Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers

Subject: 'To France were returnng two Grenadiers'words
From:
Date: 22 Mar 99 - 09:29 AM

my father and uncles always used to sing this song at family gatherings. My cousins and I would like to continue, but dont know the words. Can anyone help?

Subject: RE: 'To France were returnng two Grenadiers'words
From:
Date: 25 Mar 99 - 03:50 AM

Reminds me of a German 'Lied' (art song), a poem by Heinrich Heine set to music by Carl Loewe (???). It has the same starting line
'Nach Frankreich zogen zwei Grenadier'
Die waren in Ruáland gefangen
Und als sie kamen ins deutsche Quartier ...
It's from the Napoleonic Wars, the two guys lament the capture of Napoleon ('mein Kaiser, mein Kaiser gefangen ...')
Any help? I can type the German words out for you if that's any good. Just let me know. - Susanne

Subject: Lyr Add: DIE BEIDEN GRENADIERE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:54 AM

The original German song is DIE BEIDEN GRENADIERE, with words by Heinrich Heine and music by Robert Schumann (Op. 49, No 1). The lyrics begin "Nach Frankreich zogen zwei Gerenadier'."

At least two English translations have been published: one by L. C. Elson, which begins "Toward France there travell'd two grenadiers," and one by Henry S. Sawyer and/or Allen R. Carpenter (my source was ambiguous), which begins "To France were returning two grenadiers." They are both called TWO GRENADIERS.

Indiana University Sheet Music Collections has the Elson version, date unknown, but published in the 19th century.

Here are the German lyrics, copied from http://ingeb.org/Lieder/nachfran.html
(That page also has a midi file of the Schumann setting.)

DIE BEIDEN GRENADIERE

1. Nach Frankreich zogen zwei Grenadier',
Die waren in Rußland gefangen.
Und als sie kamen ins deutsche Quartier,
Sie ließen die Köpfe hangen.

2. Da hörten sie beide die traurige Mähr':
Daß Frankreich verloren gegangen.
Besiegt und geschlagen das tapfere Heer,
Und der Kaiser, der Kaiser gefangen.

3. Da weinten zusammen die Grenadier'
Wohl ob der kläglichen Kunde.
Der eine sprach: "Wie weh wird mir,
Wie brennt meine alte Wunde!"

4. Der andre sprach: "Das Lied ist aus,
Auch ich möcht' mit dir sterben,
Doch hab' ich Weib und Kind zu Haus,
Die ohne mich verderben."

5. "Was schert mich Weib, was schert mich Kind;
Ich trage weit besser' Verlangen;
Laß sie betteln geh'n, wenn sie hungrig sind-
Mein Kaiser, mein Kaiser gefangen!

6. Gewähr' mir Bruder eine Bitt';
Wenn ich jetzt sterben werde,
So nimm meine Leiche nach Frankreich mit,
Begrab' mich in Frankreichs Erde.

7. Das Ehrenkreuz am roten Band
Sollst du aufs Herz mir legen;
Die Flinte gib mir in die Hand
Und gürt' mir um den Degen.

8. So will ich liegen und horchen still',
Wie eine Schildwach' im Grabe,
Bis einst ich höre Kanonengebrüll
Und wiehernder Rosse Getrabe.

9. Dann reitet mein Kaiser wohl über mein Grab,
Viel Schwerter klirren und blitzen;
Dann steig' ich gewaffnet hervor aus dem Grab-
Den Kaiser, den Kaiser zu schützen!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returnng two grenadie
From: Wolfgang
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 11:27 AM

There's a funny sense altering typo on Frank's site:

Mähr' must be Mär (Verse 2).

One is 'horse' and the other is 'story'. And the two grenadiers heard a sad story and not a sad horse.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadi
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 12:17 PM

To France and to freedom two grenadiers
From bondage in Russia were camping
And bowed with shame and foreboding they came
Where lay Russian soldiers camping

And evil the news they were told as they passed
How France in her glory was shaken
Her grand army beaten and broken at last
And the Emperor the Emperor was taken

This is the end cried one with shame
This tale sets old wounds a burning
The other said we lose the game
Now death is naught to grieve for

We learned this at school, but that was so long ago, this is all I can remember.

