Refrain:

Korporal, Sergeant, Hauptmann, Oberstleutenant,

wir Soldaten wollen marschieren.

Es wird uns ja die Zeit so lang

in der verdammten Ki, Ko, Ka, in der Kasern zu liegen.
Des Abends, schon um halber neuen,
da ist mein Mädel ganz allein.
Refrain

Ich stieg wohl aus dem Fenster naus,

aus der verdammten Ki, Ko, Ka, aus der Kasern zu kommen.
Zu meinem Schatz wollt ich die Nacht,
sie haben mich auf die Wach gebracht.
Refrain

Die Trommeln drummen: Kamrad, kumm!

aus der verdammten Ki, Ko, Ka, aus der Kasern zu ziehen.
Hurra! Soldaten ziehn ins Feld,
Soldaten gehört die ganze Welt!
Refrain

Nun lebe wohl, du Teufelshaus,

ei du verdammte Ki, Ko, Ka, Kasern, die Fahnen wehen.
Wir ziehn zur Schlacht mit frohem Sinn,
mein Schatz ist Marketenderin.
Refrain

English Translation (Note: the translator has here used an analogy of alliteration
on the nonsense syllables “Ki, Ko, Ka,” rendering them as “Bi, Bo, Ba.” The
original
alliteration with the German word “Kasern” is transposed to its English equivalent,
“barracks.” Also, lines 3 and 4 of stanzas 1 and 4 are grouped together as one
line
in the layout of both the English and German texts.)

Verses are in minor, while refrains are in major. Stanzas 2 and 3 are musically
slightly different from Stanzas 1, 4, and 5.
0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1, lines 1-2. Strong four-part C-minor harmony with
punctuated,
detached attacks on each note. The verse begins on a short upbeat.
0:12 [m. 6]--Stanza 1, lines 3-4. Line 3 is in a stark, detached unison, and line
4 returns to harmony and slightly more active rhythm.
0:21 [m. 10]--Refrain, line 1 in bright, but hushed C major in distinct, detached
notes. The two bass parts start before the two tenor parts and alternate on the
word “Korporal,” basses stating it three times and tenors twice, with the four
parts
coming together on “Sergeant.” “Hauptmann” is set differently in each part, with
first tenors singing it twice in long notes, second tenors three times in long,
then
short notes, first basses three times in short, then long notes, and second basses
entering later and singing it twice in short notes. Second basses also begin
“Oberstleutenant”
before the other three parts, with longer notes on the last three syllables.
0:29 [m. 14]--Refrain, line 2. The voices also diverge slightly on this line, with
first tenors and first basses singing long notes against shorter notes from second
tenors and second basses, and vice versa. All voices come together on the last
“wollen
marschieren.” First tenors and basses state the entire line twice in succession,
while second tenors and basses state “wir Soldaten” twice and then “wollen
marschieren”
twice. The volume builds in the first statements, reaching a forceful level as the
voices come together to end the refrain.
0:39 [m. 18]--Stanza 2, lines 1-2. This is the “second” version of the basic
stanza,
but lines 1 and 2 are musically identical to those of Stanza 1 (and Stanzas 4-5).
Notice the identical position of “verdammten Ki, Ko, Ka” in each verse.
0:49 [m. 23]--Stanza 2, lines 3-4. Line 3 is where the “second” version differs,
replacing the stark unison with a smooth harmony and a moving first bass line.
Line
4 returns to the music of the “first” version.
0:58 [m. 27]--Refrain, line 1. The refrain does not change in any of the verses.

1:07 [m. 31]--Refrain, line 2.

1:16 [m. 18]--Stanza 3, lines 1-2. Text in the same bars as Stanza 2. “Second”
version of the stanza.
1:26 [m. 23]--Stanza 3, lines 3-4, with smooth harmony and moving first bass on
line
3. Line 4 adds an extra syllable, altering the rhythm and making it more
“straight.”

1:35 [m. 27]--Refrain, line 1.

