Thoughts on war: Reinhard Mey – Sei wachsam (“Be vigilant“) (Published on 03/06/2024)
Reinhard Mey (born on 21/12/1942 in Berlin) is one of the most prominent German singer-songwriters. In various songs, he criticizes society in a pointed way and warns against demagoguery, totalitarianism and war. As early as 1996, he published a work entitled “Sei wachsam” (“Be vigilant”), in which he aptly and timelessly puts into words the principle of “Wehret den Anfängen” (“Resist the Beginnings”). In it, he relentlessly described some mechanisms of political rule and called for vigilance, courage and the active use of civil liberties.
A song of the highest topicality.
Sei wachsam (“Be vigilant“)
(Translated from German language without implementing the rhyme scheme)
An election poster torn up on the wet lawn,
they grin at me, the old softened phrases,
the faces of old men made to look youthful,
who praise the Middle Ages as progress,
and I think to myself that every step towards the promised happiness
is a step towards yesterday, a step backwards.
How they exhort the people to prudence and sacrifice,
they call them the people, but they mean subservients.
All the fraud, all the sliming is no longer bearable,
once you learn to translate what they are really saying,
the minister whispers, taking the bishop by the arm:
“You keep them stupid, I’ll keep them poor!”
Be vigilant,
memorize the words!
Be vigilant,
and don’t fall for them!
Make sure you use your freedom,
freedom wears out if you don’t use it!
Be vigilant,
remember the faces well!
Be vigilant,
keep your courage.
Be vigilant,
and be on your guard!
You turn on the TV, they whine for good old values,
their good old values are almost always the wrong ones,
and those who are so cheeky on the talk show circuit
are the ones who trample on all values.
The media mogul and the newspaper czar,
the worst goats as gardeners, wonderful!
They call for the crucifix, for customs and good manners,
but their messages are nothing but ass and tits.
Brutalization, stultification and violence are their commandments,
Their gods are circulation and ratings.
They bend the truth and twist the law,
so many good old values, really, it makes me sick!
Be vigilant, …
It’s a great time of business for pied pipers,
for free riders and bribe takers,
a time for self-servers and profiteers,
hypocrisy, pretense and posturing.
And they are all highly respected and well respected,
and places and airports are named after the worst of them.
The chicken thief is caught, the gunrunner is let go,
Not a pipe of weed, but you can buy a poison gas factory here.
Pollute the air, irradiate the country, do the most damage with impunity,
just don’t get caught at sit-in blockades!
You grab the enviro, but the environmental pig enjoys trust,
and the police always have to hit the wrong people.
Be vigilant, …
We have a constitution that is supposed to guarantee the rule of law,
What good is it if they tamper with it as they please?
The agitators who are always talking about the peace mission,
and are already busy rattling their sabres under the table?
The old gleam in their eyes at the Grand Tattoo,
Department returns, marching in step, a song and home to the Reich!
“Never again shall violence emanate from this land!”
“We must show our colors, must not stand aside!”
Purely humanitarian, of course, and without any bloodshed,
Combat missions can no longer be completely ruled out.
They’re dragging us in deeper and deeper, bit by bit,
and since five o’clock this morning we’ve been shooting back again
Be vigilant, …
I long for people who don’t deceive me,
who don’t lie my ass off with every speech.
And spare me the false honest ones,
the false honest ones, the real dangerous ones!
I long for a bit of truthfulness,
for a bit of backbone in these twisted times.
But tell the truth and you’ll soon have nothing to laugh about,
They will ruin you, execute you and silence you.
Blackmail you, bribe you, try to buy you,
If you tell the truth, leave the engine running outside.
Then say it loud and fast, as the saying goes:
If you tell the truth, you need a damn fast horse!
Be vigilant, …
And be on your guard!
Just watch out!
(from the album „Leuchtfeuer“ [“Beacon”] [1996])
(Head picture: German Military Cemetery Ysselsteyn/Netherlands,
May 2023)
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