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Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, Den freien deutschen Rhein, Ob sie wie gierige Raben, Sich heiser danach schrein, Solang er ruhig wallend Sein grünes Kleid noch trägt, Solang ein Ruder schallend In seine Wogen schlägt. Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, Den freien deutschen Rhein, Solang sich Herzen laben An seiner Feuerwein, Solang in seinem Strome Noch fest die Felsen stehn, Solang sich hohe Dome In seinem Spiegel sehn. Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, Den freien deutschen Rhein, Solang noch kühne Knaben [Um schlanke Dirnen frei'n]1, Solang die Flosse hebet Ein Fisch auf seinem Grund, Solang ein Lied noch lebet In seiner Sänger Mund. Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, Den freien deutschen Rhein, Bis seine Flut begraben Des letzten Manns Gebein!
C. Lorenz sets stanzas 1-7, 1
K. Reinecke sets stanzas 1-7, 7
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte, Zweites Buch, Koeln, du Mont - Schauberg, 1841, pages 216-218.
Note: see de Musset's "response", Le Rhin allemand
1 Eickhoff: "den Waffen gerne weih'n"; Kinkel, Kreutzer: "Um sanfte Mädchen frei'n"Authorship:
- by Nikolaus Becker (1809 - 1845), "Der deutsche Rhein (an Alphonse de Lamartine)" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johann Dietrich Eickhoff (1814 - 1884), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1895 [ voice and piano ], in Volksthümliche Lieder der Deutschen im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, song no. 25, page 21 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Friedrich Johann Girschner (1794 - 1860), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1840 [ voice and piano or guitar ], Haag: Weijgand & Beuster [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johanna Kinkel, née Mockel (1810 - 1858), as Johanna Mathieux, "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1840 [ voice and piano ], Bonn, J. Bach [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Der deutsche Rhein", op. 86 no. 1, KWV 9120 no. 1, published c1850 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from Patriotische Rheinlieder, no. 1, Leipzig, Hofmeister [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Conradin Kreutzer (1780 - 1849), "Sie sollen ihn nicht haben", op. 85b, Heft 1 (Patriotische Lieder) no. 1, published 1841 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], from Sechs Quartetten für Männerstimmen, no. 1, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustav Kunze (1808 - 1868), "Rheinlied", op. 39, published 1841, Leipzig: Verlag von G. Schubert [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Der deutsche Rhein" [ men's chorus a cappella ], in Hohenzollern-Album von Carl Loewe für vierstimmige Männergesang, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel, erste Abtheilung, song no. 10, page 25 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Adolf Lorenz, Dr. (1837 - 1923), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1870, stanzas 1-7,1 [ voice and piano ], Stettin, R. Schauer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold (1813 - 1889), "Der deutsche Rhein", op. 19, published 1840 [ two-part chorus ], Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1870, stanzas 1-7,7 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel, in Liederbuch des Deutschen Volkes, no. 790, page 490, ed. by Carl Hase, Felix Dahn, Carl Reinecke  [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798 - 1859), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1850 [ voice and piano ], Dresden, C. F. Meser [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Der deutsche Rhein", alternate title: "Patriotisches Lied", WoO. 1 (1840) [ voice, chorus, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Julius Stern (1820 - 1883), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1841 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simion [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Hartmann Stuntz (1793 - 1859), "Der deutsche Rhein", published 1858 [ TTBB chorus ], Stuttgart, Karl Goepel, in Göpel's Deutsches Lieder- und Commers-buch, no. 44, page 92 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The German Rhine", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le Rhin allemand, chant patriotique", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Dr. Gerrit den Hartogh , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-30
Line count: 28
Word count: 120
They shall not have it, The free German Rhine, Though they like greedy ravens Scream themselves hoarse after it, As long as, peacefully flowing, It still wears its green garb, As long as even one oar resoundingly Strikes into its waves. They shall not have it, The free German Rhine, As long as hearts refresh themselves With its fiery wine, As long as within its current The rocks still stand firmly, As long as lofty cathedrals Can see themselves in its mirror. They shall not have it, The free German Rhine, As long as courageous lads Court slender maidens, As long as a fin is lifted By a fish within its depths, As long as a song still lives In the mouths of its singers. They shall not have it, The free German Rhine, Until its floodwaters have buried The bones of the last man!
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Nikolaus Becker (1809 - 1845), "Der deutsche Rhein (an Alphonse de Lamartine)"
This text was added to the website: 2013-07-12
Line count: 28
Word count: 145