Songs and Marches of the 97th IR
Like every other Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army also the 97th Infantry Regiment had its regimental band and its specific marches program. This was defined as the Official Marches Program to be played at each formal event.
1882-1893 Julius Schrenzer Schrenzer, Julius: "Triumph Marsch"
1893-1895 Josef Wodrazka Schrenzer, Julius: "Soldatenleben Marsch"
1900-1902 Hans Holub
1902-1912 Peter Teply Melusin, Rudolf: "Waldstätten Lager Marsch"
1912-1918 Franz Zitta Wodrazka, Josef/Zitta,
Franz: "Viva Trieste Marsch"(regimental march)/La Bora
Marsch
Josef Wodrazka/Franz Zitta: "Triest Fanfaren
Marsch", "Ciribiribin Marsch", "Die Wacht am Isonzo",
"Abschied von Wien Marsch"
Franz, Josef Franz: "Souvenir de Trieste Marsch"
Zalateo, Pietro: "Triestiner Marsch"
Zalateo, Pietro: "Capo d'Istria Marsch"
Sinico, Giuseppe: "Viva San Giusto Marsch"
Müller-Norden, Alfred:
"Waldstätten Marsch"
Beside this program which was basically made of marches and traditional folk songs there were also some other songs which were not official and martial at all!! As a matter of fact they were sung only among the soldiers and in the barracks.
The two most famous are: "Demoghela" and "Piero Pomiga"
Both songs were sung proudly by the soldiers of the 97th IR and marked up the actual feeling of these soldiers put in the trenches in Galitia at the beginning of the war. There is also a curiousity about the "Demoghela" which is in the way somebody pronounces the word "Demoghela". In the Triest dialect (we shall call it triestinian) demoghela means: "to run away", in this case it's intended -- deserting the lines if you read it with the accent on the last "e" (demoghčla)... but, if you read it putting the accent on the first "e" (dčmoghela) the word changes its meaning into the opposite thing i.e. something like "dig it!" or " beat it/him/ up!!".
Due
to this pronounciation problem when the 97th IR had its desertors after the
first battles as you may have read on the history page of this website this song
easily became a song which labeled lazy soldiers...traitors and loosers.
Click on the lyrics or the titles of the songs and marches to listen to the mp3 files.
Maledeta sia la svelia
sia la svelia del matino
se riposa un pochetino
per marciare un poco ben.
Se qualchidun no marciarģa,
o marciassi, o marciassi malamente,
ghe disemo al sior tenente,
che raporto el ghe farą.
Se no basta el sior tenente,
'nunziaremo el capitano...
poareto quel cristiano,
che a la forca l' andarą!
Qua se magna, qua se bevi,
qua se lava la gamela
zigaremo:"Demoghčla"!
fin che l'ultimo sarą!
Qua se magna, qua se bevi,
qua se lava la gamela
zigaremo:"Demoghčla"!
fin che l'ultimo sarą!
Piero Pomiga
Xe capitą la guera:
tuti persi e confusi,
no i gaveva pił testa.
Passando per bariera,
una guardia me aresta,
la me mena in preson.
Che noa, paron? E con tuto che son vecioto,
mezo orbo e malandą,
un primario, quel muso roto,
in Galizia 'l me ga sgnacą!
"Eins zwei!". Pasi de fero!
"Eins zwei!". Sąlvite, Piero!
E co te cąpita 'l morbin,
fąghela včder de bon triestin!
Ma in mezo a'ste disgrazie
un tuo ricordo me s'gionfa tuto 'l cuor
de nostalgia,
e la me fa sperar e tuto soportar,
pensando a ti lontan, Trieste mia!
Vestģ con quatro straze,
'na bareta cragniosa
i stivai senza siola,
un leto de scovaze,
senza 'ver'na parola che te
pol confortar: Che bruto afar!
Con do rave e un crostin de pagnoca
e un brodazo mal consumą, trenta
mesi 'sta
vita ghe toca al fantasma de un vecio
soldą.
"Eins zwei!" Sąlvite, Piero!
E co te cąpita 'l morbin,
fąghela včder de bon triestin
Po' cąpita 'l sergente,
el me dą 'na filada
o el minacia 'na piada;
"Verfluchter Irredente!
Du marschierst so schlecht!". "Sior,
go le gambe de pek!
Salamelčk!".
Po' ghe digo con bela maniera
che a Trieste i la pensa cussģ:
se altramenti no i vinzi la guera,
no i pol vinzerla gnanca con mi!
"Eins zwei!". Ara che truchi...
"Eins zwei!". ...de mamaluchi!
Onzili pur col lustrofin,
basta che a casa te porti el cupin!
Un giorno i me caluma
quatrozento patrone,
un fusil e 'na spada;
ma mi che no i me luma,
go petą 'na cascada,
me son fato "marņd",
"Mein Gott! Mein Gott!".
Frega e lustra, Pierin mio caro:
la tua pele ga un gran valor,
no sta venderla come un somaro,
ma combati de "pomigador"!
"Zik-zak!". Daghe de oio!
"Zik-zak!". Xe tuto un imbroio!
Qua, per poderla scapolar,
no resta altro che "pomigar"!
Infanterieregiment Nr.97 Marsch
Information about the songs by: "Sui Campi di Galizia 1914-1917" by Gianluigi Fait, published by: Materiali di Lavoro e Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, Rovereto 1997. Lyrics copied from: "Il Dizionario della Canzone Triestina".