German patriotic songs, dumb question

Re: German patriotic songs, dumb question

gungasnake wrote:

Deutschland is a sort of a war song; is there anything in German which would be more like "America the beautiful" or "God save the Queen" or something like that?

I'm not sure to what you refer with 'Deutschland' - that's the common name of our country in German and not a song.

The equivalent to 'God save the Queen' is our national anthem has as music Haydn's String Quartet No. 62 in C major, Op. 76, the lyrics are the third verse from Hoffmann von Fallersleben's "Song of the Germans ("Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland ...").
I would call this "a kind of war song", not by< the history of music/lyrics at least.

I do agree, however, that nearly all national anthems sound like war songs.

"America the Beautiful" is a patriotic song. Such is difficult to find here. And even more difficult to use in general .... and especially in public - but I'm sure, there are some of such songs in the neo-Nazi scene.

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How long has it been the national anthem Walter?

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The music - and all the verses by Fallersleben - since 1922.
(From 1933 till 1945 only the first verse.)
We didn't have a national anthem between 1945 and 1952. Thene we got it back, but the third verse only.

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Really officially a national anthem for Germany it only became in 1991: before it was used kind of "provisional anthem", like we only had a "temporary capital" [Bonn].

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For the thing I have in mind, which is basically a computer game, I'm probably going to end up using the sung part of Beethoven's 9'th symphony (Freude).

What I was hoping to come up with was something similar to that which came a bit closer to being some sort of an official or quasi-official patriotic song.

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Germans don't really sing patriotic songs the way Americans do. There's a lot of local-patriotic songs (Oh Du schöner Westerwald for example). But not national patriotic songs.

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That's something like "In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus", what Thomas mentioned above.

(The most patriotic song I can sing of is a carnival/Mardi Gras song ..... "Und dann geht's humba humba tätärä ...)
:wink:

gungasnake wrote:

I'm probably going to end up using the sung part of Beethoven's 9'th symphony (Freude).

The 'Ode to joy' was the official anthem for the combined Olympic team of of the Federal Republic and the GDR at the Olympics.
It's now the anthem of the European Union.

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I submit that, unless you have some folks that can really sing," The Ode to Joy" will sound like people are just hollering. Ive akways liked Canada's, not a lot of bombs going off and fierce battles within which one pledges his devotion in song Ray Charles' version always was the best commercial for changing the US's Nat Anthem to AMerica the Beautiful..

Quote:

Das Deutschlandlied
Das Lied der Deutschen Song of the Germans
German Lyrics Literal English

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Germany, Germany above all,
Über alles in der Welt, Above everything in the world,
Wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze When always, for protection,
Brüderlich zusammenhält, We stand together as brothers.
Von der Maas bis an die Memel, From the Maas to the Memel
Von der Etsch bis an den Belt - From the Etsch to the Belt -
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Germany, Germany above all
Über alles in der Welt. Above all in the world.

Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, German women, German loyalty,
Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang German wine and German song,
Sollen in der Welt behalten Shall retain in the world,
Ihren alten schönen Klang, Their old lovely ring
Uns zu edler Tat begeistern To inspire us to noble deeds
Unser ganzes Leben lang. Our whole life long.
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, German women, German loyalty,
Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang German wine and German song.

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Unity and law and freedom
für das deutsche Vaterland! For the German Fatherland
Danach lasst uns alle streben Let us all strive for that
Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand! In brotherhood with heart and hand!
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Unity and law and freedom
Sind des Glückes Unterpfand; Are the foundation for happiness
Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes, Bloom in the glow of happiness
Blühe, deutsches Vaterland. Bloom, German Fatherland.

Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,* Germany, Germany above all*
Und im Unglück nun erst recht. And in misfortune all the more.
Nur im Unglück kann die Liebe Only in misfortune can love
Zeigen, ob sie stark und echt. Show if it's strong and true.
Und so soll es weiterklingen And so it should ring out
Von Geschlechte zu Geschlecht: From generation to generation:
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Germany, Germany above all,
Und im Unglück nun erst recht. And in misfortune all the more.

*The fourth verse was written by Albert Matthäi during the French occupation of the Ruhr region in 1923. It is not part of the anthem today. Since 1952, only the third (?Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit?) verse has been the official anthem.

Melody: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Lyrics: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874)

I think that our own anthem is rather more warlike . Gunga is associating the Deutchland song with war movies. Getting rid of Hitler didnt necessitate getting rid of the preexisting anthem .

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I've always liked New Zealand's anthem. They sing it in both Maori and English.

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Here's a nice patriotic song you might use, gungasnake. It's titled Das Star-Spangled Banner. Indeed, it's the most patriotic German song I can think of.

