Ich Hatt' Einen Kameraden (I Had A Comrade)
Ich hatt' einen Kameraden,
Einen bessern findst du nit.
Die Trommel schlug zum Streite,
Er ging an meiner Seite
In gleichem Schritt und Tritt.
Eine Kugel kam geflogen:
Gilt's mir oder gilt es dir?
Ihn hat es weggerissen,
Er liegt vor meinen Füßen
Als wär's ein Stück von mir
Will mir die Hand noch reichen,
Derweil ich eben lad'.
'Kann dir die Hand nicht geben,
Bleib du im ew'gen Leben
Mein guter Kamerad!
I Had a Comrade
In battle he was my comrade,
None better I have had.
The drum called us to fight,
He always on my right,
In step, through good and bad.
A bullet it flew towards us,
For him or meant for me?
His life from mine it tore,
At my feet a piece of gore,
As if a part of me.
His hand reached up to hold mine.
I must re-load my gun.
'My friend, I cannot ease your pain,
In life eternal we'll meet again,
And walk once more as one.'
Translated by Frank Petersohn
I Had a Comrade
I had one faithful comrade
'Ere we heard the trumpet's call,
And we pledged our hearts forever
In battle joined together
To beat the foe or fall.
A musket shot came screaming
To seal his fate or mine
Right at my feet he stumbled,
And friendship's shrine it crumbled
Around that friend of mine.
His hand is blindly seeking
The clasp I cannot give
For duty calls me onward
Farewell my dying comrade,
Our love shall ever live.
Translated by Arthur Kevess
poem by Johann Ludwig Uhland
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Related quotes
Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field one Night
Vigil strange I kept on the field one night;
When you my son and my comrade dropt at my side that day,
One look I but gave which your dear eyes return'd with a look I shall never forget,
One touch of your hand to mine O boy, reach'd up as you lay on the ground,
Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle,
Till late in the night reliev'd to the place at last again I made my way,
Found you in death so cold dear comrade, found your body son of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,)
Bared your face in the starlight, curious the scene, cool blew the moderate night-wind,
Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battle-field spreading,
Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night,
But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh, long, long I gazed,
Then on the earth partially reclining sat by your side leaning my chin in my hands,
Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you dearest comrade -- not a tear, not a word,
Vigil of silence, love and death, vigil for you my son and my soldier,
As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole,
Vigil final for you brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your death,
I faithfully loved you and cared for you living, I think we shall surely meet again,)
Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn appear'd,
My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop'd well his form,
Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head and carefully under feet,
And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited,
Ending my vigil strange with that, vigil of night and battle-field dim,
Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding,)
Vigil for comrade swiftly slain, vigil I never forget, how as day brighten'd,
I rose from the chill ground and folded my soldier well in his blanket,
And buried him where he fell.
poem by Walt Whitman
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Virgil Strange I Kept On The Field
VIGIL strange I kept on the field one night:
When you, my son and my comrade, dropt at my side that day,
One look I but gave, which your dear eyes return'd, with a look I
shall never forget;
One touch of your hand to mine, O boy, reach'd up as you lay on the
ground;
Then onward I sped in the battle, the even-contested battle;
Till late in the night reliev'd, to the place at last again I made my
way;
Found you in death so cold, dear comrade--found your body, son of
responding kisses, (never again on earth responding;)
Bared your face in the starlight--curious the scene--cool blew the
moderate night-wind;
Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battlefield
spreading;
Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet, there in the fragrant silent
night; 10
But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh--Long, long I gazed;
Then on the earth partially reclining, sat by your side, leaning my
chin in my hands;
Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic hours with you, dearest
comrade--Not a tear, not a word;
Vigil of silence, love and death--vigil for you my son and my
soldier,
As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole;
Vigil final for you, brave boy, (I could not save you, swift was your
death,
I faithfully loved you and cared for you living--I think we shall
surely meet again;)
Till at latest lingering of the night, indeed just as the dawn
appear'd,
My comrade I wrapt in his blanket, envelop'd well his form,
Folded the blanket well, tucking it carefully over head, and
carefully under feet; 20
And there and then, and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his
grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited;
Ending my vigil strange with that--vigil of night and battlefield
dim;
Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth
responding;)
Vigil for comrade swiftly slain--vigil I never forget, how as day
brighten'd,
I rose from the chill ground, and folded my soldier well in his
blanket,
And buried him where he fell.
poem by Walt Whitman
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A Wayfaring Song
0 who will walk a mile with me
Along life's merry way?
