[Marxism] We're the fighting Navajos

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

One of the more interesting chapters in Detlev Peukert's "Inside Nazi 
German" deals with youth resistance to Hitler, which like that of other 
sectors took on a mixture of passive and indirect forms. There was 
something called the "Edelweiss Pirates", which were mainly working class 
or unemployed adolescents who formed gangs to beat up Hitler Youth, when 
they weren't going out on camping trips, singing songs, etc. Here's one of 
their songs:

We all sat in the tavern
With a pipe and a glass of wine
A goodly drop of malt and hop,
And the devil calls the tune.

Hark the hearty fellows sing!
Strum that banjo, pluck that string!
And the lasses all join in.
We're going to get rid of Hitler,
And he can't do a thing.

The Hamburg sirens sound,
Time for Navajos to go.
A tavern's just the place
To kiss a girl good-bye.
Rio de Janeiro, caballero, ahoy!
An Edelweiss Pirate is faithful and true.

Hitler's power may lay us low,
And keep us locked in chains,
But we will smash the chains one day,
We'll be free again.
We've got fists and we can fight,
We've got knives and we'll get them out.
We want freedom, don't we, boys?
We're the fighting Navajos.

Out on the high road, down in the ditch
There're some Hitler Youth patrolmen, and they're getting black as pitch.
Sorry if it hurts, mates, sorry we can't stay,
We're Edelweiss Pirates, and we're on our way.
We march by banks of Ruhr and Rhine
And smash the Hitler Youth in twain.
Our song is freedom, love and life,
We're Pirates of the Edelweiss.

Polar Bear, listen, we're talking to you,
Our land isn't free, we're telling you true.
Get out your cudgels and come into town
And smash in the skulls of the bosses in brown.

In Junker's Kneipe bei Wein und Pfeife
da saßen wir beisammen.
Ein guter Tropfen von Malz und
Hopfen der Teufel führt uns an.

Hei, wo die Burschen singen
und die Klampfen klingen,
und die Mädel fallen ein.
Was kann das Leben Hitlers uns
geben, wir wollen frei von Hitler sein.
Wenn die Sirenen in Hamburg
ertönen
müssen Navajos an Bord. In einer Kneipe von einem Mädel
fällt uns der Abschied nicht schwer.
Rio de Janeiro ahoi Caballero,
Edelweiß-Piraten sind treu.
Des Hitlers Zwang, der macht uns
klein,
noch liegen wir in Ketten.
Doch einmal werden wir wieder frei,
wir werden die Ketten schon brechen.
Denn unsere Faste, die sind hart, ja - und die Messer sitzen los,
für die Freiheit der Jugend kämpfen Navajos.
Und im Graben der Chaussee
liegt der Streifendienst, Juchhe,
sieht uns starten, Edelweißpiraten,
nur mit Schmerz und Weh.

An Rhein und Ruhr marschieren wir,
für unsere Freiheit kämpfen wir,
den Streifendienst, schlag' ihn
entzwei
Edelweiß marschiert, Achtung die
Straße frei.
Hör Eisbär [also Rübezahl*], was wir
Dir jetzt sagen,
Unsere Heimat ist nicht mehr frei,
schwingt die Keulen ja wie in alten
Zeiten, schlag HJ, SA den Schädel
entzwei.


Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org 


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