1:43 [m. 31]--Refrain, line 2.
1:52 [m. 1]--Stanza 4, lines 1-2. Text in the same bars as Stanza 1. “First”
version
of the stanza.
2:02 [m. 6]--Stanza 4, lines 3-4, with stark unison on line 3. Line 4 adds an
extra
syllable, as in Stanza 3, but the differing declamation “straightens” out an
earlier,
faster rhythm (removing a long-short dotted rhythm), whereas the “straightening”
in Stanza 3 was later and slower.
2:11 [m. 10]--Refrain, line 1.
2:19 [m. 14]--Refrain, line 2.
2:29 [m. 1]--Stanza 5, lines 1-2. Text in the same bars as Stanza 1. “First”
version
of the stanza.
2:39 [m. 6]--Stanza 5, lines 3-4, with stark unison on line 3. Line 4 is sung a
bit more gently.
2:48 [m. 10]--Refrain, line 1.
2:56 [m. 14]--Refrain, line 2.
3:07--END OF SONG [34 (85) mm.]

5. Gebt acht! (Beware!). Text by Carl Lemcke. Etwas gehalten (Somewhat

restrained).
Simple strophic form. C MINOR, 4/4 time.

German Text:
Gebt acht! Gebt acht!
Es harrt der Feind,
der schlimm es meint,
ihr Brüder wacht!
Im Westen, Süden, im Osten, Nord
sind wir uns selbst der einz’ge Hort,
gebt acht!

Gebt acht! Und baut

auf Gott und auf
des Schwertes Streich,
sonst niemand traut!
Man triebe gern ein schnödes Spiel,
nur unsre Schwäche ist ihr Ziel,
gebt acht!

Gebt acht! Seid fest

in aller Not
bis in den Tod!
Gott nicht verlässt,
Wer treu für Recht und Wahrheit ficht,
In Ehr und Vaterlandes Pflicht.
Gebt acht!

Gebt acht! Es tagt,

zum Kampf bereit
mit Schwert und Kleid
seid unverzagt!
Und ob der Feind wie Meeressand,
wir retten doch das Vaterland!
Gebt acht!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1, lines 1-4. The rhythm begins on an upbeat with first tenors
and first basses in unison on a rising fifth singing “Gebt acht!” The second
tenors
and second basses imitate this four notes lower, but on a rising fourth. From that
point, the second tenors “catch up” to the first tenors, and both tenor parts
present
the rest of the text in a march rhythm, with the second tenors incorporating one
small syncopation in line 4. Meanwhile, the first and second basses simply
alternate
statements of “Gebt acht!” on rising fifths and fourths, respectively. First
basses
state it five times, second basses four.
0:13 [m. 5]--Stanza 1, lines 5-6. The lines begin quietly and build to a climax
before the final “Gebt acht!” Second basses begin before the others in steady,
undulating
half-steps, overlapping with line four. The other parts enter two beats later.
The first basses continue in the same rhythm as the second basses an octave higher,
while the tenors present line 5 in two broken statements of harmony, the second of
which briefly moves to E minor (along with the bass notes, which shift up). A
continuous
statement of line 6 follows in the tenors. The four voice parts do not come
together
textually until midway through this line. Text repetition is necessitated in both
bass parts, which have more notes than the tenor parts. The second basses repeat
more than the firsts. Even though the two bass parts are singing the same notes
an octave apart, their texts do not “match” until the end of line 6.
0:25 [m. 11]--Stanza 1, line 7. The final “Gebt acht!” is repeated twice. The
second
tenors divide on the last three notes, and the first basses divide for the single
note right before them (fourth from the end). Because of unison in certain parts,
there is no real five-part harmony. The first tenors hold the initial “acht!”
longer
than the other parts, and their second “Gebt” is later and shorter.
0:31 [m. 1]--Stanza 2, lines 1-4.
0:41 [m. 5]--Stanza 2, lines 5-6.
0:53 [m. 11]--Stanza 2, line 7 (“Gebt acht!”)
0:59 [m. 1]--Stanza 3, lines 1-4.
1:09 [m. 5]--Stanza 3, lines 5-6.
1:22 [m. 11]--Stanza 3, line 7 (“Gebt acht!”)
1:27 [m. 1]--Stanza 4, lines 1-4.