A comrade blithe and full of glee,
Who dares to laugh out loud and free
And let his frolic fancy play,
Like a happy child, through the flowers gay
That fill the field and fringe the way
Where he walks a mile with me.
And who will walk a mile with me
Along life's weary way?
A friend whose heart has eyes to see
The stars shine out o'er the darkening lea,
And the quiet rest at the end o' the day-
A friend who knows, and dares to say,
The brave, sweet words that cheer the way
Where he walks a mile with me.
With such a comrade, such a friend,
I fain would walk till journey's end,
Through summer sunshine, winter rain,
And then? - Farewell, we shall meet again!
poem by Henry Van Dyke
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A Mile With Me
O who will walk a mile with me
Along life's merry way?
A comrade blithe and full of glee,
Who dares to laugh out loud and free,
And let his frolic fancy play,
Like a happy child, through the flowers gay
That fill the field and fringe the way
Where he walks a mile with me.
And who will walk a mile with me
Along life's weary way?
A friend whose heart has eyes to see
The stars shine out o'er the darkening lea,
And the quiet rest at the end o' the day,--
A friend who knows, and dares to say,
The brave, sweet words that cheer the way
Where he walks a mile with me.
With such a comrade, such a friend,
I fain would walk till journeys end,
Through summer sunshine, winter rain,
And then?--Farewell, we shall meet again!
poem by Henry Van Dyke
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On The Fifth Day Of A Hunger Strike
My brothers,
Forgive me if I'm unable to say
honestly and straightforwardly
all that I would like to say to you
I'm drunk, my head is light, it spins,
not from raki
but from hunger.
My brothers,
I'm European, I'm Asian, I'm American,
In this month of May
I'm not in jail or on a hunger strike,
But lying at night in a meadow
With your eyes as near to mine as the stars
And your hands in mine as a single hand
like the hand of my mother
like the hand of my helpmate
like the hand of life.
My brothers,
You, at least, have never abandoned me,
Not me or my country or my people.
I know that you love me and love what's ours
As I love you and love what's yours.
And for this
I thank you, my brothers,
I thank you.
My brothers,
I have no intention of dying.
And if I am killed
I know
I'll go on living
in your thoughts.
I'll live in the lines of Aragon-
in every line that describes
the coming of beautiful days-
And in the pigeons of Picasso,
And in the folksongs of Robson...
And more beautiful than anything else
more triumphant than anything else
I'll live in the jubilant laughter
of a comrade on strike day
in the port of Marseilles.
My brothers,
Since you really wish me to talk again,
I'm so happy, so happy,
that I spurt the words out!
poem by Nazim Hikmet
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The Only Hand You'll Need To Hold
When you need to be love, let me love you
When you need a friend, reach out to me
When you need reassuring that it's alright
Anything you need, that what I'll be
For I want to be the one you always come to
When you find you need a place to go
Let mine be the hand you always cling to
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
I can be the one that makes you happy
I'll be your umbrella when it rains
I will be someone that you can count on
In other words, I'll be your everything
For I want to be the one you always come to
When you find you need a place to go
Let mine be the hand you always cling to
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
I want to be the one you always come to
When you find you need a place to go
Let mine be the hand you always cling to
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
Mine will be the only hand you ever need to hold
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Old Soldier
Friend, I have faced many a difficult battle,
Dangerous missions that required some backbone;
As a soldier, I have encountered hard times,
But this trip was the toughest one I had known.
