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Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen is an interwar-era German marching song. Composed around the 1920s, the lyrics of the song are sourced from the poem Ich bin der arme Konrad by the Bavarian poet and artillery officer Heinrich von Reder (1824–1909). The melody of the song is arranged by German songwriter and later National Socialist Fritz Sotke (1902–1970) in 1919. As a song about the German Peasants' War, the song lyrics are noted for their strong anti-clerical and anti-noble themes.

History

The song's title (translates. "We are Geyer's Black Bunch") and lyrics are references to Florian Geyer (1490 – 10 June 1525) and his Black Company, a heavy cavalry unit which fought on the side of the Peasants during the German Peasants' War. Geyer's Black Company was notorious with his contemporaries for their destruction of cathedrals, castles, and summary executions of clerics and noblemen. The song's lyrics capitalise on this notoriety, with references to the actions of the Black Company: "Setzt aufs Klosterdach den Roten Hahn!" ("Raise the red rooster upon the Cloister Roof!").

As a song composed within the broader context of the Weimar Republic-era German Youth Movements, the song was sung by many different political groups across the political spectrum. The song is notable for its inclusion in both the official songbooks of the German Nazi Party, as well as the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic.

In the modern-day, Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen remains a popular song performed by various German music groups. Depending on the specific arrangement and performer, the lyrics of the song may be altered or weakened. Common substitutions include replacing the "Cloister Roof" with a simple "Knight's Roof", or even omitting certain lines entirely (e.g. "Des Edelmannes Töchterlein, heia hoho, soll heute uns’re Buhle sein").

Notably, the antepenultimate line of the song's final stanza ("Unsre Enkel fechten's besser aus") is inscribed on a memorial commemorating the 1525 German Peasants' War and the 1945 German Land Reform, in Osterhausen near Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt. The oath "Our grandchildren will fight a better fight," was seemingly fulfilled generations later, in the eyes of the memorial's designers.

Lyrics and translation

Note that depending on the specific performer and arrangement, there may be differences in the lyrics.

References

1. Literally, "the red rooster"

1. Adamek-Hetzel, Karl; Steinitz, Wolfgang; Strobach, Hermann (1979). "Deutsche Volkslieder demokratischen Charakters aus sechs Jahrhunderten". Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung (in German). 24: 180. doi:10.2307/847360. ISSN 0075-2789. JSTOR 847360.
2. Klee, Ernst (2007). Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich : wer war was vor und nach 1945 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer. ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5. OCLC 85243554.
3. "Heinrich von Reder". bavarikon. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
4. Heinemann, Isabel (2011). "I. Vom Rassenamt der SS zum Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt. Rassenauslese, SS-Sippengemeinschaft, Siedlungspolitik 1932 – 1938". Rasse, Siedlung, deutsches Blut (in German). Wallstein Verlag. pp. 49–126. doi:10.5771/9783835320499-49. ISBN 978-3-8353-2049-9.
5. "Florian Geyer, der schwarze Haufen und die wilden 13 Strophen der bündischen Jugendbewegung" [Peasants Song Florian Geyer's Black Host] (PDF). Transition Town Freiburg. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
6. "German Folk - Landsknecht Lieder - Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen lyrics". lyricstranslate.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
7. "Union Songs - Florian Geyer". unionsong.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

• Walter Moßmann, Peter Schleuning: Wir haben jetzt die Schnauze voll – alte und neue politische Lieder. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1978, ISBN 3-499-17159-7.
• Karl Adamek: Politisches Lied heute: zur Soziologie des Singens von Arbeiterliedern : empirischer Beitrag mit Bildern und Noten. Band 4 der Schriften des Fritz-Hüser-Instituts für Deutsche und Ausländische Arbeiterliteratur der Stadt Dortmund. Verlag Klartext, Köln 1987.

• Songs in German
• German patriotic songs
• German folk songs
• German Youth Movement