01 Manchmal
Die Nächte waren viel zu kurz, um all das aufzuschreiben
Was mir auf der Seele brannte, und manches liess ich bleiben
Immer gab es irgendein Mädchen, das mich nicht haben wollte
Im Dunkeln kam der Liebeskummer, der mich überrollte
Worte flossen aus der Hand in Reime
Dazu liess ich Töne von der Leine
Manchmal wünscht’ ich mein Leiden von damals zurück
Heute weiss ich das Unglück war doch mein Glück
Mit Reimen und Dichten kann man die Welt richten,
Lied für Lied, Stück für Stück
Manchmal wünscht’ ich mein Sehnen von damals zurück
Da stimmte was nicht mit der Welt, ich konnte es nicht verstehen
Die Menschen wollten all dies Unrecht scheinbar gar nicht sehen
Unter meinen Ahnen gab es auch jüdisches Leben
Ich tauchte in diesen Kosmos ein. Was ich las, liess mich erbeben
Worte flossen …
Manchmal …
02 Sterne fangen
Du hast das Lachen der Sonne, den Glanz der Haare vom Mond
Die Augen sind Perlen gezeichnet, Deine Stimme ist Freude vertont.
Dein Gang gleicht treibenden Wolken, die Worte eilendem Wind.
Und ich schloss draus, Du dächtest, so wie ich altes Kind.
Ich wollt', Du könntest Sterne fangen und mit mir in Träumen hangen.
Ich wollt', Du könntest dies. Du kannst es nicht.
Ich wollt', Du hättest in den Strähnen hin und wieder Freudentränen.
Ich wollt', Du hättest sie. Du hast sie nicht.
Du hast den Gleichmut des Nebels, die Leidenschaft des Vulkans.
Du hast die Unschuld des Einhorns und die Schelmerei Pans.
Du gleichst der Tiefe des Meeres, der Höhe, wo Sterne sind.
Und ich glaubte, Du fühltest, so wie ich altes Kind.
Ich wollt', Du könntest Sterne fangen …
Honey and Dreams
03 Honey and Dreams
Mama, why don't you believe me. It is not that you fed me that counts
You have shown me what tastes like, with honey and dreams.
Papa, why don't you believe me. It's not that you financed my youth.
You showed me the stars above, with honey and dreams.
With passionate voice, knowing hands,
left me the choice, a humble stance.
You've planted in me your honey and dreams.
Brother, why don't you believe me. What matters is not what you gave.
Your drumbeats that echoed in my sleep, with honey and dreams.
Sister, why don't you believe me. Not that you looked up to me once.
How your hands formed dirt into a piece of art, with honey and dreams.
With passionate voice …
I still feel the sweetness in my heart, I still have the dreams to begin
There is always a rainbow to follow when the rain flows.
Darling, why don't you believe me. It's not that you vowed long ago
You still let me spread my wings for my honey and dreams.
04 This is my World
This is my world – the number of steps indicates your health.
This is my world – the size of watches shows your wealth.
This is my world – where you can save friends in a file
And where posts and tweets and likes replace their smiles.
This is my world – where private parts are a suggestion
This is my world – where you put gender into question
This is my world – where you're only allowed to play what you are
Beware of Indians, gays and blacks and fatties and the bizarre
This is my world – where purpose is everything you do
Where you can't get enough, and you eat your cake and have it too
This is my world – you disdain for the Chinese way of life
And you prefer to share your life with a woman than a wife
05 Stone Pine Trees
In the valley just below the clouds,
Our mountain boots are crunching on the stone path.
Halfway up lies a mountain lake,
Whose water we drink tastes better than anything else.
We took a break behind a rock
I had my first smoke in silence with my father.
In a grove a little off the pass
My brother was busy carving magical figures.
Memories take hold of me, it hurts my heart a bit.
How could it all have passed so fast? How so?
Take me back to the stone pine trees,
Where a gentle breeze comes down from the mountain high.
Take me back to the carefree days,
Where we shared our ways, my father, my brother and I.
