MovieChat Forums > The McKenzie Break Discussion > Opening Credits Song?

Opening Credits Song?

posted 17 years ago by volorkey
7 replies | jump to latest

What is that song that the POWs are singing (in German) during the opening credits? It's such a neat song and it's even better when you have all those guys singing it and pounding on the tables.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] volorkey 17 years ago

Thanks,
I'd love to download the version from the movie and put it on my Mp3 player. It's the best version of it I've heard yet. Anyone know where It might be possible to find.

[–] saxons-1 17 years ago

Hello,
check this mate!

http://www.ingeb.org/Lieder/heutewow.html

Greetings from the Fatherland,

[–] hazemmamin 15 years ago

great great post!

[–] fnj2002 15 years ago

It is a German military march titled Erika (Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein - On the heath a little flower blooms). "Erika" is the name of the flower. It was written in 1939 and was definitely used by the Third Reich, but it's a great choice for the movie because the lyrics are not at all militaristic, even though the pounding style when the POWs are singing it is very much so. It speaks of the flower growing on the heath, and the loved one at home on the farm; both named Erika.

The Third Reich was set to the score of some very compelling martial music which evokes bitter memories in many who experienced those times, but this is one case where the words are just a soulful soldier's lament, like the beautiful Lili Marlene or the heartbreaking Ich hatt' einen Kameraden.

[–] jeremygordonmarch 14 years ago

Actually, there seems to have been a convention in 1960's/1970's World War II films that a large group of German soldiers must burst into song at least once during the movie. The most famous instance of this is probably the young soldiers singing the "Panzerlied" towards the start of "Battle of the Bulge." We also got a chorus of "Schwarzbraun Iss Die Haselnuss" at the veterans' reunion in "The Odessa File."

A few more recent WWII films have done the same thing - the soldiers in the HBO film "Uprising" sang the first verse of "Erika"; and in the final installment of "Hitler - The Rise of Evil," the entire German parliament broke into a chorus of "Deutschland Uber Alles" for no particular reason.

I was surprised Quentin Tarantino didn't have something like this in "Inglourious Basterds," his tribute 1960's World War II cinema.

[–] TeeJayKay 9 years ago

A little side note: The plant called "Erica" (or Erika) in German (and actually in English, too) is closely related to the plant that is called "Heather" in English. Both flower names are also common women's names in either language (as are many other flower names). This is not relevant to the movie, but it makes the double meaning of "Erika" clearer.