Die Wacht am Rhein

Categories: National anthems

For other uses of die Wacht am Rhein see Watch on the Rhine (disambiguation)

Die Wacht am Rhein (English: The Watch on the Rhine) is a German patriotic anthem which was particularly popular during the First World War.

The poem was written in 1840 by the Swabian merchant Max Schneckenburger amid German fears that France was planning to annex the left bank of the Rhine River (as it had de facto done during the Napoleonic Wars a few decades earlier). The text calls for Germans to defend the Rhine against unspecified enemies. It was later set to music in 1854 by the musical director of the city of Krefeld, Karl Wilhelm. The repeated refrain is "Lieb' Vaterland, magst ruhig sein, Fest steht und treu die Wacht am Rhein!" (Beloved land of our fathers, have no fear, Fast and true stands the watch on the Rhine).

In several fictional settings, the song plays a role. When it is sung in the movie Casablanca, it is drowned out by La Marseillaise which is sung in response; these two songs were juxtaposed in exactly the same way five years earlier, in Jean Renoir's 1937 film La Grande Illusion. It provides the title for Lillian Hellman's cautionary pre-World War II play Watch on the Rhine. Its melody is adapted by Kander and Ebb in their musical play and movie Cabaret as a fictional Nazi anthem, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", meant to be reminiscent both of Die Wacht am Rhein and the Horst Wessel Lied.

The song's title was also used as the codename for the World War II German offensive in 1944 known today as the Battle of the Bulge.

After the end of World War II, the song's popularity in Germany dropped sharply. Few Germans born and raised after the war know it.

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Text

The following is the complete text of Die Wacht am Rhein:

1.

Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall,
wie Schwertgeklirr und Wogenprall:
Zum Rhein, zum Rhein, zum deutschen Rhein!
Wer will des Stromes Hüter sein?

Refrain

Lieb Vaterland magst ruhig sein,
lieb Vaterland magst ruhig sein:
Fest steht und treu die Wacht,
die Wacht am Rhein!
Fest steht und treu die Wacht,
die Wacht am Rhein!

2.

Durch Hunderttausend zuckt es schnell,
und aller Augen blitzen hell;
der Deutsche bieder, fromm und stark,
beschützt die heil'ge Landesmark.
Refrain

3.

Er blickt hinauf in Himmelsau'n,
wo Heldenväter niederschau'n,
und schwört mit stolzer Kampfeslust:
Du Rhein bleibst deutsch wie meine Brust!
Refrain

4.

Solang ein Tropfen Glut noch glüht,
noch eine Faust den Degen zieht,
und noch ein Arm die Büchse spannt,
betritt kein Feind hier deinen Strand!
Refrain

5.

Der Schwur erschallt, die Woge rinnt
die Fahnen flattern hoch im Wind:
Am Rhein, am Rhein, am deutschen Rhein
wir alle wollen Hüter sein.
Refrain

Between the 4th and 5th verses, the following version is inserted:

Und ob mein Herz im Tode bricht,
wirst du doch drum ein Welscher nicht.
Reich, wie an Wasser deine Flut,
ist Deutschland ja an Heldenblut!

Translation

1.

It roars a call like an echo of thunder,
like clashes of swords and collitions of billows:
to the Rhine, to the Rhine, to the German Rhine!:
Who wants to be the stream's guardian?

Refrain

Dear fatherland shall be silent,
Dear fatherland shall be silent:
Firmly and devoted stands the watch,
the watch on the Rhine!
Firmly and devoted stands the watch,
the watch on the Rhine!

2.

Through hundreds of thousands it quickly twitches,
and everybody's eyes brightly flash;
the German honestly, piously, and strongly,
protects the sacred land.
Refrain

3.

He looks up to the meadows of heaven,
where ancient heroes glance down,
and swears with pride pugnacity:
You Rhine will remain German like my chest!
Refrain

4.

As long as a drop of blaze still glows,
a fist still draws the dager,
and one arm still holds the rifle,
no enemy will here enter your shore!
Refrain

5.

The oath rings out, the billow runs
the flags wave high in the wind:
On the Rhine, on the German Rhine
we all want to be the guardian.
Refrain

In the war postcards of the First World War, the following 7th verse was widespread:

So lead us, you are protected;
In faith grab the sword,
Cheer Wilhelm! Down with the breed!
And wipe out the disgrace with the blood of enemies!
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