Orestes Fasting
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Tomorrow Belongs to MeThis is possibly a downright silly question, but does anyone know whether Kander & Ebb wrote "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," or whether it was actually a German nationalist song?
These are the German lyrics as they appeared in the movie dub; there was a slightly different version in the Bad Hersfeld production in 1995.
| Quote: | Im Licht liegt die Wiese so sommerlich da, der Hirsch schlägt die Freiheitsbahn ein; doch sammelt euch alle – ein Sturm ist nah, der morgige Tag ist mein.
Das Lindengrün läutet, die Blätter sie weh'n, es fließt heut so friedlich der Rhein; doch fern geht ein Stern auf noch ungeseh'n, der morgige Tag ist mein.
Das Kind in der Wiese liegt selig im Schlaf, die blüte schließt Bienen ein; doch bald sagt ein Flüstern, wach auf, wach auf, der morgige Tag ist mein.
Oh Vaterland, Vaterland, zeig uns den Weg – dein Ruf soll der Wegweiser sein! Die Welt gehört uns und die Nacht vergeht, der morgige Tag ist mein! |
I'm not fluent, just competent in German, but those lyrics don't sound like a translation to me. I googled "Der morgige Tag ist mein" and it turned up a few reviews of the show and a lot of references to neo-Nazi bands who had covered the song in German. Is this an authentic pre-war nationalist song (or a variation of one), or should I just give kudos to a very good translator?
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Sweeney Hyde
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I have read that there was appearently a little bit of a sniff over this subject when the show came out. Some people appearently claimed to have heard "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" in their travels of pre-nazi Germany. This was a problem because, if they indeed had heard it before, Kander and Ebb did not give credit to it. I don't think anything ever really became of it because the people who claimed to have heard it could not produce evidence that they had heard it prior to 1966, when the show opened.
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what_the_heck013
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The song was written by Kander and Ebb. They wrote it in such a way, though, that it sounds like a "real" Nazi song. Same with "Edelweiss" in The Sound of Music.
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Ulla Dance Again!
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If you watch Casablanca, there's that scene where all the Germans start singing a nationalist song. Since the movie was originally based on a play inspired by the playwright's travels, there's no telling if that was an actual song used during the time, or if it was just written in the style of one [although, I'm assuming it is, given the time period].
A very rough translation of the German text;
In the light the meadow lies so summery there, the deer hits the liberty course; but everything collects you - a storm is close, the tomorrow's day is mine. Lime tree-green, the sheets it rings to weh'n, it flows heut so peacefully the Rhine; but far a star goes on still ungeseh'n, the tomorrow's day is mine. The child in the meadow lies blessedly in the sleep, the bloom includes bees; but soon whispering, awake up, says awake up, the tomorrow's day is mine. Oh native country, native country, show us the way - your call should be the signpost/guide! The world belongs to us and the night passes, the tomorrow's day is mine!
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Orestes Fasting
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Oh god, not Babelfish. 
Even properly translated, it'd sound either similar to the original or just plain silly in English. What intrigued me was how well the lyrics fit the German language, but apparently it's just some very deft translation work. The language used is quite authentic-sounding, which is what threw me.
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Ulla Dance Again!
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I know, I hate BabelFish as well. I was just so curious to see what the German translated into.
I sometimes think they should have kept the song in German [or at least a verse or two] for the 1998 revival. It would have made it a lot more powerful.
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