This is my first ever bilingual composition. It is dedicated to the radical Yugoslav music/art collective Laibach, who have provoked and inspired me for 40 years.
'Wagenknecht' is about the anger and betrayal so many East Germans feel at the course of the last three decades following the annexation of East Germany by the West and is a reflection on (current) Left Party (Die Linke) politician and former GDR citizen Sahra Wagenknecht's response. (As many of you know by now, I learned to speak German fluently during four tours of the GDR before the Wall came down, and often see German politics from an 'Ossi' point of view.)
Wageknecht has written a book, 'Die Selbstgerechten' (The Self Righteous) in which she accuses the Left - the Left Party and the left in general - of having abandoned its historical task of supporting working class and neglected communities and alleviating poverty in favour of 'modern' issues (gender, identity, climate) allowing the far right to channel the anger of the 'left behind'. She is determined to reclaim them for the Left - and in doing so is accused by some of 'red-brown nationalism'.
Getting the balance right between identity politics and traditional working class concerns is a vital question for the European left in general, not least in the UK: it is one which many activists shy away from, and I present what I hope is a balanced response to her ideas, interesting but fraught with dangers and problems.
Wagenknecht, one of the most popular politicians in Germany who takes a lot of inspiration from Jean-Luc Melanchon and Jeremy Corbyn, may well about to be launching a new political movement which will gain considerable support from both radical Left and 'populist' Right. I am concerned for the direction she is taking - but she is addressing important issues which the Left must engage with....
lyrics
WAGENKNECHT
Sie haben euch vergessen
Sie haben euch verraten
Vierunddreissig Jahre spater
Habt ihr endlich was zu sagen
Ihr sucht eine Bewegung
Klar, sozial, direkt
Auferstanden aus Ruinen -
Aber Vorsicht, Wagenknecht
So long you’ve been forgotten
So long you’ve been betrayed
Now thirty four years later
There’s a statement to be made
You seek a brand new movement
Clear, social and direct
A rising from the ruins -
But be careful, Wagenknecht
Sie haben nie verstanden
Das war euer eigenes Land
Arbeit und Brot und Obdach
Das Leben fest geplannt
Zusammenhalt, Gemeinschaft
So lange schon vorbei
Ihr habt das nie vergessen
Und bleibt doch fest dabei
They never understood you
That this had been your land
You had work and food and shelter
Human needs so carefully planned
A community, a society
Now for so long in the past
Memories still not forgotten
You hold on to them so fast
Ihre Treuhandanstalt-Diebstahl
Hat eure Geschichte vernichtet
Ihre Ellbogengesellschaft
Hat euer Leben vergiftet
Ihr denkt immer noch so anders
Und wollt jetzt etwas Neues
Eine eigene Bewegung
Die sozial, gerecht und treu ist
Their thief privatisations
Turned your history to dust
And their hard, me-first society
Wrecked your lifelong sense of trust
You still think in a different way
And you want something new
A grass roots social movement
That’s yours, and fair, and true
Identitat ist wichtig
Aber Armut ist es auch
Und Politik geht pleite
Wenn man nichts hat im Bauch
Also haltet jetzt zusammen
Auf zum nächsten Gefecht
Vierunddreissig Jahre spater -
Aber Vorsicht, Wagenknecht
Identity’s important
But poverty is too
And politics is bankrupt
When you’re in a food bank queue
It’s time to stand together
For the battle coming next
After thirty four years waiting
But be careful, Wagenknecht
AFD, Partei der Bonzen
Sie fuhren euch hinters Licht
Wie Kohl, nur Quatsch und Lüge
Solche Leute braucht ihr nicht
Ihr sucht ja etwas Neues
Inklusiv, voller Respekt
Also baut euch jetzt die Zukunft -
Aber vorsicht, Wagenknecht
AFD’s a bosses’ party
Profit vultures on the make
Just like Kohl, all lies and nonsense
You don’t need them, they’re just fake
You’re seeking a new movement
Inclusive and with respect
So go on and build the future -
But be careful, Wagenknecht
Einheitspartei zu bauen
Meint alles gut verstanden
Kein Kompromiss mit Rechten
Fremdenhass fur niemanden
Volker hor die Signale
Ich sag es ganz direkt
Kein Platz fur Nationalismus
Und vorsicht, Wagenknecht
To forge a brand new party
It must be understood
No deals done with the right wing
A common brotherhood
Then comrades come rally -
My words are quite direct
No place for nationalism
Be careful, Wagenknecht
credits
from INDUSTRIAL LANGUAGE EP,
released March 3, 2023
Attila - vocals, violin
Sherlock - everything else
Attila the Stockbroker. 40 years of hard hitting social surrealist spoken word and punk rock tinged with early music. 8
books of poetry, autobiography, 40 CDs/LPs, 3500 gigs in 24 countries...a long life earning his living doing what he loves. 'Heart on my Sleeve', a 40th anniversary LP is just out, and his Collected Works will be published by Cherry Red Books later this year....more
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