English translation

WIKIPEDIA:
The above text is Uhland's original version. Various variants have been recorded over the years.

Der gute Kamerad" ("The good Comrade"), also known by its incipit as Ich hatt' einen Kameraden ("I had a comrade") is a traditional lament of the German Armed Forces. The text was written by German poet Ludwig Uhland in 1809.

Heyman Steinthal in an 1880 article in Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie noted a variant he heard sung by a housemaid, Die Kugel kam geflogen / Gilt sie mir? Gilt sie dir? (i.e. "the bullet came flying" instead of "a bullet", and "is it (the bullet) meant for me or for you" instead of "is it (impersonal) meant for me or for you"). Steinthal argued that this version was an improvement over Uhland's text, making reference to the concept of a "fateful bullet" in military tradition and giving a more immediate expression of the fear felt by the soldier in the line of fire.[3]

A Berber language translation ("ɣuri yiwen umdakul") has been written by Ait-Amrane Mohamed (known as Idir) in 1947 in tribute to a friend of his (Laimeche Ali) who had died[citation needed]. The Berber text was made famous by the Algerian kabyle singer Idir during the seventies.[citation needed]

A slightly different text was also used by another famous Algerian singer called Ferhat Imazighen imula.[citation needed] The tune is also used for the eponymous Spanish Civil War song about the death of Hans Beimler. German playwright Carl Zuckmayer in 1966 used the song's line "Als wär's ein Stück von mir" as the title for his hugely successful autobiography (English title: "A Part of Myself").