Solidaritätslied
song
The "Solidaritätslied" ("Solidarity Song") is a revolutionary working song written between 1929 and 1931 by Bertolt Brecht, and set to music by Hanns Eisler. It was written against the background of the Great Depression, the World War I, and the social issues caused by the Industrial Revolution that were explored in Brecht's 1932 film Kuhle Wampe in which the song also appeared.
History
Two versions of the text exist, both written by Brecht. The better known version is the second, written during the Spanish Civil War, which is more abstract and ideological. The first version is more closely tied to the film Kuhle Wampe. In 1932, the song was first performed with the collaboration of several working-men's choirs. The song spread quickly in the final months of the Weimar Republic, particularly at sporting events.
Structure and score
The urtext begins with the following verse:
In Eisler's arrangement, the first four syllables of the word "Solidarity" are repeated on the same pitch (a "D" above a subdominant G minor chord), while the final syllable is sung one semitone (half step) lower, a C♯ over a dominant A major chord. The final four bars of the song repeat this chord change, ending on the dominant instead of the more natural return to the tonic, leaving the end of the song open, both musically and textually:
The melody follows the BACH motif. The four notes are heard in the bars 1, 2, 5, and 6; the "D" and "C♯" in bars 9 and 10 continue the sequence.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Solidaritätslied” as song. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2298798. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1929, 1931 and 1932.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Solidaritätslied” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.