Argonne Forest, at midnight,
A sapper stands on guard.
A star shines high up in the sky,
bringing greetings from a distant homeland.
And with a spade in his hand,
He waits forward in the sap-trench.
He thinks with longing on his love,
Wondering if he will ever see her again.
The artillery roars like thunder,
While we wait in front of the infantry,
With shells crashing all around.
The Frenchies want to take our position.
Should the enemy threaten us even more,
We Germans fear him no more.
And should he be so strong,
He will not take our position.
The storm breaks! The mortar crashes!
The sapper begins his advance.
Forward to the enemy trenches,
There he pulls the pin on a grenade.
The infantry stand in wait,
Until the hand grenade explodes.
Then forward with the assault against the enemy,
And with a shout, break into their position.
Argonne Forest, Argonne Forest,
Soon thou willt be a quiet cemetary.
In thy cool earth rests —
So much gallant soldiers' blood.
ORIGINAL GERMAN VERSION
Argonnerwald, um Mitternacht Pionierlied aus dem Weltkrieg, 1915
Argonnerwald, um Mitternacht,
Ein Pionier stand auf der Wacht.
Ein Sternlein hoch am Himmel stand,
Bringt Grüße ihm aus fernem Heimatland.
Und mit dem Spaten in der Hand,
Er vorne in der Sappe stand.
Mit Sehnsucht denkt er an sein Lieb,
Ob er es wohl noch einmal wiedersieht.
Und donnernd dröhnt die Artill'rie,
Wir stehen vor der Infant'rie,
Granaten schlagen bei uns ein,
Der Franzmann will in uns're Stellung 'rein.
Und droht der Feind uns noch so mehr,
Wir Deutschen fürchten ihn nicht mehr.
Und ob er auch so stark mag sein,
In uns're Stellung kommt er doch nocht 'rein.
Der Sturm bricht los! Die Mine kracht!
Der Pionier gleich vorwärts macht.
Bis an den Feind macht er sich ran
Und zündet dann die Handgranate an.
Die Infant'rie steht auf der Wacht,
Bis daß die Handgranate kracht,
Geht dann mit Sturm bis an den Feind,
Mit Hurra bricht sie in die Stellung ein.
Argonnerwald, Argonnerwald,
Ein stiller Friedhof wirst du bald.
In deiner kühlen Erde ruht
So manches tapfere Soldatenblut.
Notes
A sapper's song from the First World War. Written it is believed in 1915 by an anonymous German soldier.
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question
From guest sumaya (contact)
are you able to tell me the deep meanings of this poem. it's just like when you have to write an essay about a poem. -
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To Guest sumaya:
Check the date of the poem, the fact that it is in English and German, and read it though a couple of times.
You will find that this poem was written during the first world war [1914-1918], is by a soldier on duty preparing for battle and thinking about his love.
Deeper meanings are harder to decide without knowing more about the poet (and about what meaning you have already found).
Jim
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