LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,942)
  • Text Authors (20,979)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,133)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

×

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

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

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schwarz‑rot‑gold
 (Sung text for setting by C. Fischer)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
In Kümmernis und Dunkelheit,
Da mußten wir sie bergen!
Nun haben wir sie doch befreit,
Befreit aus ihren Särgen!
Ei, wie das blitzt und rauscht und rollt!
Hurrah, du Schwarz, du Roth, du Gold!
      Pulver ist schwarz,
      Blut ist roth,
      Golden flackert die Flamme!

Das ist das alte Reichspanier,
Das sind die alten Farben!
Darunter hau'n und holen wir
Uns bald wohl junge Narben!
Denn erst der Anfang ist gemacht,
Noch steht bevor die letzte Schlacht!
      Pulver ist schwarz,
      Blut ist roth,
      Golden flackert die Flamme!

Und die das Banner ihr gestickt,
Ihr Jungfern unverdrossen,
Derweil am Feuer wir gebückt
Uns Flintenkugeln gossen:
Nicht, wo man singt nur oder tanzt,
Geschwungen sei's und aufgepflanzt! --
      Pulver ist schwarz,
      Blut ist roth,
      Golden flackert die Flamme!

 ... 

Zum Kampfe denn, zum Kampfe jetzt!
Der Kampf nur gibt dir Weihe!
Und kehrst du rauchig und zerfetzt,
So stickt man dich auf's Neue!
Nicht wahr, ihr deutschen Jungfräulein?
Hurrah, das wird ein Sticken sein!
      Pulver ist schwarz,
      Blut ist roth,
      Golden flackert die Flamme!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,11 of the original text.

Composition:

    Set to music by Carl Ludwig Fischer (1816 - 1877), "Schwarz-rot-gold", op. 5a, stanzas 1-3,11

Text Authorship:

  • by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876), "Schwarz-Rot-Gold"

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Black-Red-Gold", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Noir-rouge-doré", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Dr. Gerrit den Hartogh , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2004-07-03
Line count: 108
Word count: 499

Black‑Red‑Gold
 (Sung text translation for setting by C. Fischer)
 See original
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
In times of trouble and darkness,
We had to hide the flag away!
But now we have freed it,
Freed it from its coffin!
Ha, how it flashes, flaps and rolls!
Hurrah, you black, you red, you gold!
      Gunpowder is black,
      Blood is red,
      Golden flickers the flame!

That is the old banner of the realm,
Those are the old colours!
Under those we hit and surely
Soon acquire fresh scars!
For only a beginning has been made,
The last battle is still before us!
      Gunpowder is black,
      Blood is red,
      Golden flickers the flame!

Yes, you who stitched the banner,
You undaunted maidens,
While we were crouched over the fire
Casting bullets for our muskets:
Not only there where one dances and sings
May the flag be waved and planted! --
      Gunpowder is black,
      Blood is red,
      Golden flickers the flame!

 ... 

To battle then, to battle now!
The battle itself gives me the benediction!
And if you flag return smoky and tattered
You shall be stitched anew!
That's right, isn't it, you German maidens?
Hurray, that will be a stitching!
      Gunpowder is black,
      Blood is red,
      Golden flickers the flame!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,11 of the original text.

Translator's note: For information on the meaning of the various political events depicted in this poem (particularly those in the sixth stanza), see http://www.liederlexikon.de/lieder/in_kuemmernis_und_dunkelheit/editiona.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 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 Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876), "Schwarz-Rot-Gold"
    • Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website: 2013-07-26
Line count: 108
Word count: 564

Gentle Reminder

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

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2026 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris