offers up his possessions and his blood.
The flags flutter in the morning wind:
May God give us good fortune in the battle!
We must be victorious, and quickly,
Then we shall return to wife and child,
To house and farm.
The golden grain, it surges and shines
In summerly splendour.
Arise, reapers, your harvest beckons
Upon the bloody field of battle.
...
Father Rhine rolls his waves
Along the hills of vineyards!
And the German grapes that grow here,
Shall never be in your winepress,
They do not tolerate foreign coercion.
Raise high the flags and as quickly as a storm
Enter into the enemy’s land!
From the fresh well-spring there
We shall drink champagne.
And if death nears -- we do not hesitate!
Farewell, you beautiful world!
May night cover our faces,
But all around with a joyful light
The German land shall be illuminated.
And united to a coalition are south and north
By the silvery ribbon of the Main River!
We lay a firm foundation
For the united Fatherland.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,5-6 of the original text.
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), "Kriegslied", subtitle: "(Juli 1870)", first published 1870
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This text was added to the website: 2017-05-13
Line count: 54
Word count: 326