''The Watch on the Rhine''

THE WATCH ON THE RHINE

Max Schneckenburger
"This song was little known in Germany till 1870, the year of the outbreak of the Franco-German war. Then it suddenly became the battle-cry of the invading German hosts."

- - - -
A ROAR like thunder strikes the ear,
Like clang of arms or breakers near,
Rush forward for the German Rhine!
Who shields thee, dear beloved Rhine?

CHORUS
Dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!
Dear land, dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy watch, thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!

A hundred thousand hearts beat high,
The flash darts forth from ev'ry eye,
For Teutons brave, inured by toil,
Protect their country's holy soil.

When heavenwards ascends the eye,
Our heroes' ghosts look down from high;
We swear to guard our dear bequest,
And shield it with the German breast.

As long as German blood still flows,
The German sword strikes mighty blows.
The German marksmen take their stand,
No foe shall tread our native land!

We take the pledge, the stream runs high,
Our banners proud are wafting high;
On for the Rhine, the German Rhine!
We all die for our native Rhine.

Hence, Fatherland, be of good cheer,
Thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!
Dear land, dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy watch, thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!

1840


-from Poems of the Love of Country (1905).
-German title: Die Wacht am Rhein.

(Photograph shows the Wächtfiguren atop the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig, by Bruno Schmitz. The monument was erected in 1913 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon, and the liberation of Germany, by the forces of Prussia and her allies at the Battle of the Nations in 1813.)