Giok

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TWO GRENADIERS
From: Wolfgang
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 01:58 PM

At least I've found a verbatim English translation here.
Wolfgang

THE TWO GRENADIERS

To France were returning two grenadiers
Who had been in Russia in prison.
And when to the German lodging they came,
They sadly bowed their beads.

There they were told the sorrowful tale:
That France had been lost and defeated,
Conquered and beaten the valiant army,
And the Emperor, the Emperor captured.

Then wept the grenadiers together.
Over the mournful tidings.
One said: "How my heart aches,
How my old wound is burning!"

The other said: "The song is o'er,
I too would fain die with you,
But I have a wife and child at home,
Who without me will perish."

"What care I for wife, what care I for child,
I have a far better desire ;
Let them go begging if hungry they are,
My Emperor, my Emperor captured!

Grant me, brother, but one request:
If I should now die,
Take my body along to France,
Entomb me in France's soil.

The medal on the red ribbon
You shall lay upon my heart ;
Give me the musket in my hands,
And buckle on my sabre.

Thus I will lie and listen still,
Like a sentinel in the grave,
Till some day I shall hear the cannon's roar
And the trotting of neighing steeds,

It is then that my Emperor will ride over my grave,
Many swords will be clanking and sparkling,
Then I shall rise, fully armed, out of my grave,
My Emperor, my Emperor defending!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadi
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 04:34 PM

There's a funny sense altering typo on Wolfgang's site:

Beads must be heads (verse one)

One is a little piece of shell, wood, or other hard substance strung into jewelry, the other is that big lump on the end of your neck where you keep your face and your brain.   And the two grenadiers bowed their heads and not their beads...

Steve

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadi
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 06:07 PM

Beads? Well, you tell beads...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadiers'
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 10:06 AM

A minor oddity: I looked this up once in a standard edition of Heine, and the title there was simply "Die Grenadier'". However, it is always called "Die Beiden Grenadiere".

Near the end, the tune briefly quotes the Marsellaise. My highschool music textbook calls that "typically romantic".

So a dictator who inherited a state from a revolution with international pretensions had, for a while, the use of a liberal fellow traveler.

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: Don't worry. It won't last. Nothing does. :||

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadiers'
From: GUEST,J.A.McMinn
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 07:17 PM

Now death is not to grieve for,
But those there are who bear my name,
The wife and child I live for.

What matters wife or child to me.
For France let the world be forsaken.
Let them beg their way if they hungry be.
My emperor, my emperor is taken.
...........
( That's all I can remember).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'To France were returning two grenadiers'
From: GUEST,Dave MacKenzie
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 07:34 PM

I seem to remember that the translation we used in school began;

To France there travelled two grenadiers,
Set free from a dark Russian prison,
But when they came to the German frontier
Fresh grief in their hearts had arisen.

Anybody recognize it?

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TWO GRENADIERS (Elston, Schumann)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 07:13 AM

Here's my transcription from the sheet music at Indiana University Sheet Music Collections:

THE TWO GRENADIERS.
(DIE BEIDEN GRENADIERE.)
English words by L. C. Elson. Music by R. Schumann, Op. 49. No. 1.

Toward France there travell'd two Grenadiers,
Their Russian captivity leaving.
As thro' the German camp slowly they drew,
Their heads were bow'd down with grieving.

For there first they heard of a sorrowful tale,
Disasters their country had shaken.
The army so brave had borne rout and defeat,
And the Emp'ror, the Emp'ror was taken.

Then sorrow'd together the grenadiers,
Such doleful news to be learning,
And one spoke out amidst his tears:
"My wounds once again are burning."

The other spoke: "The song is done.
Would that I too were dying;
Yet I have wife and child at home,
On me for bread relying.

"Nor wife nor child give care to me.
What matter if they are forsaken?
Let them beg their food, if they hungry be.
My Emp'ror, my Emp'ror is taken!

"Oh, grant a last request to me:
If here my life be over,
Then take thou my body to France with thee,
No soil but of France my cover.

"The cross of honor with its band
Leave on my bosom lying.
My musket place within my hand,
My dagger round me tying.

"Then there shall I lie within the tomb,
A sentry still and unstirring,
Till the war of cannon resounds thro' its gloom
And tramp of the horsemen spurring.

