Ermutigung
| "Ermutigung" | |
|---|---|
| Political song by Wolf Biermann | |
from the album
|
|
| Language | German |
| English title | "Encouragement" |
| Published | 1968 |
| Recorded | 1968 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | Wolf Biermann |
"Ermutigung" ("Encouragement") is a poem and song by the German Liedermacher and lyricist Wolf Biermann. It was first published in 1968 in the poetry collection Mit Marx- und Engelszungen by Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, which also released the poem set to music as part of the single 4 neue Lieder ("4 New Songs"). Biermann later released the song on his 1974 LP album aah-ja!, released by Columbia Records.
The text of "Ermutigung" warns the listener/reader not to become hardened or embittered. The final verse ends with the optimistic image of a coming spring. Biermann dedicated the poem to his friend Peter Huchel, who was under house arrest and surveillance by the Stasi at the time. It also reflected on his own resignation as a blacklisted East German artist. The song version was popular in both East and West Germany and remains one of Biermann's most famous songs.
The text begins with the following verse:
Du, laß dich nicht verhärten
in dieser harten Zeit.
Die allzu hart sind, brechen,
die allzu spitz sind, stechen
und brechen ab sogleich.
You, don't let yourself become hardened
in these hard times.
Those who are overly hard will break
those who are overly pointed will pierce
and break off immediately.
In the following three verses, the listener is addressed in a similar manner and told not to become embittered, terrified, or worn down, stating that the goal of "those in power" is for the listener to give up fighting before the final conflict happens, which is those people in power secretly fear.
The fourth verse ends with the lines:
Du kannst nicht untertauchen,
du brauchst uns, und wir brauchen
grad deine Heiterkeit.
You cannot go into hiding,
you need us and we need
your cheerfulness right now.
While the first four verses begin anaphorically with "You, don't let yourself be…", the fifth and final verse switches from "You" to "We", which had already surfaced in the third and fourth verses.
The poem ends with the following verse, calling the listener to action:
...
Wikipedia