Argon Forest Song
The Argonnerwaldlied is a German soldier song from the First World War . It was composed in 1914/15 by Hermann Albert von Gordon (1878–1939).
From the point of view of a pioneer, the song makes clear the changing feelings between love of the country, heroism, sadness and melancholy. The background to this is that with the trench warfare , the importance of the pioneer troops in the construction of shelters , trenches, tunnels , bunkers , saps and positions increased significantly. For this reason, it is often referred to as the pioneer song.
text
1. Argonne Forest , at midnight,
a pioneer was on the watch.
|: A star high in the sky,
Bring him a greeting from a distant homeland. : |
2. And with the spade in hand
He was standing in the front of the sap .
|: He thinks of his love with longing:
Will he see her again? : |
3. And the artillery roars with a thunderous roar.
We stand in front of the infantry.
|: Grenades hit us,
The Franzmann wants to get into our position. : |
4. He did not ask why or how, did
his duty like all of them.
|: In no song was it heard
whether he stayed or returned. : |
5. No matter how much the enemy threatens us,
we Germans no longer fear him.
|: And even if he may be so strong
, he won't get into our position. : |
6. The storm breaks out, the mine cracks,
The pioneer drives straight forward.
|: He goes right up to the enemy
and then ignites the hand grenade. : |
7. The infantry stands on guard,
until the hand grenade cracks,
|: Then go with a storm to the enemy,
with hurray they then take the position. : |
8. The Frenchman calls: Pardon monsieur!
Raises both hands up,
|: He then begs us for mercy,
which we as Germans then grant him. : |
9. A lot of blood flowed in this storm
, 'It cost many a young life'.
|: But we Germans stand up,
For the beloved, dear fatherland. : |
10. Argonne Forest, Argonne Forest,
You will soon be a quiet cemetery!
|:
Many a brave soldier's blood rests in your cool earth . : |
11. And once I come to the door of heaven,
An angel of God stands for it:
|: Argon warriors, step in,
Here shall be eternal peace for you. : |
12. You pioneer at midnight,
today all of Germany is on watch.
|: Firmly in loyalty, pure in will,
As a new strong watch on the Rhine! : |
The following is also sung as the 9th refrain:
9. And if the enemy threatens us so much,
we Germans no longer fear him,
|: and whether he may be so strong
, he will not get into our position. : |
Re-seals
After the suppression of the Spartacus uprising in January 1919, the locksmith Richard Schulz wrote the Büxenstein song to the melody of the Argonnerwaldlied , which describes the siege of the occupied book printing company W. Büxenstein by the troops of the SPD Reichswehr Minister Gustav Noske from the point of view of the insurgent workers . This song, later popular in the labor movement of the Weimar Republic, begins with the verse
In January at midnight
a communist stood on guard.
He stood with pride, he stood rightly,
stood fighting against a race of tyrants.
The Argonnerwaldlied was later used in the Rhine-Ruhr area with changed texts both by National Socialists
We march through the Ruhr area, we fight
for Adolf Hitler .
The Red Front , they brecht two,
because that Germany is once again free at last!
as well as
We march through German land, We
fight for Adolf Hitler,
the Red Front, beat them to a pulp,
SA marches, attention! Clear the road.
from the KPD
We march on the Rhine and Ruhr, we fight
for Soviet Germany ,
The reaction , break it in two,
Red Front marches, attention - clear the road
as well as by resistance groups such as the Edelweiss Pirates
We march on the Rhine and Ruhr, we
fight for our freedom,
the patrol service, cut it in two,
Edelweiss marches, attention - the road is clear
used.
The melody was also used as a football fan song:
But one thing, but one thing, must not happen,
black and white food must not go under (also at: Borussia Dortmund / Alemannia Aachen and others)
Where the melody is still sung today, however, its origin is usually no longer known.