"Then rideth my Emp'ror swift over my grave,
While swords with clash are descending,
While swords with clash are descending.
Then will I arise fully armed from my grave,
My Emp'ror, my Emp'ror defending."

[The sheet music also contains German lyrics, but there are some differences in spelling from the German lyrics I posted on 23 Mar 05 - 09:54 AM:

"Nach Frankreich sogen swei Grenadier...."]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Harry
Date: 27 Jul 09 - 04:35 AM

I sang the song as a solo piece for my entry to college. I got a scholarship for it. The piece is very powerful, and moving. It is a difficult piece to sing if you are not advanced in vocal music. It will expose the singers capability to move from moving to soft flow to moving rhythm.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadi
From: GUEST,Mark Schuster and old Dubai hand
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 07:08 PM

I have no idea what induced anyone to teach schoolboys in the mid 1950s a German song about a couple of French patriots, but the music and words have stuck with me (more or less) over the years. What induced the German Heinrich Heine to write a poem about a couple of Napoleon's followers, and then for another German, Robert Schumann, to set it to music is yet another mystery to me. (I think Richard Wagner also had a go, but it was perhaps the militaristic theme that attracted him).

The English words quoted earlier in the thread, "To France were faring two Grenadiers, From prison in Russia returning etc." might be a closer transliteration of Die Beiden Grenadiere but for me not as pleasing as what I remember, perhaps imperfectly, from school days 55 years ago.

------
To France and to freedom two Grenadiers
From bondage in Russia were tramping
And bowed with shame and foreboding they came
Where lay German soldiers camping

And evil the news that they heard as they passed
Of France in her glory was shaken
The great army beaten and broken at last
Ant the Emperor, the Emperor was taken

Then mourn they together the grenadiers
This doleful news to be learning
This is the end cried one in tears
This news sets old wounds aburning

The other said we lose the game
Now death be naught to grieve for
But starve will those who bear my name
The wife, the child I live for

What matters wife or child to me?
For France let the World be forsaken
Let them beg their way if they hungry be
My Emperor, my Emperor is taken

Now grant me comrade this my prayer
When comes my hour for dying
So take me to France lay my body there
Let France be the ground I lei in

My cross you'll place upon my chest
Cross which the wars have won me
My musket in my hand be placed
And gird my sword around me

A thousand sentinels, waking I
Shall awake to the rousing reveille
When I once more hear the boom and the roar
Of guns and the charge down the valley

And then as my Emperor shall ride or' my grave
Like the reeds of the river
Ten thousand sabres aquiver
I'll rise to salute him full arm from the grave
My Emperor, my Emperor for ever

-----------

For the last four lines Schumann changes to the tune of La Marseillaise

I came across your thread while searching for a MIDI version. If anyone know of one please let me know

Mark Schuster ( [e-mail] )

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 07:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqam0OD8tZ0

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadi
From: GUEST,Mark Schuster
Date: 25 Aug 09 - 07:28 PM

First let me clear what might have been thought totally inconsequential. I mentioned my being a former Dubai hand (and long time Dubai Singer). I misread the name of this site as Muscat Café, and we amateur and exiled singers would visit each others performances from time to time in neighbiuring states. Quite understandable if you thought me nuts. I'm just in need of new glasses.

Staying up half the night I've been researching Die Beiden Grenadiere and its various translations.

The sheet music I downloaded from musicnotes.com includes Heines original German lyrics (or perhaps they were modified when set to music by Schumann) and English Lyrics by Dr. Theo Baker.

To France were faring two Grenadiers,
From prison in Russia returning
And when they came to the German frontier
Their heads they did hang in mourning

For there they were met by the tidings of fear,
That France in her power was shaken,
Defeated, destroy'd was the army so dear,
And the Emperor, the Emperor was taken.

And so on in that rather strange kind of English. If not strange at least very out of date

Worse still are those quoted by Wolfgang which he calls verbatim. Indeed even with my limited German (don't be fooled by my name – I'm a Brit) it seems not so much verbatim as transliteration.

It begins

To France were returning two grenadiers
Who had been in Russia in prison.
And when to the German lodging they came,
They sadly bowed their beads.

