An explanation of the lyrics to Laibach's song "Tanz Mit Laibach" ******************** Actual song lyrics:* ******************** Wir alle sind besessen Wir alle sind verflucht Wir alle sind gekreuzigt Und alle sind kaputt Von Reiztechnologie Von Zeitekonomie Von qualitaet das Lebens Und Kriegsphilosophie Eins, zwei, drei, vier Bruederchen, komm tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Beide Haende reich ich dir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Meine Freunde, tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Rundherum, das ist nicht schwer Wir tanzen Ado Hynkel Benzino Napoloni Wir tanzen Schicklgruber Und tanzen mit Maitreya Mit Totalitarismus Und mit Demokratie Wir tanzen mit Fascismus Und roter Anarchie Eins, zwei, drei, vier Kammerad, komm tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Beide Haende reich ich dir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Deutsches Volk, komm tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Rundherum, das ist nicht schwer Wir tanzen und wir springen Wir hupfen und wir singen Wir fallen und erheben Wir geben oder nehmen Amerikano Freunde Und Deutscher Kamerad Wir tanzen gut zussamen Wir tanzen nach Bagdad Eins, zwei, drei, vier Bruederchen, komm tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Beide Haende reich ich dir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Meine Freunde, tanz mit mir Eins, zwei, drei, vier Rundherum, das ist nicht schwer Eins, zwei, drei, vier! ********************* English translation:* ********************* We are all possessed We are all cursed We are all crucified And we are all broken By attractive technology By time-economy By quality of life And war philosophy One, two, three, four Brotherhood, come dance with me One, two, three, four I give you both of my hands One, two, three, four My friends, dance with me One, two, three, four Round and round, it's not difficult We're dancing with Ado Hynkel Benzino Napoloni We're dancing with Schicklgruber And we're dancing with Maitreya With totalitarianism And with democracy We're dancing with fascism And red anarchy One, two, three, four Comrade, come dance with me One, two, three, four I give you both of my hands One, two, three, four German folk, come dance with me One, two, three, four Round and round, it's not difficult We're dancing and we're jumping We're hopping and we're singing We're falling and rising We're giving or taking American friends And German comrades We're dancing well together We're dancing to Baghdad One, two, three, four Brotherhood, come dance with me One, two, three, four I give you both of my hands One, two, three, four My friends, dance with me One, two, three, four Round and round, it's not difficult One, two, three, four! ************************************* Explanation of the lyrics' meanings:* ************************************* The basic explanation regarding this song is simply that it is "inspired by German-American friendship." The overwhelming theme is that Germany will be profoundly impacted by American influence, probably because American culture tends to permeate the international cultural consciousness, a sentiment also expressed in the later-released song "Amerika" by Rammstein, a German heavy-metal band to whom Laibach is frequently compared. A common theme throughout the song, obviously, is the steady "One, two, three, four" beat. While this is partly reflective of the song's simple musical meter, it may also be a reference to a military march, given that the beat sounds somewhat like the stomping of army boots. The word "Zeitekonomie" literally means "Time-economy," which probably derives from the German word "Zeitgeist," literally meaning "Time-spirit," but in general usage having a meaning more like "The spirit of contemporary times." Thus, "Zeitekonomie" probably just means something like "The spirit of today's economy." "Alles kaputt" ("Everything is broken") was a common phrase frequently used as part of the zeitgeist in Germany after World War II. Interpretations of this song usually figure out that Ado Hynkel and Benzino Napaloni are both characters from "The Great Dictator," one of Charlie Chaplin's most successful movies, in which the former character's name is a clear takeoff on "Adolf Hitler," while the latter is a takeoff on "Benito Mussolini," and possibly "Napoleon Bonaparte" as well. Interpretations usually miss out on who "Schicklgruber" is, which is perhaps surprising given that unlike the first two names (which are made up for fictional characters), Schicklgruber is a real name: It was the original surname of Adolf Hitler's family. Alois Hitler (Adolf's father) bore the surname Schicklgruber for the first 39 years of his life. It is likely that these indirect references to Hitler were used in the song because media which makes direct references to Nazism is still legally prohibited in Germany, so Laibach used these alternate names instead. Maitreya is a key figure in Buddhism, a future Buddha generally believed by Buddhists to be destined for arrival at some point in the future. Baghdad is the capital city of Iraq, the country which the United States staged a military operation against in 1991, and again in 2003. (WAT, the album containing "Tanz Mit Laibach," was released in late 2003, a few months after the Iraq conflict began that year.)