Below is a brief definition of some of the facts, people, places, poetry and music mentioned in this song:
Lili Marleen,
Apollinaire,
the Leninplatz,
Anatole France:
“…Of all the ways of defining man, the worst is the one which makes him out to be a rational animal.”
“The pseudonym for God when He did not want to sign”.
“I thank fate for having made me born poor. Poverty taught me the true value of the gifts useful to life”.
Anatole France
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* Originally, it was a square – the area known today as ‘Platz der Vereinten Nationen was Landsberger Tor’ – one of the many gates that surrounded Berlin in the past. In 1950 when Berlin was cleared of all debris left from the Second World War, the government of East Berlin decided to rename this place for the Leninplatz
The area had the goal to create a Socialist town center and a place where people would feel free to express themselves
***
*Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the early 20th century, as well as one of the most impassioned defenders of Cubism and a forefather of Surrealism
He is credited with coining the term “cubism” in 1911 to describe the emerging art movement and the term “surrealism” in 1917 to describe the works of Erik Satie :
“I am bound to the King of the Sign of Autumn
Parting I love the fruits I detest the flowers
I regret every one of the kisses that I’ve given
Such a bitter walnut tells his grief to the showers
My Autumn eternal O my spiritual season
The hands of lost lovers juggle with your sun
A spouse follows me it’s my fatal shadow
The doves take flight this evening their last one…”
“…And how I love O season how I love your rumbling
The falling fruits that no one gathers
The wind the forest that are tumbling
All their tears in autumn leaf by leaf
The leaves
You press
A crowd
That flows
The life
That goes” –
Apollinaire
* Lili Marleen is a German love song performed by Lale Andersen which became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis and Allied troops. Written in 1915 as a poem, the song was published in 1937 and was first recorded by Lale Andersen in 1939 as “Das Mädchen unter der Laterne” (“The Girl under the Lantern”)
***
Leaving Germany
I am leaving. The doves and vultures both fly away
Hard Rock is breaking silence on this rainy day
In Germany my childhood memories are strong
Nostalgic thoughts, the books the songs
The Leninplatz and Anatole France…
In Germany the history makes me offended and ashamed
The future holds a promise not an easy way
I know of crimes that get no pardon
There is no closure my heart
I know where guns of war are laid…
Good Bye to you, Lili Marlene!
I’ll think of roses and of Gottingen
As I will travel across the Wall
To the other the Germany I used to know
Which side of the (Berlin) Wall seems to you commonplace?
In Germany where love prevails over despair
I daydream with verses of Apollinaire
In Germany romantic notes are wild and strong
The violins play all day long
The simple waltzes of Vienna
Auf Wiedersehen, Lili Marlene!
I’ll think of roses and of Gottingen
As I will travel across the Wall
To the other the Germany I used to know
On which side of the (Berlin) Wall would you feel secure?
(In German):
…I have a little wild flower and as I hold it against the sky
It is reaching out through the clouds…
(In French)
From Germany I have a flower in my heart
That to me is a symbol of happiness
I know it can grow and become as big as a tree
So long to you, Lili Marlene!
I’ll think of roses and of Gottingen
As I will travel across the Wall
To the other the Germany I used to know