My feet became heavy, but still I walked on,
Moving down the long hallway to where he lay;
This man was my best friend and fellow soldier,
But, I had received news, he would die today.
His room was now only a few feet away,
I became frozen, standing there at his door;
I had come to say goodbye to my comrade,
For after today, I would see him no more.
He was sitting up, as if waiting for me,
I noticed an old familiar smile on his face;
He said; “Soldier, I’m sure glad you came today,
For soon ole’ buddy, I’ll be leavin’ this place.
He said; “Now you know I don’t like hospitals,
There’s just too much sufferin’ n’ pain;
‘Sides, these places stir up many old memories,
Some I’ve been reliving again and again.”
“But, Soldier, I’ve got a brand new a’signment,
I’m goin’ t’ a land where there ain’t no wars;
A place where winds of peace are always blowin’,
It’s a long mission, away up b’yond the stars.”
“Yes sir, I’m ready, be gone in a short while,
But there’s a thing or two I’d like you to know.”
“You, Sir have always been my very best friend,
Sure gon’na miss our talks, and I’ve loved you so.”
As he spoke, a glow came upon his old face,
Like none that I had ever seen there before;
He said; “Listen up Soldier, I’m being called,
A messenger’s a’standin’ there at my door.”
I took his hand as he squeezed mine so tightly,
I swear, I have never seen him so at ease;
He turned and spoke up again, smiling widely,
“The Commanders’ waitin’, now I’ve got t’ leave! ”
And then, just like that, the old soldier was gone,
Then I felt his firm grip on my hand release;
I stood at full attention to salute him,
As I said; “So long dad, now go… rest in peace.”
poem by Loyd C. Taylor
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It happened one day
To Comrade Leon.Trotsky!
Today is the May Day isn't it?
I dreamed last night the mass rallying in my poor heedless island for solidarity.
This may be a soliloquy my dear comrade.
Oh! What a catastrophe?
A headless inhuman jackal was forced to split your precious brain into halves by the cruel hearts.
* To Comrade poetess Sandra.Fowler in gratitude.
(Many thanks for your valuable prayers and our political asylum petition referred to an immigration judge for further inquiries in Los Angeles on the 10 th of June,2008)
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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You Can't Be Mine (and Someone Else's Too)
J.C. Johnson / C. Webb
You can't be mine
And someone else's too
Someday you'll find
I've been a friend to you
I don't believe that life's worth living
I gave you all there was worth giving
You never cared how I fared or what I do
I called you mine but I was not to blame
For all the time you played up to
Hand and game
Second hand love I can't see
It's good for some but not for me
You can't be mine
And somene else's too
song performed by by Billie Holiday
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Can't Be Mine
J.c. johnson / c. webb
You can't be mine
And someone else's too
Someday you'll find
I've been a friend to you
I don't believe that life's worth living
I gave you all there was worth giving
You never cared how i fared or what i do
I called you mine but i was not to blame
For all the time you played up to
Hand and game
Second hand love i can't see
It's good for some but not for me
You can't be mine
And somene else's too
song performed by by Billie Holiday
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Dying Soldier
Yes! raise me on your arm, Dick Dale,
My comrade old and true.
And let me of the glad earth take
One last and lingering view.
When yet a few brief moments more
Of this flittering hour have fled,
You’ll shed an old friend's tear, Dick Dale,
Above your comrade's head.
We fought together, side by side,
In many a bloody fray,
From Malvern Hill's dark hour of strife,
To fierce Antietam's day.
And when again the 'long roll' calls,
For battle to prepare,
You will not fail the flag, Dick Dale,
But I shall not be there.
You will not soon forget me, Dick!
I know it by that sigh;
I know it by those tears that shine
In your half averted eye.
But my dear old comrade's heart will swell,
I know with honest pride,
When he thinks that for the grand old flag,
His old companion died.
