Panzerlied
The Panzerlied was a Wehrmacht military march of the Nazi era, sung primarily by the Panzerwaffe, the tank force of Nazi Germany during World War II. It is one of the most well known songs of the Wehrmacht and was popularised by the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge.. It is still used today by the Chilean and Swedish Army.
History
Panzerlied was composed in 1935. In 2017, the German Army was banned from publishing song books containing Panzerlied and other marching songs by the Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen as part of new efforts at denazification.The song is sung by some motorized and parachute units of the Italian Army, most especially by the 185th Paratroopers Division Folgore under the title of "Sui Monti e Sui Mar". In France, the lyrics were adapted slightly to become the Marche des Chars used by the 501e régiment de chars de combat. The half portion of the song was used for Namibian patriotic song, Das Südwesterlied. A Spanish translation of the song is used in the Chilean Army.
Lyrics
The lyrics of Panzerlied were adapted to fit a Kriegsmarine song. The first verse is the most commonly sung.| Verse | German | Directly Translated English | Singable English |
| 1 | Ob die Sonne uns lacht, Der Tag glühend heiß Oder eiskalt die Nacht, Bestaubt sind die Gesichter, Doch froh ist unser Sinn, Ja unser Sinn. Es braust unser Panzer Im Sturmwind dahin. | Whether the sun smiles upon us, The day's scorching heat, Or the ice-cold of the night, Dusty are the faces, But joyous is our mind, Yes, our mind. Our tanks roar there, There in the stormwinds. | Or in sun warm and bright, The day hot as hell Or bone-chilling be the night, Our faces may with dust be laid, But spirits never fade, No, never fade; Relentless, our tank Thunders out on a raid. |
| 2 | Geschwind wie der Blitz, Dem Feinde entgegen, Im Panzer geschützt. Voraus den Kameraden, Im Kampf steh'n wir allein, Steh'n wir allein, So stoßen wir tief In die feindlichen Reihn. | Fast as lightning, Against the enemy, safely inside our panzers. Ahead of our comrades, In combat we stand alone, We stand alone. So we strike deep In the enemy ranks. | Fast as is the wind, We head for the foe, Safe, as we're in armor skinned. Our comrades still behind us roam; We'll fight the foe alone, Yes, fight alone. We stab through the line To break the foe's backbone. |
| 3 | Heer dann erscheint, Wird Vollgas gegeben Und ran an den Feind! Was gilt denn unser Leben Für unsres Reiches Heer? Ja Reiches Heer Für Deutschland zu sterben Ist uns höchste Ehr. | Army then appears. Shalt full gas be given And run to the enemy! What then do our lives count for, For our nation's army? Yes, nation's army To die for Germany Is our highest honor. | May appear in our sight, We'll ram throttle full, Then we'll humble all his might! Of what other use is our life If country, we serve freely? Yes, serve freely! For to die for country, Be the greatest honour there be. |
| 4 | Hält der Gegner uns auf, Wir lachen darüber Und fahren nicht drauf. Und droh'n vor uns Geschütze, Versteckt im gelben Sand, Im gelben Sand, Wir suchen uns Wege, Die keiner sonst fand. | the opponent holds us up, We laugh about it and upon them, don't drive. And guns before us defend, hidden in the yellow sand, yes, yellow sand. We search for our way No others have found. | Our foe tries to impede. We laugh at his ruses; For he shall ne'er succeed. In threat, the foe's cannons are manned, All cowering in the sand, Yes, in the sand, We'll just find another way Over much safer land. |
| 5 | Einst das treulose Glück, Und kehren wir nicht mehr Zur Heimat zurück, Trifft uns die Todeskugel, Ruft uns das Schicksal ab, Ja Schicksal ab, Dann wird uns der Panzer Ein ehernes Grab. | once by treacherous luck, And to return we will no more, Back to home, Meeting us, the deathly bullet, Calling our fate away, Yes, fate away. Then become the tank for us, An iron grave. | Our cruel Lady Luck leave, And remain our remains here, Leaving family to grieve, Bullets engraved with our names, Shall find us and seal our fate, Yes, our fate, Our grave, shall our tank become On that final fatal date. |