Ich hab' mich ergeben

"Ich hab′ mich ergeben" (English: "I have surrendered myself", lit. '"I surrender"'), originally titled "Gelübde" ("Vow"), is a German patriotic song. The text was written in 1820 by Hans Ferdinand Maßmann. It was one of the unofficial national anthems of West Germany from 1949 to 1952, when the "Deutschlandlied" was officially reinstated.[1] Its tune is now used in the Micronesian national anthem.

Not to be confused with Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus.

Ich hab' mich ergeben

English: I have surrendered myself
The text in an old German song book, titled Gelübde
Former national anthem of West Germany
Also known as	"Gelübde" (English: "Vow")
Lyrics	Hans Ferdinand Maßmann, 1820
Music	August Daniel von Binzer, 1819
Adopted	1949
Relinquished	1952
Preceded by	"Deutschlandlied" and "Horst-Wessel-Lied" (by Germany)
Succeeded by	"Deutschlandlied"
Audio sample
"Ich hab' mich ergeben" (instrumental) file help

History

The national anthem of the Federated States of Micronesia, "Patriots of Micronesia", uses the same tune,[2] as does the Estonian song "Mu Isamaa armas" ("My beloved native land" by Martin Körber) which used to be Estonia's official flag song until 2009 when it was replaced by Gustav Ernesaks's "Mu Isamaa on minu arm" ("My homeland is my love").[3][4] The melody is quoted by Johannes Brahms in his Academic Festival Overture.[5]

The second stanza includes the words "Land of the Free", similar to the well-known words of "The Star-Spangled Banner", written eight years earlier.

Lyrics

Ich hab mich ergeben Mit Herz und mit Hand, Dir Land voll Lieb' und Leben Mein deutsches Vaterland! Mein Herz ist entglommen, Dir treu zugewandt, Du Land der Frei'n und Frommen, Du herrlich Hermannsland! Du Land, reich an Ruhme, Wo Luther erstand, Für deines Volkes Tume Reich ich mein Herz und Hand! Ach Gott, tu erheben Mein jung Herzensblut Zu frischem freud'gem Leben, Zu freiem frommem Mut! Will halten und glauben An Gott fromm und frei will Vaterland dir bleiben Auf ewig fest und treu. Lass Kraft mich erwerben In Herz und in Hand, Zu leben und zu sterben Fürs heil'ge Vaterland!

I have given myself With heart and with hand To you, country full of love and life, My German Fatherland! My heart was enlightened, Loyally turned towards you, You land of the free and faithful, You glorious Hermann's land! You land, rich in glory, Where Luther arose, For thy Volkstum I reach out my heart and hand! O God, raise My young heart's blood Towards fresh joyful life, Towards free and faithful courage! I will hold and believe In God faithfully and freely; Will, Fatherland, remain Forever strengthened and loyal to you. Let me gain strength In heart and hand, To live and to die For the holy Fatherland!

Wir hatten gebauet

Main article: Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus

The music had originally been composed for another patriotic song by August Daniel von Binzer, "Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus" (1819).[6] Some sources state that in this song the colours Black, Red, and Gold are mentioned for the first time in this order which is not true. In 1817, Binzer had written a different song that begins with the words "Stoßt an! Schwarz-Rot-Gold lebe!" (Let's toast! May Black, Red and Gold live!)[7]

The song's first performance took place on 27 January 1819 after the forced dissolution of the Urburschenschaft.[8] Around one year later, he wrote it down in the register of the participants of the Wartburg Festival, which had taken place in 1817. There, he called the tune a "Thuringian folk song". The lyrics were published for the first time in the Kieler Commers- und Liederbuch in 1821, the tune followed in 1825.

Lyrics

The text refers to the dissolution of the Urburschenschaft ("A noble house") due to the Carlsbad decrees. During the Vormärz, censorship often replaced the colours with lines.[9]

German	English
1. Wir hatten gebauet Ein stattliches Haus Und drin auf Gott vertrauet Trotz Wetter, Sturm und Graus.	1. We had built A stately house And trusted in God therein Despite tempest, storm and horror.
2. Wir lebten so traulich, So innig, so frei, Den Schlechten ward es graulich, Wir lebten gar zu treu.	2. We lived so cozily, So devotedly, so free, To the wicked it was abhorrent, We lived far too faithfully.
3. Sie lugten, sie suchten Nach Trug und Verrat, Verleumdeten, verfluchten Die junge, grüne Saat.	3.They peered, they looked For deceit and treachery, Slandered, cursed The young, green seed.
4. Was Gott in uns legte, Die Welt hat's veracht't, Die Einigkeit erregte Bei Guten selbst Verdacht.	4. What God put inside us, The world has despised. This unity stirred suspicion Even among good people.
5. Man schalt es Verbrechen, Man täuschte sich sehr; Die Form kann man zerbrechen, Die Liebe nimmermehr.	5.People reviled it as crime, They deluded themselves badly; They can shatter the form, But never the love.
6. Die Form ist zerbrochen, Von außen herein, Doch was man drin gerochen, War eitel Dunst und Schein.	6. The form is shattered, From out to within, But they smelled inside it Sheer haze and appearance.
7. Das Band ist zerschnitten, War schwarz, rot und gold, Und Gott hat es gelitten, Wer weiß, was er gewollt.	7. The riband is cut to pieces, 'T was black, red and gold, And God allowed it, Who knows what He wanted.
8. Das Haus mag zerfallen. Was hat's dann für Not? Der Geist lebt in uns allen, Und unsre Burg ist Gott!	8. The house may collapse. Would it matter? The spirit lives within us all, And our fortress is God!

References

1. Applegate, Celia (ed.). Music and German National Identity. The University of Chicago Press. 2002. p. 263.
2. Frédéric Bisson, Comment bâtir un monde, Les Éditions Chromatika, 2011, p. 140.
3. Estonian website about the flag song.
4. Mu Isamaa armas on YouTube.
5. Freeze, Timothy David (2010). "Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony: Program, Reception, and Evocations of the Popular" (Dissertation). University of Michigan: 216–217. Retrieved 2014-04-25. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. Monelle, Raymond. The Musical Topic: Hunt, Military and Pastoral. Indiana University Press, 2006. P. 257.
7. Grünebaum, Falk. "Deutsche Farben. Die Entwicklung von Schwarz-Rot-Gold unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Burschenschaft". In: GDS-Archiv für Hochschul- und Studentengeschichte. Vol. 7. Köln, 2004. P. 21.
8. Grünebaum, Falk. "Deutsche Farben. Die Entwicklung von Schwarz-Rot-Gold unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Burschenschaft". In: GDS-Archiv für Hochschul- und Studentengeschichte. Vol. 7. Cologne, 2004. P. 23.
9. Historisch-Kritisches Liederlexikon: Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus, Edition B.

External links

• The first two stanzas as MP3 file
• YouTube version of "Ich hab mich ergeben" (first, second and fifth stanza)