We were surprised by a freezing rain
And we had to return to the valley with a lantern.
We made a fire right behind the house
We roasted gummy bears on a stick in the burning flame.
Memories take hold of me ….
Take me back to the stone pine trees …
Before no one knows it anymore and is getting lost in time
I had to write it for myself, cos I'm the last in that counting rhyme.
06 An early Crush
You are the starling who crosses the sea.
You are the bird that was thrown from the tree.
A star among the stars that, before you can see
it, says goodbye to faraway places.
You are the song that's still singing in me,
even though it's long gone with its melody.
The warmth of the stone when the sun sinks into the sea.
The melancholy of old wine.
You are the fog that loosens the sails.
You are the stone forcing trains off the rails.
An egg in the desert from which life finds its way.
The honey that sweetened the bitter.
No matter how many pictures for you I find,
For the very true secret, I still remain blind.
The book of your being, whose words slip my mind,
What would I give if I could read it?
07 Hide and Seek
I see me running after success.
I seek a clever move in my own chess.
I change anew my mask is it the right.
Once more a smiling face, conceal my fight.
I’m on a roundabout, once more a turn.
I’m looking for an aim. When will I learn?
Seek my identity and lose my way.
Will show a colour now. Everything’s grey.
Cover my face. Desperate race. No treble but bass in my song.
Losing the trace. Persist in place. Caught in a maze for so long.
I lose my balance that I never found.
I’d like to run away but I am bound.
I hear the silent cries that fill the night.
I keep my attitude keep it so tight.
I can feel, I can feel, I can feel. This cannot be real.
I can feel, I can feel, I can feel. It’s a broken keel.
I stand amidst of my heap of ruins.
I feel needles and pins.
But one day I will give up this life.
I throw away my mask and fog will rise.
Cover my face …
I can feel …
08 Ballad of a Summiteer
Nothing happened, no wizard appeared,
And I am still the same
I search for the shooting star in the sky,
Where only the firmament turns
Astonished I realise that no saviour comes
To set me on a throne
So I sit here, sobered and ashamed,
Knowing I am alone
All my life I‘ve been striving for honour and fame
I waited for the die to fall for the perfect game
Say goodbye to all those lies you suppose you need to tell
Life‘s too short to be frittered away with role-playing games
I mimed the strong, the wise and the clown
And not a few took it from me
I played the artist, the hero, the lover
And thought the deception succeeded
All my life …
Say goodbye …
09 Wishy Washy
One who swims and one who runs
One that hits the mark with his guns
One who is able to write left and right.
He'll be measured, day and night.
One who coughs and one who spits.
And one who swings when he sits.
One who stinks or has nosebleed.
That does need an x-ray of him indeed.
It all gets measured, mapped and weighed.
Counted, categorised, pinned down and surveyed
I aim by the rule of thumb, I have no apology.
I like the imprecise, shoot first and then see.
I’ll take a handful, wishy-washy at its best.
My way is strictly north, south and east and west.
One who’s stupid and one who shines
One who can read between the lines.
One who sweats like a monsoon rain.
They tell him: You must be insane.
One who counts and one who reads,
One who fasts and one who eats,
A guy who sleeps when duty calls,
One tells him: That's not good at all.
It all gets measured …
I aim by the rule of thumb …
10 Immer Weiter
Wir haben uns auf den Weg gemacht, vor so vielen Jahr’n
Haben gar nicht lange nachgedacht, so jung, wie wir da war’n.
Die Zeit streute ihr Grün ins Land, der Kuckuck sang die Terz
Und wir zwei gingen Hand in Hand und schauten nur vorwärts
Wir geh’n immer weiter, bis an den Horizont
Und fragen nicht, wohin das führt und nicht, ob es sich lohnt.
Immer dem Weg nach, immer weiter, immer dem Weg nach
Immer dem Weg nach, immer weiter, immer dem Weg entlang
Die Sonne steht nicht mehr so hoch, allmählich wird es kühl.