[url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.rbc.as.113160/enlarge.html?page=1&size=1024&from=pageturner][img]http://memory.loc.gov/rbc/amss/as1/as113160/001q.gif[/img][/url]

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Interesting, it is similar in Slovakia. Our national patriotic songs come from the time of the national renaissance -mid-to late19th century and most are violently xenophobic. Indeed, if they are heard at all in public these days, it would be the young neo Nazi groups singing them while marching in black uniforms that resemble very closely the Hlinka Guard of the WWII Nazi Slovakia.
We did sing them, briefly (few months), right after the Revolution in 1989. Even our national anthem sings about making the HUngarians disappear. (Let's stop them, brothers, they will disappear, Slovaks will rise again...) Lovely.

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Is there anything nasty about the Czechs in your anthem, too? Or the Germans?

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From wikipedia:

Quote:

Nad Tatrou sa blýska is the national anthem of Slovakia. The song arose in 1844 during a campaign of the students of the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum of Bratislava to the town of Levoča in protest against the deprival of Ludovít Stúr by Hungarian authorities.

The text was written by Janko Matúska in 1844 during the campaign, but the melody was taken from the folk song Kopala studienku (She was digging a little well). It became popular during the Slovak Volunteer campaigns of 1848/1849. However, it was published in print only in 1851. In 1920 the first verse became part of the Czechoslovak anthem, which consisted of the present-day Czech anthem Kde domov muj followed by the first part of the present-day Slovak anthem. In 1993, the first two verses became the national anthem of independent Slovakia.

Only the first two verses are in the Slovak anthem.

Literal translation:

Lightning flashes atop the Tatras,
thunderclaps wildly beat.
Let us stop them, brothers,
See them disappear,
the Slovaks revive.
This, our Slovakia
long slept soundly.
But the strokes of the thunder
are rousing it
to awaken.
Already Slovakia arises,
throwing off its bonds
Hey dear family
the hour has struck
Mother Glory* is alive
Firs yet grow
on the slopes of Kriváň
Whoever feels like a Slovak,
let him take a sabre
and join our ranks.

*Glora = Sláva, which means both Glory but also a mother of all the Slavs, which makes more sense to me. A Pan-Slavic goddess.
Given that it was written in 1840s (time of Pan-Slavic congresses, when we were discovering possible alliances with Czechs) it is not anti-Czech. Anti-German only distantly (you guys were the problem of the Czechs mostly, we were busy with Hungarians).

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The wording is cleverly generic, though. All it ever says is "they". It's hard to tell from the words alone that "they" is the Hungarians. For that, you need the historical context. Your anthem supports a nice, universal paranoia against everyone.

Well, this was very interesting! I think I've seen a completely new facet of Mr. Meciar and his popularity now.

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If you're a Slovak, you know 'they' means more often than not Hungarians in any context. Unless it's Gypsies or Czechs, but that is usually specified.

Yes, we like our paranoia. It unites us.

Czech anthem, on the other hand is totally wussy. Not a drop of blood, screw that.
(Actually, THEIR anthem manages to move me emotionally a little bit. Ours is just pathetic).

Where is my home? Where is my home?
Waters murmurs across the meads
Pinewoods rustle upon the cliff-rocks,
Bloom of spring shines in the orchard,
Paradise on Earth to see!
And that is the beautiful land,
The Czech land, my home!
The Czech land, my home!
Where is my home? Where is my home?
If, in the heavenly land, you have met
Tender souls in agile frames,
Of clear mind, vigorous and prospering,
And with a strength that frustrates all defiance,
That is the glorious race of Czechs,
Among the Czechs (is) my home!
Among the Czechs, my home!

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Yeah, fück those "waters murmuring across the meads." Totally sentimental.

When I read Fallersleben's "Lied der Deutschen", I always have to giggle at its megalomanic sense of geography:

[i]von der Maas[/i] (France, Belgium, Netherlands) [i]bis an die Memel[/i] (Lithuania), [i]von der Etsch[/i] (Italy) [i]bis an den Belt[/i] (okay, that's the only place that's actually [i]in[/i] Germany.) After reading that, I find it impossible to regain any feeling of solemn devotion that anthems depend on. Our anthem sounds best, by a long shot, in Haydn's wordless version for string quartet. (Which he composed in Hungary, no doubt to piss of you Slovakians.)

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When you recapitulate that Fallersleben wrote the text in 1841, on the British (sic!) island of Heligoland, that due to these revolutionary ideas (= anti-Prussian) he was dismissed as a Prussian librarian and professor ...

I think that many "German unity revolutionist" though quite similar, pre-1848 and in 1848/9.

German patriotic songs, dumb question

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