Cut off this light brown lock, Dick Dale,
For the girl that waits at home.
Yes! Hoping waits her soldier love,
Who never more can come.
'Twill soothe perhaps her bleeding heart
To know that watched by you,
The boy she loved, at least has died,
With one who loved him too.
You'll visit all the quaint old nooks
We sought when we were boys,
And thoughts of me will come, Dick Dale,
With thoughts of childhood's joys;
And when you reach the old playground
Where once you used to play,
You’ll not forget your friend, Dick Dale,
In his lone grave far away.
poem by Anonymous Americas
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To Youth
O YOUTH, sweet comrade Youth, wouldst thou be gone?
Long have we dwelt together, thou and I;
Together drunk of many an alien dawn,
And plucked the fruit of many an alien sky.
Ah, fickle friend, must I, who yesterday
Dreamed forwards to long, undimmed ecstasy,
Henceforward dream, because thou wilt not stay,
Backward to transient pleasure and to thee?
I give thee back thy false, ephemeral vow;
But, O beloved comrade, ere we part,
Upon my mournful eyelids and my brow
Kiss me who hold thine image in my heart.
poem by Sarojini Naidu
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A hand of friendship
Take the hand i am holding on to you
It is the hand of friendship and love
A hand that will give you support
To bear to endure and to be firm
In life's vicious circle that we live
It is the hand of a friend
Which will give you strength
A firm grip ensuring security
It is the hand of love and concern
Hold it tightly to be affirm
Life is good life is hope
Life is what you cope
With courage strength and a smile
With hand in hand hand in love
Hold it tight hold it firm
With the belief thats for sure
God is with us as never before
poem by Rehanayakoob Yakoob
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A friend of mine, , my friend of best.
A friend of mine, ,
my friend of best.
We are to each other
a wall to lean on
an ear to listen to
a hand to hold
Through fire and ice
ups and downs
she is my best friend
friend
sister
family
twice
:)
more connections then most
she has the bottle
, , that holds my tears, ,
i have the box
, , that holds her fears, ,
a hand to hold
i'll never let go
of a friend of mine
my friend of best
poem by Alyssa Lippi
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An Impromptu
Not premeditated
THE clock has struck noon; ere it thrice tell the hours
We shall meet round the table that blushes with flowers,
And I shall blush deeper with shame-driven blood
That I came to the banquet and brought not a bud.
Who cares that his verse is a beggar in art
If you see through its rags the full throb of his heart?
Who asks if his comrade is battered and tanned
When he feels his warm soul in the clasp of his hand?
No! be it an epic, or be it a line,
The Boys will all love it because it is mine;
I sung their last song on the morn of the day
That tore from their lives the last blossom of May.
It is not the sunset that glows in the wine,
But the smile that beams over it, makes it divine;
I scatter these drops, and behold, as they fall,
The day-star of memory shines through them all!
And these are the last; they are drops that I stole
From a wine-press that crushes the life from the soul,
But they ran through my heart and they sprang to my brain
Till our twentieth sweet summer was smiling again!
poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes
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The Dagger
I like you well, O trusty dagger mine,
My comrade wrought of cool Damascus steel!
Forged were you by the Georgian with revenge in the mind,
By the Circassian free - for war were you made keen.
A lily-white hand it was gave you to me -
You were affection's keepsake, its last gift...
Not blood, but pearl-like tears born of the agony
Of bitter parting down your blade ran swift.
Her dark eyes rested, full of secret pain,
Of sadness and of mystery, upon
My face, and like yourself when lit by flickering flame,
Now clouded and turned dull, now glowed and shone.