Wir gehen langsamer, jedoch mit dem alten Gefühl
Das ist und bleibt auch unser Weg, so klar können wir es seh’n
Wenn Raureif kommt und dann der Schnee werden wir ihn bis zum Ende geh’n
Wir geh’n einfach weiter, bis an den Horizont
Und fragen nicht, wohin das führt und nicht, ob es sich lohnt.
Immer dem Weg nach, immer weiter, immer dem Weg nach
Immer dem Weg nach, immer weiter, immer dem Weg entlang
11 Autumn Light
The chase for the big money, the bustle for the fame,
The gathering of honey, the running on the train,
Striving for the top, the search of new friends,
The craving for the cup is coming to an end.
My taste for new foods, demand for rare wines,
The fight against my moods, quoting famous lines,
Driving bigger cars, wearing better clothes,
It's no longer so important, the impressive pose.
I sit down on a bench and look up in the heights.
Try to learn a little French and enjoy the autumn light.
I walk barefoot on the lawn and stay up late at night.
I breathe deeply in and out and enjoy the autumn light.
I think about the meaning, I’m thinking about love.
I will do some gleaning, watching myself from above.
I try to live a little peace in a world full of wars.
I see you as my centrepiece and do my chores.
I sit down on a bench …
01 I Live A Little Bit
I draw my line in the sky.
I leave a trail in the snow.
I snap a few branches while roaming around.
I call something out.
​​
Lines disappear and snow melts.
Bushes grow back and sounds fade away.
​​
I live a little bit, I love a little bit – until it's over.
I live a little bit, I love a little bit – and then I go.
I live a little bit, I love a little bit – until it's over.
I live a little bit, I love a little bit – and then I quit.
​​
I put a few kisses on your cheeks.
I stroke through your hair while you sleep.
I pour you some wine late at night.
I leave you some notes on the desk.
​
Kisses vanish, touches fade away.
Wine dries up and notes get lost.
​
I live a little bit …
02 In The Cellar
I put in all I had, and it was not half bad.
You liked it. Yes, it satisfied you.
You liked me more and more. I thought we're through that door.
You seemed finally decided.
But love is always a deal, love is always a deal
You start to play the trick, it is called 'carrot and stick'.
A kiss became a knife in wounds.
And as the time goes by, you got sphinxes eyes,
Who shoot me down with their look.
'Cos love is always a deal, love is always a deal.
You're walking me into the night, pushing me from left to right.
I found myself on the other side.
Down and out. Out and down. IN THE CELLAR
You abandon me out in the rain, let me going down the drain.
All endeavours were in vain.
Down and out. Out and down. IN THE CELLAR
​​
Loving's a poker game, not every girl's a dame
Consider when you play all in.
Getting involved with her, it suddenly occur
That you lose and have to pay.
'Cos love is always a deal, love is always a deal
You're walking me into the night, …
Life at first Sight
03 Let Go
Grandfather opens the carnotzet.
It smells of young wine.
Dust dances in a ray of sun.
The stuffed owl hides in the shade.
Gingerbread, sugar glue, mom's hand.
It glitters all over the house.
On Sunday, Dad drives me back to school.
Mozart from the tape.
I kissed my girl in a play on stage,
But after that never again.
We flew to New York in a jumbo jet
And argued about God and more.
We bought two canisters of wine and ate
Goose foie gras with it.
In a chilly moment at the South Rim
I proposed and she said yes.
​
This all happened just yesterday.
What is past is cleared away.
We don’t have a second chance.
The times run knows no romance.
Open your hand and LET GO!
04 Heart To Show
Losing the ground under your feet
Frozen life in the blazing heat
Striking your face on the mental wall
Turn against yourself. What's the call?
Screams are unheard - echoes in your head
Hiding into dreams - aimless instead
Of knocking at the door, closed but unlocked
Dodging what is strange. All friends are shocked!
​
Shooting at a bird that flies and don't know where it is
Cutting in a tree that cries and don't know what it miss'
Melt down the icy shell - a spark precedes the glow
Sometimes it is so hard a HEART TO SHOW
Chasing with the winds and asking why you loose
More of the same gets you just the blues
Swim against the current, don't go with the flow
Even it is hard a HEART TO SHOW
Sometimes I'm nasty, sometimes I'm mean.