There they were told the sorrowful tale:
That France had been lost and defeated,
Conquered and beaten the valiant army,
And the Emperor, the Emperor captured

Nice pros, if you like your sentences back to front like German

And then there is what I think pleasing plain English

John Mackenzie had a stab at similar English lyrics as those I was taught, but didn't get as far as I managed (John Perhaps despite your Scottish name and my German one we had the same teacher in London). My posting isn't perfect, it's from 55 year old memory. But listen to this plain English, and like the Beiden Grenadiere weep all over again (but not for Boney but for great words and music)

To France and to freedom two Grenadiers
From bondage in Russia were tramping
And bowed with shame and foreboding they came
Where lay German soldiers camping

And evil the news that they heard as they passed
Of France in her glory was shaken
The great army beaten and broken at last
And the Emperor, the Emperor was taken

Now I've got all that off my chest I might better sleep tonight.

Having made a stab at my own translation I got stuck soon after the music changes to the Marseillaise. This line:
"Und wiehernder Rose Getrabe"
What the heck or who the heck is Rose Getrabe? What does the line mean?

Finally, Thomas Stern links us to a YouTube rendering recorded in 1905. Fantastic but I'm still looking for a MIDI for the music. I fancy singing it myself but need an accompaniment.

If you want to see what I do now I am retired visit

360cities.net/search/mark-schuster

Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: Joe_F
Date: 25 Aug 09 - 07:41 PM

Guest Schuster & hand Dubai: I hinted, in my previous posting, at one possible explanation: Napoleon was the Stalin of his day. Heine was a Napoleonic fellow traveler. So also, I have heard, Beethoven, who almost dedicated his third symphony to Napoleon, but recoiled when N. declared himself emperor. They were romantic about the French Revolution (as a lot of lesser 20th-century intellectual eminentos were romantic about the Russian Revolution), and it took them a while to catch on to what had become of it.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GRENADIERS (Heine, Martin)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 12:11 AM

From Poems and Ballads by Heinrich Heine, translated into English by Theodore Martin (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1878), page 40:


THE GRENADIERS.

For France two grenadiers held their way,
Had prisoners been in Russia;
And sorrowful men they were, when they
The frontier reached of Prussia.

For there they heard of a dire event,—
How the world 'gainst France had risen, her
Grande armée had shattered and shent,
And taken her Emperor prisoner.

They mingled their tears, these two grenadiers,
To the sad tale ever returning;
"Oh would!" said one, "that my days were done!
My old wounds, how they're burning!"

"All's up!" said the other; "and sooner than not
I would die like you, never doubt me;
But a wife and child at home I've got,
And they must be starved without me!"

"Hang wife and child! It is something more,
And better far, that I pant for;
My Emperor prisoner! My Emperor!
Let them go beg what they want for!

"If I die just now, as 'tis like I may,
Then, comrade, this boon grant me,
Take my body with you to France away,
And in France's dear earth plant me.

"The Croix d'Honneur, with its crimson band,
On my heart see that you place it;
Then give me my rifle in my hand,
And my sword, around me brace it.

"So will I lie, and listen all ear,
Like a sentinel, low in my bed there,
Till the roar of the cannon some day I hear,
And the neigh of the steeds as they tread there.

"Then I'll know 'tis my Emperor riding by;
Many sabres are flashing to ward him,
And out from my grave full armed spring I,
The Emperor! to shield and to guard him!"

Subject: Lyr Add: TWO GRENADIERS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 11:53 AM

From A Harvest of German Verse, selected and translated by Margarete Münsterberg (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1917), page 128:


TWO GRENADIERS

To France there wandered two grenadiers,
In Russia once captives made.
To German quarters they came after years,
And bowed their heads, dismayed.

And there they were sorrowful tidings told
That France was lost—and repelled,
Destroyed and defeated the army bold—
And the emperor captive held.

The grenadiers wept grievously
When told this mournful lore.
Then said the one: "Ah, woe is me,
How my old wound is sore!"

"The song is sung" the other said,
"I too would die with thee;
But wife and child, if I were dead,
Would perish utterly."

"For wife and child what do I care!
Far better longings I know:
As hungry beggars let them fare—
My emperor, emperor—woe!

"But grant me, brother, one only prayer:
Now when I here shall die,
My body take to France and there
In French earth let me lie!

