I am a soldier, I do not quake!

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by (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Der Soldat

(Sung text for setting by K. Rungenhagen)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht!
Gar schön und groß ist meine Pflicht.
Und meine Pflicht und mein Gebot:
Ich will sie halten bis zum Tod. 

Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht!
Es zittert nur der feige Wicht
Er wird verachtet früh und spat
Vom Bürger und vom Kamerad. 

Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht!
Die Narbe schmückt mein Angesicht
Dem Feinde biete ich es dar 
In Kampf und Schlacht, in Todsgefahr.

Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht!
Die Kugel nur das Leben bricht, 
Denn auch der Tod vom Feuerrohr
Trägt meinen Geist zu Gott empor.

Ich bin Soldat, ich zittre nicht!
Durch Pulverdampf zum Siegeslicht! 
Vom Siegeslicht zum Freiheitsstrahl! 
In Freiheit nur zum Todtenmahl!

Notes for Rungenhagen's setting:
Stanza 1: lines 3 and 4 become in the repetition: "Und seine Pflicht und sein Gebot/ Er wird sie halten bis zum Tod"
Stanza 3, lines 3 and 4 become in the repetition: "Dem Feinde bietet er es dar/ In Kampf und Schlacht, in Todsgefahr."
Stanza 4, line 4: "meinen" becomes "unsern" in the repetition.

Composition:

Karl Friedrich Rungenhagen

Text Authorship:

by (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), "Soldat"

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 125

The soldier

(Sung text translation for setting by K. Rungenhagen)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

I am a soldier, I do not quake!
My duty is quite beautiful and great.
And his duty and his command, he shall fulfill them unto death.

I am a soldier, Only the cowardly wretch quakes
He is scorned early and late
By the citizens and by his comrades.

I am a soldier, I do not quake!
The scar adorns my face
I offer it to the enemy 
In combat and battle, in mortal peril.

I am a soldier, I do not quake!
The bullet only takes my life,
For death even by the fiery weapon
Carries our spirits up to God.

I am a soldier, I do not quake!
Through the fog of gunpowder to the light of victory!
From the light of victory to the beam of freedom!
In freedom only to the funeral banquet!

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.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Friedrich) Ludwig Würkert (1800 - 1876), "Soldat"
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This text was added to the website: 2025-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 155