Eco-communities as a social vision

Eco-communities as a social vision
Egalitarian and ecological communities, like the pictured East Wind (www.eastwind.org), are very close to our vision of an ecological society
Showing posts with label Rammstein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rammstein. Show all posts

06 November, 2012

"Donaukinder" by Rammstein (2009)

Donauquell dein Aderlass
Wo Trost und Leid zerfließen
Nichts Gutes liegt verborgen nass
In deinen feuchten Wiesen

Keiner weiss was hier geschah
Die Fluten rostigrot
Die Fische waren atemlos
Und alle Schwämme tot
An den Ufern in den Wiesen
Die Tiere wurden krank
Aus den Augen in den Fluss
Triebabscheulicher Gestank

Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand weisst was hier geschehen
Keiner hat etwas gesehen
Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand hat etwas gesehen

Mütter standen bald am Strom
Und weinen eine Flut
Auf die Felder durch die Leiche
Stieg das Leid in alle Teiche
Schwarze Fahnen auf der Stadt
Alle Ratten fett und satt
Die Brummen giftig allerort
Und die Menschen soviel fort

Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand weisst was hier geschehen
Keiner hat etwas gesehen
Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand hat etwas gesehen

Donauquell dein Aderlass
Wo Trost und Leid zerfließen
Nichts Gutes liegt verborgen nass
In deinen feuchten Wiesen

Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand weisst was hier geschehen
Keiner hat etwas gesehen
Wo sind die Kinder
Niemand hat etwas gesehen


 English translation by Affenknecht.com:

Children of the Danube

Donau Spring your bloodletting/bleeding
Where comfort and sorrow dissolve
Nothing good lies hidden, wet
in your damp meadows

No one knows what happened here
The floods (are) rusty red
The fishes were breathless
And all sponges dead
At the banks in the meadows
The animals became sick
Out of the eyes into the river
(the) stench (of) vile urge

Where are the children?
No one knows what happened here
Nobody saw anything
Where are the children?
No one saw anything.

Soon mothers stand at the stream
And cry a flood
On the fields through the dead body
The sorrow climbed into all ponds
Black flags on the city
All rats fat and satisfied
The poisonous humming everywhere And the people so far away

Where are the children?
No one knows what happened here
Nobody saw anything
Where are the children?
No one saw anything.

Donau Spring your bloodletting/bleeding
Where comfort and sorrow dissolve
Nothing good lies hidden, wet
in your damp meadows

Where are the children?
No one knows what happened here
Nobody saw anything
Where are the children?
No one saw anything.


The song deals with an accident near Baia Mare, in Romania, which occurred on 30th Januar 2000.

Extremely heavy rainfall on 30 January caused a dam to breach, causing 100.000 m³ of water to flood a goldmine and carry with it app. 100 ton of heavy metals and sodium cyanide into the nearby river Donau (German name for the Danube). The poison was carried along the river, causing havoc in several countries; drinking water became poisoned, and people fled the rivers’ surroundings to escape the deadly poison, which quickly destroyed all life in and around the river itself.

Lots of children were obviously affected by this disaster, but the name ‘Donaukinder’ (’Danube Children’) more probably refers metaphorically to the fish in the river, seen as the ‘children’ of the Danube/Donau; the fish obviously suffered most directly the full force of this disaster and the absence of fish in the river is the most obvious consequence of the disaster. Hence, the song rhetorically asks: ‘Wo sind die Kinder?’ (’Where are the children?’). Furthermore, the German name for Baia Mare, where the breach occured, is ‘Frauenbach’, meaning ‘Woman-River’, which sustains the metaphor of comparing River/Fish to Mother/Children. (Last FM)

But Romanian Gold Mine Reopens Despite Cyanide Disaster Fears


No matter such disasters, the lobby of gold, under a new gold fever and uncontrolled capitalistic paranoia, doesn't hesitate to use the most toxic ways to extract the last and very small concentrations of gold from billions of tons of rocks that consist natural lansscapes, exterminating useful lands, forests, aquatic environments and aquifers and intoxicating fauna, flora and consequently local societies.


Greece, and especially the Northern parts and the touristic paradise of Chalkidiki are in great peril for being surrendered to the new gold fever amd the most beautiful forests are going to be destroyed for a fistfull of gold. Local societies were risen, but the Greek state, in favour of the private interests  violently supresses any kind of peaceful demonstration and Mass Media ignore them, because they are property of the Greek lobby of gold. The gold fever also has striken Turkey and other Balkan countries, where local societies and States violently collide.


You can hear this song in youtube

18 May, 2009

"Reise Reise" by Rammstein, album: Reise, Reise (2004)

Auf den Wellen wird gefochten,
wo Fisch und Fleisch zur See geflochten,
der eine sticht die Lanz' im Meer,
der andr'e wirft sie in das Meer

Ah, Ahoi

Reise, Reise,
Seemann, reise,
jeder tut's auf seine Weise,
der eine stt den Speer zum Mann,
der andere zum Fische dann

Reise, Reise,
Seemann, Reise,
und die Wellen weinen leise,
in ihrem Blute steckt ein Speer,
blutet leise in das Meer

Die Lanze muss im Fleisch ertrinken,
Fisch und Mann zur Tiefe sinken,
wo die schwarze Seele wohnt,
ist kein Licht am Horizont

Ah, Ahoi

Reise, Reise,
Seemann, reise,
jeder tut's auf seine Weise,
der eine stt den Speer zum Mann,
der andere zum Fische dann

Reise, Reise,
Seemann, reise,
und die Wellen weinen leise,
in ihrem Blute steckt ein Speer,
blutet leise in das Meer

Reise, Reise

Reise, Reise,
Seemann, reise,
und die Wellen weinen leise,
in ihrem Herzen steckt ein Speer,
bluten sich am Ufer leer,
bluten sich am Ufer leer


english translation from here:

Even on the waves there is fighting
Where fish and flesh are woven into sea
One stabs the lance while in the army
Another throws it into the ocean

Ahoy

Arise, arise seaman arise
Each does it in his own way
One thrusts the spear into a man
Another then into the fish

Arise, arise seaman arise
And the waves cry softly
In their blood a spear is lodged
They bleed softly into the ocean

The lance must be drowned in flesh
Fish and man sink to the depths
Where the black soul dwells
there is no light on the horizon

Ahoy

Arise, arise seaman arise
Each does it in his own way
One thrusts the spear into a man
Another then into the fish

Arise, arise seaman arise
And the waves cry softly
In their blood a spear is lodged
They bleed softly into the ocean

Arise, arise seaman arise
And the waves cry softly
In their heart a spear is lodged
They bleed themselves dry on the shore


Obscured lyrics, may they have to do with any kind of violence in the sea by humans. But the video clip is quite interesting with footage from the environmental movie "The day after tomorrow". Also the title means Journey and Arise. As we read in wikipedia and in the above site:

The phrase "Reise, Reise" is used by seamen as a wake-up call and finds its roots in the Middle High German verb "risen", which meant "to rise" (to which it is obviously related as well). This verb has since died out in New High German, though the noun was retained and came to mean "journey" or "voyage". The verb "reisen" was rederived from the noun "Reise", but now means "to journey" or "to travel". It seems the old meaning has been preserved in this phrase in the seaman's language.
So hearing the song and seeing the video clip, the song may become an environmental warning too
You can hear the son and see the video clip here