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Auf der Strasse und in allen Fabriken Hinter den neidischen trostlosen Mauern Schnurren dumm und tückisch die vielen Maschinen, Singen das Fabrikantenlied vom Geldverdienen. Es wird nicht lange dauern, Dann werden die Autos noch böser aus ihren Grellaugen blickten, Noch lauter und wüster aus ihren Hupen brüllen, Die Luft noch dichter mit Staub und Dampf Und unsre Herzen noch dichter mit Haß erfüllen, Und dann geht es los, dann endlich beginnt der Kampf! Wütend greifen uns an die Maschinen, Drücken uns brüllend an die zementenen Wände, Rennen uns um, überfahren uns Köpfe und Hände, Sind stark wie der Teufel, doch wehe ihnen! Sie bestehen ganz und gar aus Verstand, Das macht dumm und flach, es fehlt diesem Vieh Ganz an Torheit und Liebe, an Traum, Musik, Phantasie! Gleich ihren Schöpfern und Herren kommen sie Viel zu happig und schnell und witzlos dahergerannt, Und das wird ihr Verderben. Bald haben wir Menschen die Oberhand, Und die ganze verfluchte Mechanik muß sterben. Maschinen, Rechenschieber und Fabrikanten, Wir schlagen sie alle in Fetzen und Scherben, In ihren eigenen Rädern krepieren die klugen Erfinder, Werden zertrampelt vom sterbenden Elefanten. Singend bleiben übrig wir Menschenkinder, Pflanzen Bäume über den öden Ruinen, Tanzen noch lang auf dem Grab der dummen Maschinen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 285-286.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Maschinenschlacht", written 1926 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Hans Fleischer (1896 - 1981), "Die Maschinenschlacht", op. 157 (6 Lieder für mittlere Stimme und Klavier) no. 6 (1961) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Maschinenschlacht", op. 67a (1953), published 1954 [ men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-21
Line count: 29
Word count: 205
Upon the streets and in all the factories Behind the envious bleak walls The many machines purr inanely and insidiously; They sing the factory-song about making money. It shall not be long, Then the automobiles shall gaze even more malevolently from their glaring eyes, Shall holler even more loudly and wildly from their horns, Shall fill the air even more thickly with dust and steam And fill our hearts even more thickly with hate, And then it shall get going, then finally the battle shall begin! Furiously the machines shall attack us, Yelling they shall press us against the concrete walls, Run us over, run over our heads and hands; They are as strong as the devil, but woe to them! They consist utterly of reason. That makes them stupid and shallow; these brutes are completely lacking In foolishness and love, in dreams, music, imagination! Just like their creators and lords they come A-running much too heftily and quickly and witlessly, And that shall be their downfall. Soon we humans shall have the upper hand And the whole cursed mechanical realm must perish. Machines, slide rules and manufacturers, We shall pound them all to rags and smithereens, In their own cogs the clever inventors shall croak, Shall be trampled by the dying elephant. Singing, we human beings shall remain, Shall plant trees over the desolate ruins, Shall dance for a long while yet upon the grave of the stupid machines.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translated titles:"Die Maschinenschlacht" = "The battle of the machines"
"Maschinenschlacht" = "Battle of the machines"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Die Maschinenschlacht", written 1926
This text was added to the website: 2016-08-15
Line count: 29
Word count: 240