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Anna Depenbusch

 My home here and me
are like shadows and light, bound together.
My home here and me
are now tied up for good this time.

 I have cursed it so often
and tried to deny--
then shunned it again
every time that I missed it.

 I've belonged here so long,
whether I like it or not.
I've belonged here so long--
yes, I have little choice,
and it's got me,
no matter where I am.

 My home drowns its sorrows
in wandering that goes on forever.
My home has such scars
that they're all here for good this time.

 Never before have I seen that it's beautiful.
It always drives me far into the distance,
but I have stayed true to it every time.

 I've belonged here so long,
whether I like it or not.
I've belonged here so long--
yes, I have little choice,
and it's got me,
no matter where I am.

 I have little choice.
It's got me--
once and for all.

 "Heimat" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

This is one of the the songs that first attracted me to Anna Depenbusch's work. Set to a warm, jazz-inflected melody, the lyrics express both affection and resignation, holding those seemingly contradictory emotions in suspension so that neither invalidates the other.


 Photograph by Frank Dietrich

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