| HOW wunderschön das Vaterland In audumn-life abbears;
 Vot rainpows gild ids vallies crand,
 Ven seen troo vallin tears.
 Und VON I’ll creet mit sang und klang,
 Und drown in goldnen wein;
 Old Deutschland’s cot her sohn again:
 Hans Breitmann’s on der Rhein.
 
Und doughts ish schwell dat mighdy heart,Too awfool for make known;
 Ven dey shunt him from de railroat car
 Und tropped him in Cologne.
 De holy towers of de dome
 Cleam, twilicht-veiled, afar;
 Und like some lonely bilgrim’s pipe,
 Dim shines de efenin star.
 
Hans look to find his baggage check,Und see dat all ish shdraighdts,
 Denn toorn him to de city toors,
 “Mein nadife land—wie gehts?”
 Boot dat’s vot all who read may run—
 Fool blainly armies write;
 Id’s ofer all half Shermany,
 Set down in Black and White.
 
Oh, Black and White! O Weiss and Schwarz!Vot dings ish dis to see?
 I vonder vot in future years
 Your mission ish to pe?
 Also in crate America
 We had soosh colors too!
 Die Färb’ sind mir nicht unbekannt—
 Id’s shoost tout comme chez nous.
 
Next tay to de CathedralHe vent de dings to view,
 Und found it shoost drei thaler cost
 To see de sighds all troo.
 “Id’s tear,” said Hans; “boot go ahet,
 I’fe cot de cash all right;
 Boot id’s queer dat’s only Protestands
 Vot mosdly see de sighdt!
 
“Im Mittelalter I hafe readDe shoorsh vas alvays sure—
 An open bicdure gallerie,
 Und book for all de poor.
 Boot now de dings is so arrange
 No poor volk can get in;
 We Yankees und de Englisch are
 Pout all ash shbends de tin.
 
“I shmiles like MephistophelesIn shoorshes ven I see
 Poor Catholics vollerin round apout
 To shdeal a sighdt—troo ME!
 Dey peep und creep roundt chapel gates,
 Boot soon kits trofe afay,
 Dey gross demselfs, und make a brayer—
 Boot den dey cannot bay!
 
“Dese Deutsche sacrisdans might learnMore goot in Italy,
 Where beoples bays shoost half de brice,
 For ten dimes more to see,
 De volk vot dink I shbeak sefere
 Apout dese Küster vays,
 May read vot Mr. Bädeker
 In his Belgine Hand Buch says.”
 
Und valkin oop und town de downVon ding vas shdill de same:
 Shoost ash of oldt he saw de shpread
 Of Jean Farina’s name.
 He find it nort’, he find it sout’,
 He find it eferyvhere;
 Dere vas no house in all Cologne
 Boot J.M.F. vas dere.
 
De best Cologne in all CologneI’ll shwear for cerdain sure,
 Ish maket in de Jülichsplatz
 Und dat at Numero Four.
 Boot of dis Cologne in Jülichsplatz
 Let dis pe understood,
 Dat some of id ish foorst-rate pad,
 Vhile some is foorst-rate good.
 
Boot von ding drafellers moost opserve,Dis treadful trut I dells,
 Fast ash dis Farinaceous crowd
 So vast hafe grown the schmells—
 Dose awfool schmells in gass’ und strass’
 Vitch mofe crate Coleridge squalm:
 If so he wrote, vot vouldt he write
 Apout dem now, py tam?
 
Of all de schmells I efer schmelt,Py gutter, sink, or well,
 At efery gorner of Cologne
 Dere’s von can peat dat schmell.
 Vhen dere you go you’ll find it so,
 Don’t dake de ding on troost;
 De meanest skunk in Yankee land
 Vould die dere of disgoost.
 
Boot noding dinked der BreitmannOf schmutz or idle schein,
 Vhen he sat in Abendämmerung
 Und looket owd on der Rhein
 Im goldnen gleam—vhile pealin far
 Rang shlow, shveet kloster bells,
 Und in de dim, plue peaudiful,
 Rose distant Drachenfels.
 
Dey trinket lieb LiebfrauenmilchSo pure ash voman’s trut’;
 De singed de songs of Shermany,
 De songs of Breitmann’s yout’.
 De songs mit tears of vanished years,
 Made peaudiful in wein.
 Dus endet out de firster tay
 Of Breitmann on der Rhein.
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