Showing posts with label Anna Depenbusch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anna Depenbusch. Show all posts

5 Meter


On a New Year's Eve, in a new-moon land,
They played Rio Reiser, and they made their plans.
And they each had a goal; they each wanted so much.
There was nothing life could lack.

And they burned with yearning, without a care,
Running hand-in-hand through the fireworks.
It was all or nothing, against the grain,
And they did not look back.


And once there was this Hamburger maiden 
In love with a boy who came from the Rhine.
He wanted a nice little woman from Munich;
The one from the port town was never to be.
And so the two lovers passed one another right by.

Bye, bye -- pass by.

It was a 5-meter story on the platform in Bonn,
A 5-meter beginning, begun at the end.
A 5-meter kiss, before the doors closed.
A 5-meter look, and then the tears flowed.

A 5-meter wait and 5 meters of hoping:
5 meters from Köln all bets were still open.
The train stopped in Duisburg, and once more at Essen,
And 5 meters later the love was forgotten.

Bye, bye -- pass by.

It was New Year's Eve, and one year further on.
And they met up again at the very same bar.
They knew where to go -- not how to get there.
They could no longer follow Rio Reiser's sweet song.

And once there was this Hamburger maiden 
In love with a boy who came from the Rhine.
He wanted a nice little woman from Munich;
The one from the port town was never to be.
And so the two lovers passed one another right by.

Right by one another.
Bye, bye -- pass by.

It was a 5-meter story on the platform in Bonn,
A 5-meter beginning, begun at the end.
A 5-meter kiss, before the doors closed.
A 5-meter look, and then the tears flowed.

A 5-meter wait and 5 meters of hoping:
5 meters from Köln all bets were still open.
The train stopped in Duisburg, and once more at Essen,
And 5 meters later the love was forgotten.

Bye, bye -- pass by.

"5 Meter" -- Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

Of the 11 pieces - nine songs and two instrumentals - on Anna Depenbusch's new album, 'Echtzeit' (Real Time), this is the one that I find myself singing to myself, again and again. I love the word play of the lyrics and the jazzy melody, so reminiscent of Joni Mitchell's 'Blue' album. No wonder they chose it for a music video. Don't let the foreign language put you off -- listen to the YouTube performance using my translation as subtitles. Hope you enjoy it.

I should add that Rio Reiser (1950-1996) and his group Ton Steine Scherben (also called 'The Shards' because their name means 'shards of clay'), formed in 1970, were among the first Germans to sing genuine rock in their native language.

There's another song from the new album at the second link.


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The Most Beautiful Song



There were two simple notes
but one grand symphony--
that's how we found each other,
and together we made
a most beautiful song.

 So soft and so quiet
and chosen with love,
but what would the song sound like
if one note all at once
were gone?

I breathe in, and I breathe out;
I let my eyes open and close;
and I hear all the singing
and all of the music:
none of it sounds like you.

 It pops and spits,
it bends and breaks,
it howls and hisses,
burns and stings.

 And everything's fine,
though the world's going wrong,
because it just keeps on turning without you,
yes, it does keep on turning without you.

 I breathe in, then I breathe out;
I let my eyes open and close;
and I hear all the singing
and all of the music:
none it sounds like you.
No, not at all like you.

 And so on days like these days--
one like today, when I feel so alone--
while I am singing here for so many people,
my only wish is that you would be there.

 There are two simple notes,
here in my fantasy,
and together they make
the most beautiful song.
Yes, we're still the most beautiful song.

 Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

One of my favorite songs from the singer/songwriter's latest album, Das Alphabet der Anne Depenbusch. As Karla Letterman says in her article about an April 2018 concert, 'Anna Depenbusch walks out on stage, takes a seat at the grand piano, gets started--and you're in the middle. In the middle of life.'


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Stadt Land Fluss

Anna Depenbusch



Now I'm here, then I'm there:
My suitcase always packed to go,
So nothing holds me anywhere,
And there is nowhere I'm at home.
I need the rails beneath my feet,
The gentle rattle of the doors.
Solid ground no longer helps me;
My life keeps rolling like a train.

Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
From inside to outside
And then inside out.
Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
The world's a blur
Till I know where I am.

Every mile makes it easy
Both to forget and to forgive.
All the old ways I've abandoned;
There's no more baggage--I'm alone.
People say I need a goal:
Trust yourself and your gut feeling.
But what if nothing's in there
Because your only goal is you?
It comes and goes just as it wants to;
Only in motion is it still.

Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
From inside to outside
And then inside out.
Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
The world's a blur
Till I know where I am.

Between Hamburg and Berlin,
Between Munich and Schwerin,
Between Bremen, Cologne and Stuttgart,
Between Freiburg, Mainz and Puttgarden,
Between Oder, Elbe, Rhine,
Somewhere there I'll be, right now.

Shadows flicker on the curtains;
Leaves fly by but stay in place.
Walls of houses, lines of traffic;
Joni Mitchell paints the landscape blue.
Mirrored pictures in the windows;
I let my thoughts rise like a kite.
That's goodbye, in my own fashion.
In all your travels, remember me.

Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
From inside to outside
And then inside out.
Stadt Land Fluss:
To there and back;
The world's a blur
Till I know where I am.

 Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

 One of my favorite songs from Anna Depenbusch's new album, Das Alphabet der Anna Depenbusch. She's a songwriter with the knack of presenting life's contradictions, without trying to smooth them out.

 The phrase 'Stadt Land Fluss' refers to a popular German game, often played in a car, in which one person names a letter of the alphabet and players compete to see how many cities, countries and rivers starting with that letter they can name in a specified amount of time. As such, the phrase is untranslatable. See the first link below for a live performance of the song from Darmstadt in April 2017.


Anna Depenbusch in concert--Darmstadt, April 2017 (Photo: Thomas Bieg)

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Throw It Overboard


What’s going on inside this house?
Everything is in the way.
I can’t catch my breath here;
I need room to think.
I have doubts about it all,
and they're like Post-Its, sticking to my skin.
Come over to the window: we must—

Out, out, out—throw it overboard.
I must be light, light, light—throw it overboard.
Clear the ship, 'ahoy' to freedom—throw it overboard.
This dress of lead is not for me.
It’s not for me. No, it’s not for me.

Perhaps this is a test of how many tons of stress
can be laid across my shoulders before I lie down.
Well, today I will last longer, but I'll see you later:
let's cut loose and raise the anchor—

Out, out, out—throw it overboard.
I must be light, light, light—throw it overboard.
Clear the ship, 'ahoy' to freedom—throw it overboard.
This dress of lead is not for me.

Don't call me anymore, and don't send mail;
My laptop's in the trash; my cell phone's in the loo.
I'm just surfing down here, naked at the beach.
You've got a lousy network, and you're—

Just burnt out—throw it overboard.
I must be light, light, light—throw it overboard.
Clear the ship, “ahoy” to freedom—throw it overboard.
This dress of lead is not for me.
It’s not for me. No, it’s not for me.

Do I really need this car? (No)
Or these faucets made of gold? (No)
Do I need all these books? (No)
The alarm out in the hall? (No)
Do I need this sofa? (No)
And all these chic new shoes? (No)
Do I need to have white apples
On my chic new watch? (N0)
Do I need all this stuff? (N0)
And these bags made just for sports? (No)
I'm not into heavy haulage: we must--

Out, out, out—throw it overboard.
I must be light, light, light—throw it overboard.
Clear the ship, 'ahoy' to freedom—throw it overboard.
This dress of lead is not for me.
It’s not for me. No, it’s not for me.

I must be light, light, light—throw it overboard.
I must be light, light, light.

'Alles uber Bord'—Word and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

 I've just received a copy of Anna Depenbusch's new album, Das Alphabet der Anna Depenbusch (Sony/Columbia), her first new recording in nearly five years--and it's been well worth the wait. Depenbusch's music combines pop and French chanson, with a little Kurt Weill mixed in. What's surprising to me is how much that combination of genres still has to say to us in 2017. I'll post translations of some other lyrics from the album as I do them.




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Astronaut


Quiet and mute, you go on your journey,
And, weightless, draw circles across the deep blue.
You look in the distance and need only the stars;
astronauts are so happy, just being alone.

 And, if everything here tonight should just explode,
what is it that you've really risked?
Was there nothing to lose? Really, no one to lose?
To you it's all the same--the people banal,
and this whole stupid, little world's second best.

 You torment yourself, you roll in your bed;
you don't sleep anymore, don't even eat.
You're so stuck as you tumble through space and through time,
because nothing can hold you, nothing delights you,
so nothing can ever be missed.
How did your heart ever get so worn out?

 Among the planets you play Blind Man's Bluff--
so indescribable the light and the views--
you go chasing rockets and bright shooting stars,
but it's life down here you never see.

 So you look in the distance, you need only the stars;
astronauts are so happy just being alone.
You dream of adventures with monsters so mean,
aliens and dragons and, oh, so much more:
astronauts really have to be brave!

 And, if everything here tonight should just explode,
you have nothing to lose,
to you it's all the same--
the people banal,
and, since nothing quite matters,
you feel so abandoned
and as dark and as cold as the moon.

 Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck


'Astronaut' comes from the 2011 album, Die Mathematik der Anna Depenbusch

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Angel


I know exactly where you are;
I know exactly where you'll go,
where you come from, where you were--
know what you're thinking
even though you don't say it.

 I know exactly what you've dreamt:
why does the best part always
slip through your fingers?
See, I know you, I hold you in my arms,
and you do not even know my name.

 I am an angel sent onto your path,
just an angel, thinking softly of you.
You don't need to know how my heart relies on you--
it would just make you miss me someday.

 I know all the games that you play;
I know when you lie and who you've just loved.
Here in this world you often feel so alone,
but, believe me, you do not need to be.

 I am an angel sent onto your path,
just an angel, thinking softly of you.
You don't need to know how my heart relies on you--
it would just make you miss me someday.

 Angels don't have any worries;
angels keep themselves well hidden.
Angels will watch over you,
for angels have no need of sleep.

 Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck


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Dance with Me


It is still, so still--
not one more loud cry.
Forget it, let go now, it's over and done.

Come dance with me, just like we were in love,
though I know in the morning no morning will be.
Yes, hold me tight, just like we were in love,
before the last of our love fades away;
yes, before the last of our love fades away--

before a November lays our summer low;
yes, before the wind takes me and I have to go.

It is still, so still--
each word is a lie,
spoken and broken on the same Sunday night.


Come dance with me, just like we were in love,
though I know in the morning no morning will be.
Yes, hold me tight, just like we were in love,
before the last of our love fades away;
yes, before the last of our love fades away.

Leave me your shirt, sailor, and I'll think of you
far out, far out on the high seas.
I'll give you my heart, or you'll forget about me,
until we two meet again.

I'll take your shirt, sailor, and I'll think of you,
far out, far out on the high seas.
I'll give you my heart, or you'll forget about me,
until we two meet again.

Day by day I stand on the pier,
with every ship that passes I dream on.
Now you are there, but no longer mine:
my little sister's on your arm.

So go to sea, and go to hell--
set your sails straight away.
I won't be shedding tears anymore.

 Don't give a damn about your roses,
if they have to sting so much,
and all I really love of sailors is the sea!

"Tanz mit mir" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

Anna Depenbusch is one of today's most inventive singer/songwriters. Who else would write a song like this? I love the way it moves from desolation to self-assertion, as the rejected woman gives her sailor an earful in the last few lines.


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Somewhere else is higher



Come swim farther, don't hold back;
somewhere else is higher--
you must onward swim,
always onward swim.

Come swim farther, don’t hold back,
you could lose direction -
you must onward swim,
always onward swim.

Come swim farther, don’t hold back, 
straight up from the bottom -
you must onward swim,
always onward swim.

Come swim farther, don’t hold back,
where the winds are raging - 
you must onward swim,
simply onward swim.

First through black, then through grey,
then one thousand meters slowly through blue,
and you’ll see the turquoise shimmer.

Come swim farther, don’t hold back;
somewhere else is higher -
you must onward swim,
always onward swim.

Come swim farther, don’t hold back,
soon you will be lifted -
you must onward swim,
swim a little farther.

First through fire, then through ice,
through all that was - one final test -
and then at last all is bright and clear.

Come swim farther;
come swim farther;
come swim farther;
come swim farther.
Come.

 "Irgendwo ist oben" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

 This is a very different side of Anna Depenbusch's music making. She cooked up this incantatory appeal to live more fully, more deeply by working collaboratively with her band. I love the way the entire lyric is built around one extended metaphor, and I love the intensity of her delivery. I also love songwriting that's this daring and ambitious--and that works.


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Take me back


If you've been worried, don't ask me where I was.
I know that you've been waiting, but now I've come back home.
And, if you still want me, I will stay right here --
that is, if you can believe me.

For an eternity now I've been thinking,
day and night for weeks.
There's something that I've brought you,
something I hope you'll take.
Here is my heart -- I want to give it to you.
If it's true that you still want me, 
I'll put it straight into your hands.

 I am so sorry that I could ever have thought
it was over and done with--that I no longer cared.
But it isn't so, and, baby, please don't forget
that I want you so much.

 Yes, it's true I'm attracted to other men's houses;
it's true I've made promises I haven't kept.
Like a child, I can't pass up one single thrill
for fear of something that I might have missed.
But now I've come back home, and I want you so much.

 I'm so sorry that I could ever have thought
it was over and done--that I no longer cared.
But it isn't so, and, baby, please don't forget
that I want you so much.

 Come here, come take me back.
Come here, come take me back.
Come here.
Come take me back.

 "Nimm mich zurück"
Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck




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Summer of paper


I build myself a summer
of shiny colored paper;
I set it up in winter
before all the windows freeze.

 And everyone can see it,
there inside the door,
and for those still out in snow
I make gloves of paper, too--

 for the feeling burns on the skin,
just as it was and so familiar.

 Hello, hello.
I'm awake, but you're on your way;
gone off into hiding somewhere overnight.
And, so I won't freeze here without you,
I build myself a summer of paper.

 I go down to a lighthouse
that stands on the beach,
and light up every lamp
just so you can find me.

 I don't know where you were
or where you'll go tomorrow,
but I know that, when you're here,
it's clear to me as day
that you can make my head spin--

 for the feeling burns on the skin
just as it was and so familiar.

 Hello, hello.
I'm awake, but you're on your way;
gone off into hiding somewhere overnight.
And, so I won't freeze here without you,
I build myself a summer of paper.

 When the world gently lies down to sleep
and we all come to rest,
while the winter so slowly goes by,
I just close both of my eyes
against all the rain, storm and thunder--

 I build myself my summer
made out of colored paper,
then I take it to the streets,
so that none of us will freeze.
Hello, hello.

 "Sommer aus Papier" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch; translation by Frank Beck

 Anna Depenbusch wrote one of her catchiest melodies for this celebration of the vital role songs play in all our lives, no matter what language we sing them in. It's the title track for her album of the same name, which Sony promoted with a playful online video. Nice work!


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