thanks for all ur nice comments. I am glad that people like this song as it is one of my favorite Mahler songs. rachfan you should definitely listen to all of Knaben Wunderhorn, I love the Lieder... GEsellen, and pretty much all of his songs, but I think Knaben Wunderhorn are my favorite!
this text is about a man in war, who is shot and nobody picks him up (probably because he is dead and he doesnt know it), then all his comrades are killed, and they wake up as corpses to defeat the enemy in war. the Tra-la-lie Tra-la-ly is the sound of his drum, as he wakes up the skeletons to fight, and then to go back to his beloveds house!