"My cross of honour with scarlet band
Upon my heart be placed;
And put my gun into my hand,
My sword gird round my waist!

"Then quietly I'll lie and hark,
A sentry in my tomb,
Till I the horses' prancing mark,
And hear the cannon's boom.

"Then my emperor rides across my grave,
And swords will be clashing hard:
And armed I'll rise up from my grave,
My emperor to guard!"

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TWO GRENADIERS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Aug 09 - 02:10 PM

From The Laurel Song Book edited by William Lawrence Tomlins (Boston: C. C. Birchard & Company, 1921), page 252, where it appears with musical notation for 4 voices and piano:


THE TWO GRENADIERS
Words, Heinrich Heine [no translator given]
Music, Robert Schumann, Arr. by Frederic Field Bullard.

1. To France were returning two Grenadiers;
In Russia they both had been taken
And when they came to the German frontier,
All hope their brave hearts had forsaken.

2. For there they were told, to their fearful alarm,
That France to her foes was forsaken,
Besieged and in rout were their brothers at arms,
And the Emp'ror, the Emp'ror was taken!

3. Then bitterly sorrow'd the Grenadiers,
Such direful tidings learning.
The first one said, "The end is here!
Like fire my old wounds are burning!"

4. The other said, "Our luck is gone.
The thought of death I'd cherish,
But I have wife and child at home;
Without me they might perish."

5. "What matters wife or child to me!
A far greater claim has arisen.
They can beg their bread if they hungry be.
My Emp'ror, my Emp'ror in prison!

6. Oh, comrade, grant this last request!
For I hear Death's stern order.
Bear with thee my body, in France to rest
And bury it on her border.

7. The Iron Cross on crimson band
Over my dead heart place me;
The musket give me in my hand,
And with my sword-belt brace me.

8. And there I'll watch like a sentinel
On guard in the coffin lying,
Till the cannon open with thundering yell,
And I hear the squadrons flying.

9. Then surely the Emp'ror will ride o'er my grave,
While sabres flash and rattle,
Then, armed to the teeth, will I rise from my grave
For my Emp'ror, my Emp'ror to battle!"

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TWO GRENADIERS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Aug 09 - 11:49 AM

From The Corona Song Book by William C. Hoff (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1903), Page 188, where it appears with musical notation for piano and 4 voices:


THE TWO GRENADIERS
Words, Heinrich Heine. Music, Schumann, arr. by W. C. Hoff.

To France were returning two grenadiers,
Their Russian captivity leaving,
And when they came to the German frontier,
Their heads were bow'd down with grieving.

'Twas there that they both heard the sorrowful tale:
Disaster their country had shaken;
Defeated and scatter'd the valiant host,
And the Emp'ror, the Emp'ror was taken.

Then sorrow'd together the grenadiers,
Such doleful news to be learning;
And one spoke out amid his tears:
"My wounds once again are burning."

The other said: "The song is done.
Would that I too were dying;
But I've a wife and child at home,
On me for bread relying."

"Nor wife nor child give care to me.
What matter if they are forsaken?
Let them beg their bread, if they hungry be.
My Emp'ror, my Emp'ror is taken!

"O grant me, brother, but one prayer:
If my hours I now must number,
My body take home to my native land.
In France let me peacefully slumber.

"My cross of honor with its band,
Leave on my bosom lying.
My musket place within my hand,
My sword around me tying.

"Thus will I listen within the tomb,
A sentry still and unstirring,
Till the war of cannon resounds thro' the gloom
And tramp of the horsemen spurring.

"Then over my grave will my Emperor ride
While swords with clash are descending.
Then arm'd to the teeth will I rise from the grave,
My Emp'ror, my Emp'ror defending.

Subject: Lyr Req: THE TWO GRENADIERS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Aug 09 - 12:22 PM

From The Assembly Song Book by Frank Reader Rix (New York: The A. S. Barnes Company, 1907), page 102, where it appears with musical notation for piano and 2 voices:


THE TWO GRENADIERS

To France were returning two grenadiers.
In Russia had they been taken,
And when they came to the German frontier,
Their courage was sadly shaken.

'Twas there that they both heard the sorrowful tale
That France's proud realm had been shaken,
Defeated and scatter'd the valiant host,
And the Emp'ror, the Emp'ror been taken.

