Gott Mit Uns is the third song on the Carolus Rex album by Sabaton
Information
- The verses are sung by Peter Tägtgren.
- The initial idea was that the verses would be sung by one of the guitarists.
- Peter recorded his verses when the band wasn't in the studio.
- It's the band's first song to feature folk elements in the sound.
- When performed live in Germany, the band changes the chorus' lyrics to "Noch ein Bier".
Background
Pär: "The music for this one, sounds very much like some, some melodies are traditional Swedish folk music and that was the whole idea you know, when we were doing the Carolus Rex album, we took a lot of impressions and ideas from Swedish folk music. And normally we write always the music and don't care about the topic and we add the topic as a secondary layer onto the music. (...)"[1]
Pär: "(...) during the recordings for it, there are some vocal lines that is being sung not by Joakim, but it's supposed to be sung by band members, but at this time, the band members didn't show up this day. And in the morning instead, the producer of this album, Peter Tägtgren decided to do the vocal lines himself, and he was doing that really well (...)"[2]
Joakim: "First we recorded that song where one of the other guys in the band sings it, but for some reason it didn't fit well. One day I walked into the studio, then Peter showed me something. He had sung it himself, without telling us. "Hey, what do you think of this?" Well, that sounded great so that put on record." [3]
Joakim: "That (Gott Mit Uns - ed. note) was a battle cry and a password alike. When Gustav Adolf II moved to Northern Germany, he won many German mercenaries for his army. He was seen, above all by the Protestants, not as a conqueror but as a liberator. Many Northern German fighters helped him fight the Roman Catholic Empire. The king understood the German language very well because his mother was German and had taught him this language since childhood. So "Gott Mit Uns" was an official password for the Swedish army during this invasion." [4]
Live
Pär: "(...) we felt as well when the song was recorded, like "Oh my God, it's a very very funny song, it's a very uplifting song, it should be a crowd favorite, it's something that we really want to perform live, everybody in the band was always excited about playing it, and still today (is) (...)"[5]
Pär: "(...) and we also performed with him (Peter Tägtgren - ed. note) a couple of times where he came onto the stage and performed his parts. If he's not there, it's usually sung that one of the verses is sung by one guitar player and one by the other one. And then we all fill in and there has been parts sometimes when whe have performed this song even without Joakim on the stage. He gets his bathroom break or whatever he wants to do during that time. He probably drinks a beer because we changed the lyrics a little bit around too, because in Germany when we play some people always shout instead of "Sabaton, Sabaton" - "Noch ein Bier". We decided, okay, let's change the lyrics one night "as we all drink together, drink forever, Noch ein Bier"[6]
Pär: "It's a great song for us to play, there are songs which are more or less fun to play for us as band members, Primo Victoria is one of those songs, it's horrible as a musician, because the song is so simple, but it becomes powerful to crowd, but Gott Mt Uns has, it's fun to play as a musician, it's an uplifting song and it's crowd favorite."[7]
Historic fact
Led by Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish army advances like a swarm of locusts through Germany. The soldiers leave a devastated countryside in their wake. The other side - the Catholic League and the Habsburg Imperial army - do their utmost to offer resistance.
The antagonists meet on 7 September 1631 on the open field near the village of Breitenfeld, outside Leipzig. The battle becomes the biggest of the Thirty Years' War. Gustavus Adolphus and the Swedish army, with Saxon reinforcements, face the Imperial army, which is accustomed to victory, under the command of General Tilly.
The Swedes go into battle under the war cry Gott Mit Uns - "God With Us". (This motto will later be handed down: first to the Prussian army, and later to the German army during World War I and finally to the Wehrmacht in World War II, when the motto is embossed on the soldiers' belt buckles.)
After seven hours of battle, the Swedish-Saxon army are victorious thanks to their exceptional discipline, great mobility and superior firepower. Twelve thousand men are dead on the battlefield.
The triumph at Breitenfeld in 1631 is the height of Gustavus Adolphus' military career. But the victory march continues: Nuremberg, Frankfurt am Main and Munich are conquered. He gains a reputation as undefeatable. But he will not live long enough to realise his dream of becoming the Holy Roman Emperor.
Because the very next year, on 6th November, the King falls on the foggy battlefield outside the city of Lutzen in Eastern Germany. But the war goes on. [8]
Lyrics
| Gott Mit Uns (English Version) |
|---|
Spent the night in formation, |
| Gott Mit Uns (Swedish Version) |
|---|
Ingen vila till natten, |
Sabaton History
References
- ↑ Sabaton History
- ↑ Sabaton History
- ↑ metalfan.nl
- ↑ metalnews.de
- ↑ Sabaton History
- ↑ Sabaton History
- ↑ Sabaton History
- ↑ Carolus Rex Limited Ediiton booklet