#wolf biermann

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Du, lass dich nicht verhärten in dieser harten Zeit. Die allzu hart sind, brechen. Die allzu spitz sind, stechen und brechen ab sogleich.

You, don't let yourself become hardened in these hard times. Those that are too hard will break. Those that are too sharp will sting and break off immediately.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter and lyricist

[palatinewolfsblog]

Untitled (for all my combative Friends from the US.)

And as an add-on here's a poem for you from one of my favorite German Singers/Songwriters:

Wolf Biermann.

Encouragement

You, don't let yourself become hardened

in these hard times

those that are too hard

break

Those who are all too pointed,

sting and break off immediately.

You, don't let yourself become bitter

in these bitter times

the rulers tremble

- with you're behind bars -

but not because of your suffering.

You, don't be frightened

in these frightening times

that's what they want to achieve

they want us to lay down our arms

before the great fight.

You, don't let yourself be used up

use your time

You can't hide

You need us and we need

your cheerfulness.

We don't want to be silent

in these silent times

the green is sprouting from the twigs

we want to show it to everyone

then they will know.

Translation by - yours truly...

[samsi6]

Maybe no translation needed, maybe an explanation fits: German poet and singer Wolf Biermann telling by his song 'calypso' the old story about men and women, asking first his father about the ordinary procedure, that's making human life's reproduction possible and I'm talking about here without naming it, in order to take care about guidelines, believing that we are all in the state of mind you can here in every of the song's refrains, which needs no translation either, but I will explain, that the young man first asked his father, second asked Albert Einstein, third asked Sigmund Freud, which all didn't answer clear, but talked around the subject, not named here, but you might imagine, and at least he gives himself, meanwhile old and with grey hair, the same unclear answer as he got a lifetime long...

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Ich habe Angst vor Leuten, die immer nur die Menschheit lieben und niemals einzelne Menschen.

I am afraid of people who only ever love humanity and never individual people.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter and lyricist

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Ja doch, falsche Freunde sind zum Kotzen, das weiß jedes Kind. Bloß bedenk, dass falsche Feinde Manchmal viel, viel schlimmer sind.

Yes, false friends suck, every child knows that. Just remember that false enemies are sometimes much, much worse.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter and lyricist

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Der Kommunismus ist ein Tierversuch am lebenden Menschen.

Communism is an animal experiment on living humans.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Du, lass dich nicht verhärten in dieser harten Zeit. Die allzu hart sind, brechen. Die allzu spitz sind, stechen und brechen ab sogleich.

You, don't get hardened in this hard time. Those that are too hard break. Those that are too sharp sting and break off immediately.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter and lyricist

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Mein Vaterland ist sauber. So gründlich haben wir geschrubbt mit Stalins hartem Besen, dass rot verschrammt der Hintern ist, der vorher braun gewesen.

My fatherland is clean. We scrubbed so thoroughly with Stalin's hard broom that the buttocks, which had previously been brown, are scarred red.

Wolf Biermann (*1936), German singer-songwriter and lyricist, dissenter in the GDR, involuntarily expatriated to West Germany in 1976