HANNES WADER (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴HANNES WADER (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German songwriter (Liedermacher), singer and guitarist. He was an important figure in German leftist circles from the 1970s on with his songs that covered themes like socialist and communist resistance to oppression in Europe and other places like Latin America, writing both new songs himself and playing versions of older historical works.

Wader was born in Bielefeld, Westphalia. His works are mostly based on German folk songs. Aside from his own lyrics, he also performs works of famous poets like Eichendorff. He now rarely sings the workers' songs and socialist hymns that used to be a large part of his repertoire. He recently published an album exclusively with songs by Franz Schubert. He also performed translated works from Carl Michael Bellman in the album "Liebe, Schnaps & Tod".

Remarkably, many of the social issues Wader sang about are still relevant today. Besides e.g. Franz Josef Degenhardt, Wader can be considered as one of the most active political singers in Germany.

In the 1970s Hanners Wader became one of the stars of the political left through his provocative songs. He was a member of the German Communist Party from 1977 to 1991. The publication of the song "Der Tankerkönig" stirred up controversy, as it covered the kidnapping of the son of the tycoon Rudolf August Oetker. Wader even came under suspicions of terrorism.

In 1973 he moved to Struckum, in Nordfriesland, where he published some of his later albums. He moved with his family in 1998 to live in Kreis Steinburg.

He has published numerous albums and still goes on tours around Germany. He appears on open-air concerts and also in clubs.

http://www.scala-kuenstler.de/hannes-wader.html

Die Moorsoldaten
Hannes Wader Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wohin auch das auge blicket
Moor und heide nur ringsum
Vogelsang uns nicht erquicket
Eichen stehen kahl und krumm

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Hier in dieser öden heide
Ist das lager aufgebaut,
Wo wir fern von jeder freude
Hinter stacheldraht verstaut

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Morgens ziehen die kolonnen
Durch das moor zur arbeit hin
Graben bei dem brand der sonne
Doch zur heimat steht der sinn

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Auf und nieder geh'n die posten
Keiner, keiner kann hindurch
Flucht wird nur das leben kosten
Vierfach ist umzäunt die burg

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Wir sind die moorsoldaten
Und ziehen mit den spaten
Ins moor

Doch für uns gibt es kein klagen
Ewig kann nicht winter sein
Einmal werden froh wir sagen
Heimat, du bist wieder mein!

Dann zieh'n die moorsoldaten
Nicht mehr mit den spaten
Ins moor

Dann zieh'n die moorsoldaten

Nicht mehr mit den spaten
Ins moor

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Hannes Wader's "Die Moorsoldaten" speak of a group of prisoners who are forced into hard labor in the moors of Germany. The song is a lament for their hopeless situation and the bleak conditions in which they are living. The opening verses describe the harsh landscape of the moors, where there is no respite for the prisoners: "Wohin auch das Auge blicket/Moor und Heide nur ringsum/Vogelsang uns nicht erquicket/Eichen stehen kahl und krumm" ("Wherever the eye looks/Moor and heath only surround us/The birdsong does not refresh us/Oaks stand bare and crooked").

The chorus emphasizes the prisoners' destiny: "Wir sind die Moorsoldaten/Und ziehen mit den Spaten/Ins Moor" ("We are the moor soldiers/And we go with the spades/Into the moor"). They are captive, with no hope of escaping, as the third verse describes: "Auf und nieder geh'n die Posten/Keiner, keiner kann hindurch/Flucht wird nur das Leben kosten/Vierfach ist umzäunt die Burg" ("Up and down go the guards/None, none can get through/Escape will only cost life/The castle is surrounded fourfold").

However, the last verse contains a glimmer of hope that one day they will be free: "Doch für uns gibt es kein Klagen/Ewig kann nicht Winter sein/Einmal werden froh wir sagen/Heimat, du bist wieder mein!" ("But we have no complaints/Eternal winter cannot last/One day we will say with joy/Homeland, you are mine again!"). The final repetition of the chorus reflects this hope, as the soldiers will no longer be "going with the spades into the moor."

Overall, "Die Moorsoldaten" is a powerful song that speaks to the horrors of the prison system and the human desire for freedom.

Line by Line Meaning

Wohin auch das auge blicket
No matter where we look, we only see moors and heaths around us

Moor und heide nur ringsum
The landscape surrounding us is covered in moors and heaths

Vogelsang uns nicht erquicket
The absence of birdsongs doesn't soothe us

Eichen stehen kahl und krumm
The oak trees stand bare and crooked

Hier in dieser öden heide
Here in this desolate heath

Ist das lager aufgebaut
Our camp is built

Wo wir fern von jeder freude
Where we are far from any joy

Hinter stacheldraht verstaut
Locked behind barbed wire

Morgens ziehen die kolonnen
In the morning, the columns march

Durch das moor zur arbeit hin
Into the moor, to work