Gelre's* duke, Zutphen's* count
Fought the house of Habsburgh
Undaunted he went to battle
For Gelre's independence
Ommelanden*, Groningen
The Oversticht*, East-Frisia
And Grutte Pier's* people
Under Gelre's banner
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
The threat of Burgundy
Threat for Gelre's borders
Karel came in to resistance
Gelre defended itself
Duke, fighting for the people
From the East and the North
With Van Rossum* at his side
For a Lower Saxon realm
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
Freedom for Gelre, clear before the eyes
Burning and blazing, downfall avenged
Claws of Habsburg, ever fought against
Remained militant until his death
Banners, blowing in the wind
Westwards go the troops
Van Egmond leads Gelre
The Duke takes revenge
Foaming on the Zuiderzee*
And plundering inland
On the trail of the Black Hope*
Blood that dripped on to the earth
Do you remember Van Rossum's journey
In 1528?
Threatening with a sea of fire
The Hague in his grip
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
Lead Gelre to battle, Karel van Egmond
Give the order, Duke of Gelre
obstakel
tom.vanderburg.18
Thu, 12/06/2014 - 18:49
Karel van Egmond, also known as Charles II, was Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen (in The Netherlands). Since this song refers to a lot of Dutch history, it might be worth reading his wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II,_Duke_of_Guelders
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*Gelre, or Guelders, refers to what is now the province Gelderland in The Netherlands
*Zutphen is a town in the province Gelderland
*De Ommelanden refers to what is now (mostly) the province of Groningen in The Netherlands
*Het Oversticht refers to what is now Overijssel, Drenthe and parts of Groningen
* Grutte Pier or Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warlord and folk hero
* 'Aanvoeren' means to lead a people/a group in battle, a 'aanvoerder' would be like a team captain.
*Van Rossum was a military tactician and field marshal for Karel van Egmond
* The Zuiderzee, once a shallow bay of the North Sea. (It was turned in to a lake (the Ijsselmeer) when a dam was built)
*De Zwarte Hoop, or the Black Hope, were a group of Saxon mercenaries that plagued Frisia