On the wing: Germany

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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.'

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)

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.

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

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!

VIDEO: "Sommer aus Papier" music video

VIDEO: Depenbusch discusses the song on Hamburg TV

The song's German lyrics

AUDIO: Anna Depenbusch on iTunes

My profile of Anna Depenbusch

Tim loves Tina

Anna Depenbusch

Tim loves Tina, but Tina loves Klaus.

Klaus goes to work down in China
and leaves poor Tina at home.

And Tim just can't think what to do,
because Tina still doesn't like him,

and so he takes to vodka
and drinks the whole day long.

That's how love comes, that's how love goes.

It hurts and burns; yes, love does what it promises.

Ron loves his dear Ronja, just as Ronja loves Ron,

but Ron sometimes still sleeps with Sonja, and Ronja hasn't a clue.

But, with great skill and some luck too, Ron doesn't break his neck.

No, Ron is so smart, he makes Ronja his wife, with Sonja a friend on the side.

That's how love comes, that's how it goes.

It hurts and burns; yes, love does what it promises.

Paul loves Peter, but Peter he loves me.

Paul hopes that sooner or later dear Peter will just come around.

But Peter loves women, and I am his dream. I'm his whole reason to be.

He wants to have kids, since we are a pair, but I want a child from Tim.

Tim loves Tina, but Tina loves Klaus.

We laugh, and we suffer;

we leave and we stay;

we live, and we learn from it all.

This love song of mine is done.

"Tim liebt Tina" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch
Translated by Frank Beck

Remember when the McGarrigle Sisters sweetly sang, "It's only love, and it's only love/that can wreck a human being and turn him inside out"? There's only one songwriter I know today who writes in the same wry, wise, tender way. The surprising thing is that she writes in German.

If you come home to me

Anna Depenbusch performing in Munich in 2013

If you come home to me,

honey, things will be different.

I promise you that I will change--

but right now, please don’t leave me alone.

If you come home to me, we’ll take it from the top,

and tonight, at the door, I will a leave a light on.

Yes, I know that I've really screwed up.

That silly little thing about your Porsche – you know I'm so sorry.

I also understand by going off with that guy

I took things a few steps too far.

If you come home to me, we’ll take it from the top,

And tonight, at the door, I will a leave a light on.

I’m losing my mind, a little more with each day.

Since you’re gone every breath is an effort.

The craziest thoughts are hunting me down;

I wonder how I could ever have been so damn dumb and stupid.

If you come home to me, we’ll take it from the top,

And tonight, at the door, I will a leave a light on.

Because I am your mouse; I'm your puppy, your precious crystal;

I’m your fate, I'm your darling, your sweet nightingale.

And you are my hero, my brave knight and ivory tower;

you're my parachute, my compass, my beacon in the storm.

If you come home to me, I give my word on it--

I won’t smoke anymore; I won’t take you for stupid

and run drunk in the dark to the arms of strange men.

If you come home, everything will be different

If you come home, I swear that I’ll be your girl.

If you come home, I’ll kick the others right out the door.

But when will you come home to me?

When will you come back?

"Wenn du nach Hause kommst" - Words and music by Anna Depenbusch; translation by Frank Beck

This song is a particular favorite of mine; it's a brilliant portrait of a person who--like all of us, at times--can't quite see the untenable position she's in. Anna's performance (in a small studio for a 2011 webcast) makes the whole situation perfectly believable--if not forgivable.

On the wing

The Most Beautiful Song

Stadt Land Fluss

Throw It Overboard

Astronaut

Summer of paper

Tim loves Tina

If you come home to me

More favorite lyrics in translation

New and selected poems

Selected translations

Reviews and articles

My blog, "On the wing"

Other recent writing and photographs