vised and expandededitions also register changingviews of the proletariat’srole
in the competing political projects of revolution and reform,apoint illustrated
best by Most’simmenselypopularProletarian Songbook.Most (1846–1906), a
journeyman bookbinder turned socialistauthor/activist,served asaSPD mem-
ber of the Reichstag during the 1870sand died as an anarchist in American
exile. He contributed several of his own songstothe collection,with the best-
known“Arbeitsmänner” (Workingmen) writtenduring his imprisonment for
hightreason.
Of special relevance to this discussion on culturalappropriation, Most’sPro-
letarian Songbookcontains several typical examples ofcontrafactum–parodies
of militaristic and patriotic songs. The choice of namesand the process of nam-
ing produce the intended liberatingeffects and involvedeclarative, imperative,
as well as appellative modes of speaking. There are numerousreferences to pro-
letarians, workers, workingmen, men of labor,comrades,and brothers,with
some songschangingtitles in latereditions (e.g., from“Worker Song”to“Prole-
tarian Song”). Afew examples maysuffice to show the liberatingeffect ofcon-
trafactumon the emerging proletarianvoice. Set to the Prussian patriotichymn
“Hail to Thee inVictor’sCrown,”“Appealto theWorkers”starts out with the de-
mand“Workers,awaken all!”and ends withacall for class unity:“Go,you, oh
fourth estate,/ true and strong,/ hand in hand,/ steadfast surge forward,/to lib-
erateyourself!”¹⁹“Proletarian Song,”which turns the patriotic anthem“Watch
on the Rhine”intoasocialist battle song,calls on the workers to fight against
tyranny. Itsrefrain offers onlytwoavailable options for the future:“The red
flag flies high:/To live workingortodie fighting!²⁰”“Worker Choral,”aparody
of the eponymous choral by MartinLuther, starts out with the familiar“Amighty
fortress is our God:/ the‘free spirit of truth!’”and, in the mockingspirit of the
added scare quotes,ends withaclear warning to the ruling classthat,“Your
world of lies is collapsing!/ Finally, with confidence/the peopleraise theirvoi-
ces/for freedom, equality,and love!”²¹
Meanwhile,“The Songofthe Shirt”about“the mostmagnificent,most beau-
tiful attire”usesthe fraternitysong“GaudeamusIgitur”to introduce the work-
ing-class subjectthroughadistinctive piece of clothing,the collarless shirt
worn by most industrial workers.Inthis socialist invitation to joyous convivial-
ity,the all-important question of theKragenlinie(collar line) allows one worker
“Aufruf an die Arbeiter”(tune:“Heil dir im Siegerkranz”), inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,
5 – 6. On Most,see Werner Hinze,JohannMost und sein Liederbuch.Warum der Philosoph der
Bombe Lieder schrieb und ein Liederbuch herausgab(Hamburg: Tonsplitter,2005).
“Proletarier-Lied”(tune:“DieWacht am Rhein”), inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,21.
“Arbeiter-Choral”(tune:“Ein festeBurgist unser Gott”), inMost’sProletarier-Liederbuch,45.
On Workers Singing in OneVoice 91