The lyrics, by my translation (you can probably get a better trans on the net) go:
The flag high!
The ranks are close (strack)
The SA march with a calm steady step
Comrades, who were shot by the Red Front and Opposition
March with us in spirit
March in our ranks with us
Keep in mind- my German is not translator quality- it is colloquial. I can communicate perfectly with Germans and understand in essence or in context what they are saying. As well, there are certain things I know how to say only in German because I never learned a direct translation to English (English speakers have different euphemisms or ways of saying things).
This song was taught to me in about five minutes time by my wife. I understood it immediately when I learned it and it makes sense when I sing it to myself (which is not often) but it is harder for me to translate in to English in a sense that would be poetic or rhyming. I have the same problem trying to translate Westernhagen's "Freiheit" (Freedom). The song is basically praising Hitler and his army (Horst Wessel Lied- not Freheit)
D'oh Bart!
Having gone back and reread the thread, I would like to make clear to everyone, I don't sit around and sing the Horst Wessel Lied to myself... The way my post sounds, it is like perhaps every tenth day I devote a little time to this song... This, of course, is not the case. Once you have learned the Horst Wessel Lied, you can go directly into marching and saluting... (natuerlich is das ein Witz! hahaha!)