How bitterly wept then the grenadiers
At hearing the terrible story;
And one then said: "Alas, once more
My wounds are bleeding and gory."

The other said: "My sun is set.
With thee I would die gladly,
But I've a wife and child at home.
Without me they'd fare badly."

"What matters my wife? What matters my child?
A heavier care has arisen.
Let them beg or pray, when they hungry are.
My emperor sighs in a prison.

"Oh, grant me, brother, but one prayer:
If my hours I now must number,
Take with thee my corpse to my native land.
In France let me peacefully slumber.

"My legion's cross with ribbon red
Then on my bosom place thou.
Give me my musket in my hand.
My sword around me brace thou.

"Thus will I listen and lie so still
And watch like a guard o'er the forces,
Until the roaring of cannon I hear,
And trampling of neighing horses.

"Then over my grave will my emperor ride,
While swords gleam brightly and rattle.
Then arm'd to the teeth will I rise from the grave
For my Emp'ror, my Emp'ror to battle."

Subject: Lyr Req: THE TWO GRENADIERS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Aug 09 - 12:48 PM

From New American Music Reader, Number Four by Frederick Zuchtmann (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909), page 238, where it appears with musical notation for 4 voices:


THE TWO GRENADIERS

From Russia were coming two grenadiers.
As pris'ners long since they'd been taken;
But when they arrived at the German frontier,
Their brave hearts were sorely shaken.

For then they first heard of the sorrowful news,
That France's dominion had vanished;
Defeated and scattered her army of yore,
And the Emp'ror, the Emp'ror was banished.

How bitterly wept the two grenadiers,
When hearing the terrible story.
At last one said, "Once more my wounds
With fever are burning and gory."

The other said, "My song is sung.
I would that I were dying;
But I've a wife and child at home
For bread on me relying."

"What matters wife or child to me?
A heavier care has arisen.
Let them beg or starve if they hungry are!
My Emp'ror is lying in prison.

"O comrade, grant my dying prayer.
I feel my hours are number'd.
Take with thee my body to well-lov'd France.
'Tis there I would quietly slumber.

"My legion's cross with ruddy band,
Here on my bosom place thou.
My musket give me in my hand.
My sword around me brace thou.

"Then will I listen and lie so still,
Like sentry guarding the forces,
Until the sound of cannon I hear,
And tramping and neighing of horses.

"Then over my grave will my Emperor ride,
While swords flash brightly and rattle.
Then armed to the teeth will I rise from the grave
For my Emp'ror, my Emp'ror to battle!"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadi
From: GUEST,Mark Schuster
Date: 01 Sep 09 - 06:30 PM

I've been reading through all the translations above and still prefer the one I learned over 50 years ago at school. "To France and to freedom two grenadiers, From bondage in Russia were tramping..." That one. By comparison all others sound to either pretentious or of clumsy English. One even refers to the Iron Cross - hang about! Isn't that a German decoration? Anyhow the poem speaks of the Ehrenkrreuz (Legion d'Honour, perhaps) and not the Eisenkreutz.

Earlier in this thread I asked what or who is Rosse Getrabe of the 8th verse; "Bis Einster ich hoere Kanonengebruel Und wiehernder Rosse Getrabe". Is it someone from history perhaps. I've found no reference to it on Google or Wikipedia. If anyone knows, please drop me an e-mail. It's bothering me.

By the way, there are many fine renderings of the piece on YouTube, even one with music by Richard Wagener.

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: Snuffy
Date: 01 Sep 09 - 07:09 PM

wiehernd = neighing
Ross = steed
traben = to trot

So I guess it means something like "the hoofbeats of neighing steeds"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,clare g.
Date: 26 Sep 09 - 05:07 PM

I learnt this sonf for musical appreciation o level in 1970 in a convent girls school in NOrthern Ireland. I distinctly remeber some verses and forget others but here are the ones that I remember:

Frtom France there journeyed two grenadiers,
Set free from their dark Russian Prison,
And when they came to the German Frontiers,
New Sorrow and shame had risen.

THey heard there the news of disater and woe,
how France was betrayed and forsaken.
Her army was routed , her standard lay low ,
And the Emporer, the Emporer was taken!

