The Dead Heroes of Ergoldsbach Jan Hauenstein

(C) (D) (E)
(Am) There´s John (G)Weiner, there (F)in the small ca(Am)fé.
He (C)can´t compre(D)hend what (E)they have not (Am)done.
He was here be(G)fore, (F)John´s his name to(Am)day.
On his (C)face the (D)rays (E) of the (E7)setting (Am)sun.

Now he´s an Aus(G)tralian, (F)78 years (Am)old,
(C)Travelled half the (D)world to (E)come back once a(Am)gain.
He´s in the ca(G)fé, and his (F)heart feels so (Am)cold.
He (C)talked to the (D)people, and it (E)was (E7)all in (Am)vain.

A (F)long time a(G)go he was the (Am)stumble man,
A (C)walking (D)corpse on his (E)way to (Am)die.
And the (F)village of (G) Ergolds(Am)bach lay still
Be(C)neath a (D)big Ba(E)vari(E7)an (Am)sky.

And the fear was there,
It was (Em)thick in the air,
It had (Am)gripped the Jews
And their (Em)wardens, too,
On the (Am)death march to (E)Dachau (F) concen(G)tration (Am)camp.(Am/G)(Am)

For in (F)Buchen(G)wald, the (Am)Soviets drew nigh,
It was (C)time to (D)run, time for (E)many to (Am)die
On the march of the (F)skeletons, (G) April ´4(Am)5.
And the dead and the dying were (Em)left in the wake,
And the (Am)wardens pressed on, their own (Em)lives now at stake.

Then, near (F)Ergolds(G)bach, a (Am)lucky break,
And (F)thirteen of the (G)Jews got a(Am)way.
But they (C)caught them a(D)gain ´ere the (E)end (E7)of the (Am)day.

And they (F)handed them (G)over to the (Am)village cop,
And Max (F)Maurer (G)was his (Am)name.
And they (F)said to (G)him, “Here, we (Am)cannot stop.
(C)Shoot them, or you´ll (D)die (E) (E7)just the (Am)same.”(Am/G)(Am)

And the marching column disap(Em)peared in the haze
Of the (Am)last light of the dying (Em)day,
And Max (Am)Maurer took (Em)one look at the (Am)Jews´ frightened (Em)faces,
And he (Am)hid John (F)Weiner and the (G)others a(E)way.

Anna (Fj7)Gnadl, a peasant (Cj7)woman,
Helped (Fj7)Max to hide the (Cj7)Jews,
And the (Fj7)last thing they told them that (Cj7)night was,
“Let´s (F)wait for to(G)morrow´s (E)news.”

And the (F)morning brought the (G)tanks a-(Am)rumbling in,
And the (C)first one was (D)driven by a (E)black-faced (Am)boy.
He had (F)never be(G)fore seen (Am)people so thin,
But their (F)faces showed (G)such (F) unbe(G)lieving (Am)joy.
(Fj7) (Cj7) (Fj7) (Cj7) (Fj7) (Cj7) (F) (G) (E)

Max (Am)Maurer and Anna (G)Gnadl (F)Primary (Am)School -
Let´s (C)rename our (D)school, the (E)principal (Am)said.
No-one could speak a(G)gainst it, not (F)even a (Am)fool.
Time to (C)honour our (D)heroes, we (E)must not for(E7)get.

Up (F)spake the town (G)council, and the (Am)parents had their say,
“We (C)dare not (D)burden our (E)children´s young (Am)souls.”
And they´ll (F)hang a small me(G)mento, (Am)one of these days,
In a (C)dimly lit (D)corridor where (E)no(E7)body (Am)goes.
(Am/G) (Am/F) (Am/E) (Am/G) (Am)(Am) (Am/G) (Am/F) (Am/E)

(Am) At his empty (G)cup (F) stares John (Am)Weiner
An (Em)tears are on his (Am)face.
And (F)John and (G)you and (Am)I know
Ergolds(C)bach´s now a (D)place
Of (E)eter(E7)nal (Am) disgrace.

Jan Hauenstein, Ca´n Picafort, 11-17 October 2004

janhauenstein@gmx.de