Es ist an der Zeit (Live) English translation
von Hannes Wader & Konstantin Wecker

Far in the Champagne among midsummer green
Where poppies blossom between grave crosses
There is grass whispering and swaying gently
In the wind which slightly blows over the graveyard
On your grave cross I find 'Dead soldier'
No name, just numbers, and somebody
Has written the number 1916
And you were not even nineteen years old

Yes, they've also lied to you the same way
As they still do it today with us
And you have given them everything
Your power, your youth, your life


Have you ever, dead soldier, once loved a girl?
Surely not, because only when there is peace
Tenderness and confidence can grow
You were a soldier, to die for, not to be young
Perhaps you thought by yourself
That you fall victim quite soon
And take my pleasure as it comes, by force
You were determined to do so
But then felt ashamed of yourself
And never dared to do it, after all

Yes, they have also lied to you the same way
As they still do it today with us
And you have given them everything
Your power, your youth, your life

Soldier, did you go to death gladly and faithful?
Or didn't you recognize too desperately, bitterly, brutalised
Your real enemy till the end?
I hope you were hit by a straight shot
Or did a shot tear apart the limbs of your body
Did you cry for your mother till the end
Did you keep running on your leg stumps
And your grave, does it hide more than a leg, a hand?

Yes, they have also lied to you the same way
As they still do it with us
And you have given them everything
Your power, your youth, your life


There just remained the cross as the only trace
Of your life, but listen to my vow
Fighting for freedom and being alert
Mankind still falls for lies once again
Thus it may happen that soon nobody lives anymore
Nobody left who buries billions of dead bodies
But more and more people are willing
To prevent this war, it's high time