to declare his lovetothe simple shirt and, by extension, his class and conclude:
“Thus, whether torn or mended,/whether oilyorsooty,/with lovemyeyesal-
ways look/ uponmytrusted blouse.”²²Pointing to more problematic patterns
of cultural appropriation,“ComeJoin Us”basesits equation of massmobiliza-
tion with masculinization on TheodorKörner’spatriotic poem“Arise People”
from theWars of Liberation. The opening lines“Readyfor manlyaction and bat-
tle,/ we are seized by thevortex of time!”enthusiasticallypresent class struggle
in militaristicterms and thus establishapattern that would continue in the mu-
sical soundtracks of two world wars:“Comejoin us, man for man,/ whoever can
join the struggle for truth!”²³
Twowell-known songsfrom the Most collection shed further light on the em-
poweringeffectsattributedtothe very act of naming the working-class subject.
“Die Arbeitsmänner”(“TheWorking Men”), originallycalled“Proletarian Song”
and based on theTyrolean patriotichymn“At MantuaBound,”became the offi-
cialhymn of the so-called Eisenacher,one of the two precursor parties of the
SPD.The 1875 version opens withaset of probingquestions:
Who makesthe gold?
Who hammers ore and stone?
Who weavesfabric and silk?
Who plants corn and wine?
Who givesthe rich all their bread
and at home livesinabject poverty?
It is the workingmen,
the proletariat...The ending offers the singers hope and confidence, with the differencesinthe
earlier 1873 version shown in parenthesis:
Youhavepower inyour hands
if onlyyou were united!
Therefore, hold on to one another,
and thenyouwill soon be free!
Do not tire in spiritual battle! (1873:Charge,onthe double, into battle!)
Even if the enemylibelsyou, (1873:Evenifthe enemyspews canister shots,)
in the end,youworking men will be victorious! The proletariat!²⁴“Das Liedvonder Blouse,”inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,37.
“SchließtEuch an”(tune:“DasVolk stehtauf”), inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,52.
“Die Arbeitsmänner”(tune:“ZuMantua inBanden”), inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,
24 – 25.AndreasHofer was the leader of the 1809 populist insurgencyagainst theFrench occu-
pation.
92 Chapter 4