O dagger, love's mute pledge, you will my true
Friend stay, and an example set to me, a wanderer:
For faithful, yes, and firm of soul like you
I'll be like you that tempered was by fire.
poem by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov
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The Package
Clever got me this far
Then tricky got me in
Eye on what I'm after
I don't need another friend
Smile and drop the cliche
'Till you think I'm listening
I take just what I came for
Then I'm out the door again
Peripheral on the package
Don't care to settle in
Time to feed the monster
I don't need another friend
Comfort is a mystery
Crawling out of my own skin
Just give me what I came for, then I'm out the door again
Lie to get what I came for
Lie to get just what I need
Lie to get what I crave
Lie and smile to get what's mine
Eye on what I'm after
I don't need another friend
Nod and watch your lips move
If you need me to pretend
Because clever got me this far
Then tricky got me in
I'll take just what I came for
Then I'm out the door again
Lie to get what I came for
Lie to get what I need now
Lie to get what I'm craving
Lie and smile to get what's mine
Give this to me
Mine, mine, mine
Take what's mine
Mine, mine, mine
Take what's mine
Mine, mine, mine
Lie to get what I came for
Lie to get what I need now
Lie to get what I crave
Lie to smile and get what's mine
Give this to me
Take what's mine
Mine, mine, mine
Take what's mine
Give this to me
Take what's mine, take what's mine, mine...
Take what's mine, take what's mine, take what's mine,
This is mine, mine, mine, not mine
song performed by by A Perfect Circle
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Friend
My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear--a
care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee
from my negligence.
The 'I' in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and
therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.
I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I
do--for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my
deeds thy own hopes in action.
When thou sayest, 'The wind bloweth eastward,' I say, 'Aye it doth
blow eastward'; for I would not have thee know that my mind doth
not dwell upon the wind but upon the sea.
Thou canst not understand my seafaring thoughts, nor would I have
thee understand. I would be at sea alone.
When it is day with thee, my friend, it is night with me; yet even
then I speak of the noontide that dances upon the hills and of
the purple shadow that steals its way across the valley; for thou
canst not hear the songs of my darkness nor see my wings beating
against the stars--and I fain would not have thee hear or see. I
would be with night alone.
When thou ascendest to thy Heaven I descend to my Hell--even then
thou callest to me across the unbridgeable gulf, 'My companion, my
comrade,' and I call back to thee, 'My comrade, my companion'--for
I would not have thee see my Hell. The flame would burn thy eyesight
and the smoke would crowd thy nostrils. And I love my Hell too
well to have thee visit it. I would be in Hell alone.
Thou lovest Truth and Beauty and Righteousness; and I for thy sake
say it is well and seemly to love these things. But in my heart
I laught at thy love. Yet I would not have thee see my laughter.
I would laugh alone.
My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise; nay, thou art
perfect--and I, too, speak with thee wisely and cautiously. And
yet I am mad. But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone.
My friend, thou art not my friend, but how shall I make thee
understand? My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand
in hand.
poem by Khalil Gibran
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A hand of friendship
Take the hand i am holding on to you
It is the hand of friendship and love
A hand that will give you support
To bear to endure and to be firm
In life's vicious circle that we live
It is the hand of a friend
Which will give you strength
a firm grip ensuring security
It is the hand of love and concern
Hold it tight to be affirm
Life is good life is hope
Life is what you cope
With courage strength and a smile
With hand in hand a hand of love
Hold it tight hold it firm
With the belief thats for sure
God is with us as never before
poem by Rehanayakoob Yakoob
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An Fouqué
Kann nicht reden, kann nicht schreiben,
Kann nicht sagen, wie mir ist!
Mir ist wohl und bang im Herzen,
Kann nicht ernst sein, kann nicht scherzen,
Kann nicht wissen, wie mir ist.
Mit der Arbeit will's nicht vorwärts.
Wie so leer es um mich ist.
Wie so voll ist's mir im Herzen!
Kann nicht ernst sein, kann nicht scherzen,
Kann nicht wissen, wie mir ist.
Kann nur fühlen, kann nicht wissen,
Kann nicht sagen, was es ist,
Könnt ich singen, liebes Leben,
Würden Töne Kunde geben,
Wie es mir im Herzen ist.
poem by Adelbert von Chamisso
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