THey wept mingling bitterly tear with tear,
In shame and grief wildly sobbing.
And then one said the end is mear,
My old wound again is throbbing.

THe othere said all spent am I,
But galad were I to perish ,
But wife and child at home must die,
Without mine aid to cherish

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,clare g typing edit
Date: 26 Sep 09 - 05:50 PM

From France there journeyed two grenadiers,
Set free from their dark Russian prison.
But when they came to the German frontiers,
New sorrow and shame had risen.

They heard there the news of disaster and woe,
How France was betrayed and forsaken.
Her army was routed, her standard laid low,
And the Emporer, the Emporer was taken!

They wept mingling bitterly tear with tear,
In shame and grief wildly sobbing.
And then one said 'The end is near,
My old wound again is throbbing'.

The other said,'All spent am I,
And glad were I to perish,
But wife and child at home must die,
Without mine aid to cherish'.

'To wife and child my heart is dead,
My soul bears a far greater anguish,
If in want of food they must beg for bread,
My Emporer Captain doth languish!'

......... to be cont'd

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,clare g end of song
Date: 26 Sep 09 - 05:59 PM

PLease note some verses missing here. Does anyone know them?

The song moves into the Marseillaise:

' And there I'll die neath the slumbering dead,
A sentry guarding the forces,
While cannon roaring shall crash o'er my head ,
with stamping and neighing of horses.

And o'er my grave will my Emporer ride,
While sword blades clatter and rattle,
While sword blades clatter and rattle!
And armed like a soldier I'll rise in my pride,
And follow my Emporer to battle!'

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 27 Sep 09 - 04:06 AM

Thanks Clare. That's the same version I was learning in Edinburgh in the 60s.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Pauline
Date: 16 Jun 11 - 09:54 AM

If thou, my comrade true would prove,
Now death is closing o'er me
Oh carry me back to the land I love,
Back to the land that bore me.

My honoured cross with crimson band
Close to my heart place on me
My musket put into my hand
And gird my sword upon me.

And there I'll lie...... eyc.


Yep - a level music, 1968 ! Why DO we remember these things???

I Also remember
"Thou'rt like unto a flower,
So fair so beautiful and bright.
I gaze on thee and silence
Steals o'er my heart's delight" etc

and

"There stands n'eath the ??? a walnut tree,
Daily, gaily greener
Her leaves are all waving free"

cheer, Pauline

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Jun 13 - 01:25 PM

I remember some of this from grade school in the 60's.

To France were returning two Grenadiers.
From Russia where they had been taken.
But when they came to the German frontier,
their brave hearts were badly shaken.
.......missing some lines
France was betrayed and forsaken,
and the Emperor, the Emperor was taken!

........missing the middle.

The Cross of Valor that I won,
place on my heart to cheer me.
And in my hand my trusty gun,
my sword and scabbard near me.

And there I will lie like a Sentry on guard.
Til ........

And then when the Emperor rides over my grave,
and swords like lightening are falling,
and swords like lightening are falling,

Then ready to fight I shall rise from the grave,
the Emperor, the Emperor is calling!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Mar 14 - 11:36 AM

http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/1661/

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Anne Neilson
Date: 14 Mar 14 - 02:09 PM

How much I loved this song when a pupil in 3rd year of secondary education in 1959-60, so aged 14/15, near Glasgow!

We were a very enthusiastic singing class (mixed boys and girls), favouring songs with a bit of drama and rhythm to them, like the setting of John Masefield's poem 'Cargoes' -- so 'The Two Grenadiers' was exactly what was guaranteed to get us going. We sang it with feeling (ignoring our tiny female music teacher's attempts to rein us in) and poured out what we thought of as real passion on the lines "The Emperor, the Emperor was taken!". Indeed, the song was so popular with us that we would sing it a cappella at the back of the bus taking us to the local music festival when the teacher entered us as the school choir to sing a 5-part anthem. And we were still singing it lustily on school and Former Pupil excursions over the next few years, in a version which included a nod to Schumann's piano arrangement -- "To France and to freedom two grenadiers -- diddle-iddle-um -- from bondage in Russia were tramping etc.".

