My WoT diary

Panzerlied, Tri tankista and other songs.       

Just wanted to share some stuff, thought it may be interesting historically/musically.

My clanmate mentioned the anime series Girls und Panzer. I am not a big fan of anime and did not watch it, but I was surprised to find out that they used the real WWII marches. The song Panzerlied is a leitmotif of Kuromorimine Women's College (instrumental version). The other theme is Erika, which is another famous German march (but not "exclusively" for tankers).

Panzerlied used to be Panzerwaffe marching song. It's well-known due to it's usage in the movie Battle of the Bulge (1965). An interesting fact about it - it was originally a German sailor's song from 19th century, Wohl über den Klippen (well above the cliffs), so Kurt Wiehle only updated the lyrics for the tankers. The melody is also used for the marching song of French Foreign Legion (Kepi Blanc). Panzerlied is still a popular song in Bundeswehr and Austrian army. I imagine they had to update the lyrics to get rid of "Reich" (see the full lyrics), but I didn't find the modern version.

Ob's stürmt oder schneit, 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. (x2)

Whether it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us,
The day burning hot, or the icy cold of night.
Dusty are our faces, but happy is our mind, yes, our mind.
Then roar our tanks in the storm's wind. (x2)

In case you're curious about Erika, it's totally surprising lyrics, just about a girl far away:

Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein
und das heißt: Erika.
Heiß von hunderttausend kleinen Bienelein
wird umschwärmt Erika
denn ihr Herz ist voller Süßigkeit,
zarter Duft entströmt dem Blütenkleid.
Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein
und das heißt: Erika.

On the heath, there blooms a little flower
and it's called Erika.
Eagerly a hundred thousand little bees,
swarm around Erika.
For her heart is full of sweetness,
a tender scent escapes her blossom-gown.
On the heath, there blooms a little flower
and it's called Erika.

You probably know that World of Tanks is crazily popular in russia and those countries which used to be parts of USSR. But if you look for soviet WWII songs about tanks... well... You can find just 3. And two of them would be from the same 1939 movie Traktoristy (Tractor-drivers). The movie is about a guy who comes home to Ukraine after serving at the army as a tanker. If you recall there was a USSR-Japan conflict in 1938, so the most popular song "Tri tankista" (three tank crewmen) is about it. Later the lyrics were changed to fit the war with Germany, but I can tell that the original version (with "samurai") was more popular. And the song was as well-known and popular as the famous Katyusha. The translations below are not mine, but I can say they're pretty accurate.

Clouds pass gloomily on the border,
The austere land is gripped by silence.
By the high banks of the Amur
The motherland's sentries stand.

There a substantial guard is positioned for the enemy.
There stands brave and strong
At the border of far eastern land
The armored attack battalion

There they live — and this song stands as testimony —
Inviolable, like a well-knit family,
Three tank crewmen, three cheerful friends,
The crew of a war machine.

On the grass lay heavy dew,
Widespread fog descended.
On that night samurai decided
To cross the border at the river.

But intelligence reported accurately:
With arms readied
Over far eastern homeland went
The armored attack battalion

The tanks raced along, the wind getting up
Formidable armor was advancing
And samurai flew to the ground
Under the pressure of steel and fire.

And they finished off — this song stands as testimony —
All the enemy in a fiery attack.
Three tank crewmen, three cheerful friends,
The crew of a war machine!


And here is the 2nd song from the same movie.

March of the soviet tankmen

The armor is hard and our tanks are fast
And our men are full of courage
The Soviet tankmen are ready for action—
Sons of their Great Motherland.

Thundering with fire, glinting with steel,
The tanks will begin a harsh campaign
When we're called to battle by Comrade Stalin
And the First Marshal will lead us in this battle!

In keeping our country, we guard
The work of factories and farms
By power of our gun turrets
By our fastness and pressure of fire.

Let's enemy, who hidden in ambush, remember
We watch for him, we are on guard.
We want not a foot of foreign land,
But we will not give up an inch of our own land.