I am overhasty and sometimes keen.
I can cheat on you and always say no.
But if you would I let you run the show.
Sometimes I am reckless, sometimes rude.
I push you to the edge and I exclude you.
Sometimes I am fiery and let others down.
But if you once need me, I’ll be around.
I know exactly I can’t be alone.
I need you guys all around me.
Please text me, mail me or pick up the phone
I need you, my friends, please be with me!
​
LUCKY ME, Lucky me, Lucky me – ooh
I have friends, you cannot buy one
LUCKYA ME, Lucky me, Lucky me – ooh
I’ve you friends, I can rely on
I can be boring restless sometimes.
I can be sticky, put peace on the line.
I know sometimes you wish me on the moon.
But you'll call me back, back again soon.
​
I know exactly I can’t be alone.
​
LUCKY ME ...
06 Fuss About
The weather’s changing, it starts to rain.
Despite the rush one miss the train.
In a debate one have no share.
One loses his sunglasses somewhere.
The peacock spreads his tail. He’s putting on airs.
He’s a pompous ass. Get out of my hair.
Little man’s barking - little man’s howling
Little man’s marking - little man’s clowning
Little man’s caught in a roundabout
What’s all the FUSS ABOUT
​
The summer is over, the nights get cold.
Within two days the bread gets old.
The peacock spreads his tail. He’s putting on airs.
He’s a pompous ass. Get out of my hair.
Little man’s barking - little man’s howling
Little man’s marking - little man’s clowning
Little man’s caught in a roundabout
What’s all the FUSS ABOUT
05 Lucky Me
07 Ping Pong
He says I stole his chocolate bar he got from his aunt
And he went so far as to kick me in the back that it hurt.
I give back and pull his hair, he screams. When I think it through,
It seems he is the meanest brother on earth.
​
​Papa takes us by the hands and leads us to the basement.
Puts a red paddle in our hands and says: Now play it out!
​​
And we play a little PING PONG, just a little bit of PING PONG
Forget everything but PING PONG and then it's good.
​​
You say my horizon lacks a lot and you would never have thought that
I, your oldest friend, could be so stubborn.
Your opinion doesn't make a sense and you rehash in your defense
The same mush over and over again.
​​
Our girls say that it is enough and they lead us to the basement
Put us a paddle in our hands and say: Now play it out!
​​
And we play a little PING PONG…
​​
What happens to our world? Isn't it sad? Again it is about
Who is bad and who is right and the greatest man on earth.
I don't know what is going through Putin's mind, but I think we need
A person who is kind enough to play a different game with him.
​​
Who for God's sake takes him by the hand and leads him to the basement, puts a red paddle in his hand and says: Let’s play it out!
​​
He better play a little PING PONG ...
08 Happy Birthday
Get up, this is your day, a day to celebrate.
Get up and make your way. Well, you cannot be late.
We're here to shout Hurray! - throw flowers in the air.
This is your holiday. The slogan's 'Laisser-faire'.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
​
You can't be serious. So, what is one more year?
You must stay curious, what lies before you here.
We're here to shout Hurray! - throw flowers in the air.
This is your holiday. The slogan's "Laisser-faire!"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
09 Bee In A Gale
Thursday, evening sale - they waved in the heat
Waves break at the front of houses and I'm in the street.
A flotsam in the sea that has lost its trail
BEE IN A GALE, like a bee in a gale
An avalanche rolls towards the Gotthard like every year.
I am so smart, I leave at six. "You idiots!" I jeer.
At seven o'clock I crawl with a thousand others like a snail
BEE IN A GALE, like a bee in a gale
​​
Like balls in billiards, opinions collide
Some balls attack others, while some others hide.
The game is like the life, simply in another scale.
BEE IN A GALE, like a bee in a gale
​
BEE IN A GALE, like a bee in a gale
10 Camelot
We were three of us, closer than the rest.
