The music is derived from that of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", composed in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria. In 1841, the German linguist and poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics of "" as a new text for that music, counterposing the national unification of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch: lyrics that were considered revolutionary at the time.
The music is derived from that of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kai.ser", composed in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria. In 1841, the German linguist and poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics of "" as a new text for that music counterposing the national unification :of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch: lyrics that were considered revolutionary at the time.