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Als ein Dunkel wieder lag auf Erden Und es schien wie unabänderlich, Daß es müsse immer dunkler werden, Sprach ein Mann: "Die Welt verändert sich! Seid getrost, es muß das Dunkel weichen Und ein Licht scheint wieder dir und mir, Wenn einander wir die Hände reichen, Denn die Welt, die Welt verändern WIR!" War es nicht ein Wunschbild [und ein]1 oder Träumen Und ein schöner Glaube unglaubhaft -- Um den Schutt der Zeit hinweg zu räumen, Dazu braucht es eines Riesen Kraft. "Wer ist dieser Riese?" -- war ein Fragen. Sprach der Mann: "Wir alle, du und ich, Wenn wir träumen und zu sagen wagen Diesen Satz: Die Welt verändert sich!" In dem Dunkel war ein Weg zu sehen, Schien er vielen auch noch ungangbar. Durch das Dunkel war ein Weg zu gehen, Dem ein Traum vorausgegangen war. Wo die Toten unter Trümmern liegen, Noch in Ängsten vor der Dunkelheit, Stehen sie, dem Trümmerberg entstiegen: Andre Menschen einer andern Zeit. Auferstanden aus dem Trümmerschweigen, Gab das Volk dem Leben einen Sinn. Als die Werke wurden Volkes eigen, War dies einer neuen Zeit Beginn. Darum singt ein Lied vom Anderswerden, Macht Euch frei und werdet brüderlich! Seht, es wird schon wieder licht auf Erden, Und die Welt, die Welt verändert sich.
H. Eisler sets stanzas 1-4, 8
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View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Johannes R. Becher, Gesammelte Werke, herausgegeben vom Johannes-R.-Becher-Archiv der Akademie der Künste der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Band 6 Gedichte 1949-1958, Berlin und Weimar: Aufbau-Verlag, 1972, pages 50-51.
1 Eisler: "oder"Text Authorship:
- by Johannes Robert Becher (1891 - 1958), no title, appears in Dichtung, in Volkes Eigen, no. 2 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Die Welt verändern wir", 1952, published 1956, stanzas 1-4,8 [ voice, unison chorus, and piano ], from Neue deutsche Volkslieder, no. 3, Leipzig: VEB Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2020-09-04
Line count: 32
Word count: 209
When a darkness lay once more upon the earth And it seemed inevitable That it must get ever darker, A man spoke: "The world shall change! Take heart, the darkness must abate And a light shall once more shine for you and me, If we stretch our hands out to each other, For the world, the world, is changed by US!" Was it not wishful thinking [and]1 dreaming And a lovely, unbelievable belief? To clean up the rubble of time Takes the strength of a giant. It was asked, "Who is this giant?" The man spoke: "All of us, you and me, When we dare to dream and to speak This sentence: The world shall change!" There was a path to be seen in the darkness, Though to many it seemed to be still impassable. There was a way to be walked through the darkness, Which had been preceded by a dream. Where the dead lie under the rubble, Still in fear of the darkness, They stand, risen from the mountain of rubble: Other people of another time. Risen from the silence of the rubble, The people gave a meaning to life. When works came under the ownership of the people, This was the dawning of a new age. Therefore, sing a song of change, Free yourselves and become fraternal! Lo, it is once more growing bright upon earth, And the world, the world shall change.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translation of title "Die Welt verändern wir" = "We change the world"
1 Eisler: "or"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 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 Johannes Robert Becher (1891 - 1958), no title, appears in Dichtung, in Volkes Eigen, no. 2
This text was added to the website: 2020-09-04
Line count: 32
Word count: 237