Es war einmal ein Vogel, (Once there was a bird)
der trug prächtig Federkleid. (wearing a splendid feather coat.)
Sein Flug war stark und kräftig, (His flight was strong and powerful,)
er war der Schönste weit und breit (the most beautiful bird far and wide.)
(...)
Du hast ihn eingefangen, (You have caught that bird,)
du willst ihn voll und ganz. (you want to own him outright.)
Soll in deinem Käfig sitzen, (He shall sit in your cage)
doch dort erlischt sein Glanz. (but there his shine will fade away.)
Frag dich, was du an ihm geliebt hast, (Ask yourself, why did you love him,)
was war für dich sein Licht? (what was his light for you?)
Kann es in dem Käfig scheinen? (Can it still shine in a cage?)
Einen grauen Vogel willst du nicht!(You do not want a grey bird.)
Freiheit (Freedom) by Saltatio Mortis
der trug prächtig Federkleid. (wearing a splendid feather coat.)
Sein Flug war stark und kräftig, (His flight was strong and powerful,)
er war der Schönste weit und breit (the most beautiful bird far and wide.)
(...)
Du hast ihn eingefangen, (You have caught that bird,)
du willst ihn voll und ganz. (you want to own him outright.)
Soll in deinem Käfig sitzen, (He shall sit in your cage)
doch dort erlischt sein Glanz. (but there his shine will fade away.)
Frag dich, was du an ihm geliebt hast, (Ask yourself, why did you love him,)
was war für dich sein Licht? (what was his light for you?)
Kann es in dem Käfig scheinen? (Can it still shine in a cage?)
Einen grauen Vogel willst du nicht!(You do not want a grey bird.)
Freiheit (Freedom) by Saltatio Mortis
Not sure if this is my favourite song (I don't think so) but one that keeps me company since years and has the odd habit of re-appearing again and again in my life. It's the story of a most glorious bird, his coat as red as flame. It gets caught eventually and starts to fade into grey. As his freedom dies, so does the bird. He asks the listener to let go of him, telling him or her that "If you never want to own me, you'll never loose me, either". In the end it is less about a bird but a lesson in life: Sometimes, the things we love the most are the ones we cannot hold onto. If we tie them down, we'll kill the parts we originally fell in love with.
Okay, so far for the philisophical part. I'm sorry that the song is in German, but I heard from some Englisch-speaking friends that they liked it anyways. Even without understanding the exact words. You can find the music here though the video is a bit odd. The song isn't well known even in the fanbase, as it was only released on a special edition CD, so there are no nice videos around. Well, it's just for listening anyways
The lyrics can be found here. I translated a few bits above, but I also have a complete English version translated by me if someone is interested. Yes, I keep practicing my English skills by translating German songs and poems I like
Thanks for reading and having a look,
Schnee