Can't remember the names of the various song books that we used, but we also had to sing 'Voi che sapete' and Handel's 'Largo': eventually our wee teacher got fly to our exuberant nonsense and would bribe us with 'Cargoes' or 'The Two Grenadiers' AFTER we'd worked through the more lyrical stuff. And if that wasn't enough, she would call up Moira (THE class singer) to accompany herself on the piano and sing something like Schubert's 'The Trout' or Schumann's(?) 'To Music' -- it always worked and restored us to being biddable citizens.

And ever since then I've been a disciple of the power of music!

(By the way, several of that group met up again last year and could still -- after 52 years -- sing our way through 'Grenadiers' without words on paper!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: Joe_F
Date: 14 Mar 14 - 07:55 PM

I see from the German Wikipedia that (as I had guessed) it was Schumann who expanded the title "Die Grenadier'" to "Die Beiden Grenadiere".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Savid Strachan
Date: 12 Jul 15 - 09:15 AM

I can still sing this song (along with Schubert's 'The Trout' and various other surprisingly classical songs)taught to us in 1948 by the Gordon Schools' enlightened music master and composer, Ronald Center. I
am surprised this song seems to have been so widely taught and so vividly remembered as it seemed to have so little relevance to us or the times we were living through

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,#
Date: 12 Jul 15 - 10:23 AM

http://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=7543

That site may be useful to someone. If it's a double post, my apologies.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Jim Baker
Date: 11 May 16 - 10:14 AM

From what I remember of my high school solo.

To France were returning two Grenadiers,
from Russia their way they'd been making,
and when they came to the German frontier,
Their hearts were depressed and shaken,

Twas there that they heard that sad story of woe,
the throne of their country was shaken,
Fair France had been conquered, her armies laid low,
and their Emperor in prison was taken!

Then wept in their sorrow and grief the twain,
Their thoughts to him ever turning,
the first one spoke, I'm faint with pain,
my wound still unhealed is burning,

The other said, the end has come,
I too would gladly perish,
but I've a wife and child at home,
to love and guard and cherish.

Ha! What is wife or child to me?
My thoughts to my emperor are flying,
Let them beg for bread in the poverty!
My emperor in prison is lying!

One boon I ask thee fore I go,
for death is o'er me creeping,
my body to France should go,
In soil of my country sleeping,

My cross of honor let me wear,
won as the flags defender,
my musket to arm should bear,
for I shall not surrender!

And there I'll lie to the day of doom,
till o'er me trumpets are sounding,
I'll wake again to the cannon's boom,
and soldiers to battle are marching,

When the Emperor rides over the plain once again,
and swords clash and muskets rattle,
I'll rise up in arms from the grave once again,
For France and my emperor to battle!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 17 - 07:43 PM

To France and to freedom two Grenadiers
From bondage in Russia were tramping.

I sang this version with my schoolmates in the annual "House Shout" (inter house singing competition) at Tonbridge School over sixty years ago - and won!
These lyrics, to my mind, are the best as they flow well and do not try to emulate German syntax.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Die Beiden Grenadiere/The Two Grenadiers
From: GUEST,Hugh Millar
Date: 01 Aug 21 - 07:04 AM

My recollection from c1958:

To France and to freedom two Grenadiers
From bondage in Russia were tramping
And bowed with shame and foreboding they came
Where lay German soldiers camping

And evil the news they were told as they passed
How France in her glory was shaken
Her grand army beaten and broken at last
And the Emperor, the Emperor was taken

Then mourned they together the grenadiers
This doleful news to be learning
This is the end cried one with tears
This news sets old wounds a-burning

The other said we lose the game
Now death be naught to grieve for
But those will starve who bear my name
The wife, the child I live for

What matters wife or child to me?
For France let the World be forsaken
Let them beg their way if they hungry be
My Emperor, my Emperor is taken

Now grant me comrade this my prayer
When comes my hour for dying
Oh take me to France lay my body there
Let France be the ground I lie in

My cross you'll pin upon my chest
Cross which the wars have won me
My musket in my hand be placed
And gird my sword around me

A silent sentinel harkening I'll
Await the rousing reveille
Till I once more hear the boom and the roar
Of the guns and the charge through the valley

And then as my Emperor shall ride o'er my grave
His hosts like waves of the river
Ten thousand sabres aquiver
I'll rise to salute him full armed from my grave
My Emperor, my Emperor for ever.