By the Rhine there is life, at the Rhine there is joy,
There, the heart in my bosom surges with happiness!
Here, the wine pearls so clearly in the goblet,
The people are so staid, so faithful and so true:
   Yearning enters into my heart, [yearning]
   To live, to die by the roaring Rhine.

The castles, the cathedrals please me so much,
They speak of the old, of the faithful generation!
The cities and villages along the charming banks,
They are known in the land as the most beautiful:
   Yearning enters into my heart, [yearning]
   To live, to die by the roaring Rhine.

The mountains stand in holy splendour,
As if they themselves wished to keep watch here!
And if enemies approach us with malicious spirit,
Then they shall pay with their life and blood:
   Yearning enters into my heart, [yearning]
   To live, to die by the roaring Rhine.

By the Rhine there is life, by the Rhine there is joy!
How the heart in our bosom pulses with happiness!
There, one loves freedom so truly and so faithfully,
There, one tears the chains of servitude in two:
   Yearning enters into my heart, [yearning]
   To live, to die by the roaring Rhine.