Das Lied der Deutschen [Deutschlandlied] [English translation]

Germany, Germany over all

Over everything in the world!

When it comes to protecting and defending,

Our unity unites us.1

From the Maas2to the Memel3

From the Etsch4to the Belt,5

Germany, Germany over all

Over everything in the world!

Germany, Germany over all

Over everything in the world!

German wives and fidelity,

German wine and melody

Shall all persevere in the world.

Their fair and ancient tone,

Resounds6in us our noble goal7

Throughout our entire lives.

German women, German trueness

German beer,8and German chorus!

German women, German trueness

German beer,and German chorus!

Unity, justice, and liberty9

For the Fatherland! 10

Let us all strive for that

In brotherhood with heart and hand! 11

Unity, justice, and liberty

Are the foundation for happiness; 12

Bloom in the radiance of this happiness,

Flourish, 'O Fatherland!

Bloom in the radiance of this happiness,

Flourish, 'O Fatherland!

1. in an attempt to keep things neuter, I have substituted the literal "brotherly bond/cohesion"2. alt. Meuse; In a then–disunited Germany with the river as its western boundary, King William I of the Netherlands had joined the German Confederation with his Duchy of Limburg in 1839. Though the duchy's territory officially became an integral part of the Netherlands by the 1867 Treaty of London, the text passage remained unchanged when the Deutschlandlied was declared the national anthem of the Weimar Republic in 1922. -courtesy of Wikipedia.org (edited for clarity by SilentRebel83)3. alt. Neman; Located in present-day Lithuania. In German, however, the river has been called die Memel at least since about 1250, when Teutonic Knights erected Memelburg castle and the town of Memel at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon, baptizing it after the indigenous name of the river, Memel. -courtesy of Wikipedia.org (edited for clarity by SilentRebel83)4. alt. Adige; The Adige was mentioned in the "Lied der Deutschen" of 1841 as the southern border of the German language-area of the time. -courtesy of Wikipedia.org5. alt. Little Belt; The Belt is the name of a river mentioned in the German national anthem to define the northern limit of territories advocated in the song as a unified Germany. -courtesy of Wikipedia.org (edited for clarity by SilentRebel83)6. lit. to excite7. lit. duty, deed8. lit. wine, though I used beer because it seemed like the appropriate icon in this setting (i.e. Oktoberfest)9. alt: Unity, law and freedom10. alt for Vaterland: motherland or homeland11. alt for bruederlich: fraternally or fellowship12. Unterpfand=pledge