"Der gute Kamerad" ("The Good Comrade"), also known by its incipit as "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden" ("I had a comrade") is a traditional

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...

of the German armed forces. The text was written by German poet

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist and literary historian. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest i ...

in 1809. Its immediate inspiration was the deployment of Badener troops against the

Tyrolean Rebellion The Tyrolean Rebellion (german: Tiroler Volksaufstand) is a name given to the resistance of militiamen, peasants, craftsmen and other civilians of the County of Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer supported by his wife Anna and a strategic council cons ...

. In 1825, the composer

Friedrich Silcher Philipp Friedrich Silcher (27 June 1789 in Schnait (today part of Weinstadt) – 26 August 1860 in Tübingen), was a German composer, mainly known for his lieder (songs), and an important Volkslied collector.Luise Marretta-Schär, Silcher, (Phili ...

set it to music, based on the tune of a Swiss folk song. The song is about the immediate experience of a soldier losing a comrade in battle, detached from all political or national ideology; as a result, its use was never limited to one particular faction and was sung or cited by representatives of all political backgrounds throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and was translated for use in numerous fighting forces, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese amongst others.

Usage

Ernst Busch used the tune for his eponymous

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

song about the death of Hans Beimler. German playwright

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was t ...

in 1966 used the song's line "Als wär's ein Stück von mir" as the title for his autobiography (English title: ''A Part of Myself''). "The Good Comrade" still plays an important ceremonial role in the

German armed forces The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and is an integral part of a

military funeral A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

, continuing a tradition started at some point around 1871.R. Oeding,
Das deutsche Totensignal
', 2013 The song has also become traditional in obsequies of the

Military of Austria The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

and the Austrian firebrigades. In the German-speaking Italian province of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, the piece is played at funerals of volunteer firefighters and during remembrance ceremonies held by the Schützenbund. The

Chilean Armed Forces The Chilean Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Mi ...

and the

National Army of Colombia The National Army of Colombia ( es, Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, an ...

also utilize it, though Chile does not exclusively use it for funerals or remembrance ceremonies. It is also used to some degree in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, particularly in the Foreign Legion. When the song is played, soldiers are to

salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

, an honour otherwise reserved for

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

s only. Occasionally the song is played at civil ceremonies, most often when the deceased had been affiliated with the military. It is also commonly sung at the funerals of members of a ''

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousa ...

''. The song is often played on ''

Volkstrauertag ' (German for "people's day of mourning") is a commemoration day in Germany two Sundays before the first day of Advent. It commemorates members of the armed forces of all nations and civilians who died in armed conflicts, to include victims of v ...

'', the German

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

, at memorials for the fallen.

Text

The above text is Uhland's original version. Various variants have been recorded over the years.

Heymann Steinthal Heymann or Hermann Steinthal (16 May 1823 – 14 March 1899) was a German philologist and philosopher. He studied philology and philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Berlin, and was in 1850 appointed ''Privatdozent'' of ...

in an 1880 article in ''Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie'' noted a variant he heard sung by a housemaid, "Die Kugel kam geflogen / Gilt sie mir? Gilt sie dir?" (i.e. " bullet came flying" instead of " bullet". Steinthal argued that this version was an improvement over Uhland's text, making reference to the concept of a "fateful bullet" in military tradition and giving a more immediate expression of the fear felt by the soldier in the line of fire.

Melody

\header \layout global = scoreTenorI = \relative c'' scoreTenorII = \relative c'' scoreAVerseChoirI = \lyricmode scoreBassI = \relative c' scoreBassII = \relative c scoreAChoirIPart = \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff \with << \new Voice = "tenorI" \new Voice = "tenorII" >> \new Lyrics \lyricsto "tenorI" \scoreAVerseChoirI >> scoreAChoirIIPart = \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff \with << \clef bass \new Voice = "bassI" \new Voice = "bassII" >> >> \score

References

External links

''Ich hatt' einen Kameraden'' , old recording by the French Foreign Legion
(MP3 format) * {{IMSLP, work=Der gute Kamerad (Silcher, Friedrich), cname="Der gute Kamerad" (Silcher)
"Ich hatt' einen Kameraden ..." postcards
in German

1809 poems 1820s songs German songs Songs about the military Songs about soldiers Songs about friendship Funerary and memorial compositions

Usage

Text

Melody

References

Further reading

External links