But if the enemy attacks us,

We will beat him everywhere,
Tankdrivers will start engines
And drive by forests, mountains and even on water.

Many lines from both songs are often used like proverbs - " The armor is hard and our tanks are fast", "Three tankmen, three cheerful friends" etc.

Ok, as for the 3rd song - it's based on the old folk song about a miner.  There are many variants of it - and the main character would be a pilot, a paratrooper etc etc.  Here is the one about the tanker.  The movie is Na voyne kak na voyne  (At War as at War).

The tanks were rattling like a thunder
The soldiers went to final fight
And here they carried young commander
With head all broken outright

His tank was hit with armor-piercer
So say good-bye to Guardian crew
Just four more corpses in the hillside
Will add to fair morning view

'Cause now the vehicle is a-burning
Wait for the shells to detonate
You wanna live to see this morning
But you're too weak and it's too late

So they'll extract you from the remains
They'll put your coffin on the clay
And fire & thunder from the main guns
Will see you into your last way

For now the telegrams are flying
To tell the friends and relatives
That their good son is never coming
And never getting any leave

And there's that photo on the bookshelf
Collecting dust for years on end –
In uniform, with shoulder-boards on...
And he will never be her man.

And that would be it.  Surprisingly, there were not many soviet movies either (I'm not talking about 80th and later).  I can name just the above mentioned Na voyne kak na voyne, which is about a crew of a SU-100 tank destroyer (SU-85 in the original novel), then Ekipazh mashiny boevoy (The crew of a war machine) - it's about a duel between T-34 and Panther - and maybe the b&w 1939 movie Tankisty, which is about some fake war.  There is a song in it, but I cannot remember it to be popular.

Any way, the most well-known and the most beloved was the TV-series (and a book too) from Poland, Czterej pancerni i pies (Four tank-men and a dog).  It deserves it's own chapter in my blog, so here I will just post the title song from it:

Na lakach kaczence, A na niebie wiatr, A my na tej wojnie, Ogladamy swiat,	Marigolds on the meadows, Wind in the sky. And we are at this war, Looking at the world.	На лугах калужницы А на небе ветер А мы на этой войне Смотрим на мир,
Na laki wrocimy Tylko zalatwimy Pare waznych spraw Moze ci nie sami, Wrocimy do mamy, I do szkolnych law.	We will return to meadows, But first we will take care Of several important things. Maybe not by our own (?) We'll return to mom And to school.	На луга возвратимся, Только уладим Несколько важных дел Может не сами Возвратимся к маме И за школьные парты
Deszcze niespokojne, Potargaly swiat A my na tej wojnie Ladnych pare lat.	Restless rains Disturb the world. And we're at this war For quite a few years.	Беспокойные дожди Растрепали мир А мы на этой войне Добрых несколько лет
Do domu wrocimy W piecu napalimy Nakarmimy psa Przed noca wrocimy Tylko zwyciezymy Bo to wazna gra.	We will return home, will light the stove, will feed the dog. We'll return before the night, But first we will win, 'Cause it's an important                                  game.	Возвратимся домой Затопим печь Накормим пса Возвратимся к ночи Только победим - Ибо это важная игра
Na niebie obloki, Po wsiach pelno bzu, Gdziez ten swiat daleki Pelen dobrych snow	Clouds in the sky, Lilac in villages, Where is this world Of sweet dreams.	На небе облака В деревнях полно сирени Где же этот мир далёкий Полный добрых снов
Powrocimy wierni My czterej pancerni ,,Rudy" i nasz pies. My czterej pancerni, Powrocimy wierni, Po wiosenny bez.	We will return, Four tankmen friends, "Rudy" and our dog. We, four friends, Will come back For spring lilac.	Возвратимся верные Мы четыре танкиста "Рыжий" и наш пёс. Мы четыре танкиста Возвратимся верные За весенней сиренью.