We're strolling around, talking ‘bout girls, sharing but the best.
It was quite plain to us our friendship would endure.
Yet the time flew by, truth became a lie, only remorse remained for sure.
Few things last a lifetime. Easily vowed, but hard to hold.
It's a long way this lifetime, equally steep and bold.
Only true things last a lifetime. Desperately wished, but rarely got.
It is a long way this lifetime, seeking CAMELOT.
​
I was so sure. I pledged my loyalty to her.
I was not prepared for the change that could occur.
I overlooked the facts, didn’t want to become mature.
But the time flew by, truth became a lie, only remorse remained for sure.
Few things last a lifetime. Easily vowed, but hard to hold.
It's a long way this lifetime, equally steep and bold.
Only true things last a lifetime. Desperately wished, but rarely got.
It is a long way this lifetime, seeking CAMELOT.
​
But isn't it short, our life time?
​
11 Keep On Rolling
They were once counts and kings and even emperors.
About their realm was said that the sun never sets.
After eight hundred years, everything fell apart.
The last descendant works in the media business.
Rome built the first wall, and then a second one.
Even the third wall didn’t keep the strangers away.
Once famous for its temples and its arenas.
What is left of them is mostly rubble.
Dune by dune, the sea's insatiable.
It KEEPS ON ROLLING
Cliff by cliff, not stable enough.
The sea is rolling.
​
He is a stage star and tops the hit parade.
His possessions spread all over the globe.
He's called a living legend, his works immortal.
Remember time and tide wait for no man.
Dune by dune, the sea's insatiable.
It KEEPS ON ROLLING
Cliff by cliff, not stable enough.
The sea is rolling.
12 A Stroll
I’m walking down the barley field
Without desire for a yield.
I keep my head up in the clouds,
Stay by myself, avoid the crowds.
Nothing concerns me, no general, no pope.
No fire burns in me, no desire, no hope.
I’ve no obligation, I don’t hear a call.
I’m just going for A STROLL.
The world is facing climate change.
Well, I don't care. I can arrange.
My girl is waiting for me at home
And I am walking by my own.
​
Nothing concerns me, no standard, no rule.
No fire burns in me, I’m playing the fool.
I’ve no urge for meaning. I stay small.
I’m just going for A STROLL.
I’m walking down the barley field
without desire for a yield
The walk is over. I’m getting a smack.
I kiss my girl. I am back.
13 Snow Day
Here I sit by the window, watch the snowflakes fall.
The world has ceased to make its noise.
I have no words, no thoughts, nothing at all.
I listen to no call and no voice.
​
I hum a phrase that comes to mind
And find a few chords that match.
Then suddenly you appear out of nowhere.
​
Wolfy, what is your opinion about this song?
I was writing it on a SNOWY DAY.
I don't know if I hit the notes right or wrong.
I would like to know what you say.
14 Traumschiff
Nun mal ehrlich und ohne Scheiss:
Der Song, der wird ein Hit, nur dass du's weisst.
Er wird bald rauf- und runtergespielt
Und zweieinhalbmillionen Mal gestreamt.
Die Kleine mag mich, das seh, na klar.
Sie hat sich wohl verguckt in mein graues Haar.
Der Altersunterschied von knapp vierzig Jahr'n
Macht unsre Sache doch erst recht abgefahr'n.
Alles, was ich will, das fällt mir in den Schoss. Ich denke gross.
​
Ich park mein Raumschiff erst mal draussen im All.
Da spiel ich Fussball mit der Erde als Ball
Im Licht der fernen Sterne schiesse ich Tor um Tor
"You never walk alone" singt der Chor
Hätt ich's gewollt, wär' ich Bundesrat.
Ich schritt Paraden ab, schritte zur Tat.
Ich machte Selfies mit jubelndem Volk.
Logisch und zu Recht genöss' ich meinen Erfolg.
​
Alles, was ich will, das fällt mir in den Schoss.
Ich denke gross.
​
Ich park mein Raumschiff erst mal draussen im All ...