Context:
The Song of the Vltava (Das Lied von der Moldau) is a poem by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Written between August and September 1943 while he was in exile in the United States, it represents a fragment of a work Brecht had planned for his play Schweyk in World War II.
The poetic text has strong references to socialism and to exile. Antiwar, anti-Nazi and revolutionary overtones are present too, enhanced by the dramaturgical context and specific text points like the hope that „time will come“ and that „the grandiose plans of the dukes will one day come to a halt.“
Original
Am Grunde der Moldau wandern die Steine
Es liegen drei Kaiser begraben in Prag.
Das Große bleibt groß nicht und klein nicht das Kleine.
Die Nacht hat zwölf Stunden, dann kommt schon der Tag.
Es wechseln die Zeiten. Die riesigen Pläne
Der Mächtigen kommen am Ende zum Halt.
Und gehn sie einher auch wie blutige Hähne
Es wechseln die Zeiten, da hilft kein Gewalt.
Am Grunde der Moldau wandern die Steine
Es liegen drei Kaiser begraben in Prag.
Das Große bleibt groß nicht und klein nicht das Kleine.
Die Nacht hat zwölf Stunden, dann kommt schon der Tag.
English translation
At the bottom of the Moldau the stones wander
Three emperors lie buried in Prague.
The great does not remain great and the small does not remain small.
The night has twelve hours, then the day comes.
The times change. The huge plans
Of the mighty come to a halt at the end.
And they also go along like bloody cocks
The times are changing, no violence can help.
At the bottom of the Moldau the stones wander
Three emperors lie buried in Prague.
The great does not remain great and the small does not remain small.
The night has twelve hours, then the day comes.