Andries Bezuidenhout - Lied vir Berlyn

A song for Berlin, from South African visual artist, poet and musician Andries Bezuidenhout's album "Dink aan planete" (2022) [tr: Think of planets]. Mostly original footage from Berlin, treated with a bit of AI to give it a dreamlike feeling. The song explores Berlin's past and present - how different people move through the city, given its combination of grit, beauty, and historical trauma.
Recorded and mixed by Andries Bezuidenhout
Mastered by Willem Möller
Lyric (literal and clumsy translation from Afrikaans into English at the end):
LIED VIR BERLYN
Van die Fernsehturm sien jy als van bo
Want ‘n nuwe stad leer ken jy mos so
Stad van mure, stad van hekke
Checkpoint Charlie en Brandenburger Tor
Vir Leonard Cohen beter in die Waldbühne leer ken
Om kort daarna maar weer afskeid te kan neem
In Unter den Linden koop ons parfuum
By die Hauptbahnhof hoor ons Lili Marleen
Stad van sloop, stad van bou
Mure word soms in drome onthou
Altyd in sirkels op die S-Bahn se spoor
Op Alexanderplatz my ewewig verloor
As jy betonblokke poets word hulle blink
In rye gestapel kan die lig jou verblind
In Kastanienallee of beton verdwaal
As die verlede jou iewers uit die toekoms kom haal
Soek Rosa Luxemburg langs Kreuzberg se kanaal
Waar Wim Wenders se engele in die skemer dwaal
Die Palast der Republik se versplinterde glas
Hoop groei somtyds waar nagmerries was
Stad van sloop, stad van bou
Mure word soms in drome onthou
Altyd in sirkels op die S-Bahn se spoor
Op Alexanderplatz my ewewig verloor
Vir ‘n Steh Kaffee met jou in Prenzlauer Berg ontmoet
My klere was te donker vir die kleur van my gemoed
Stad van ontheemdes, stad van behoort
Checkpoint Charlie en Ishtar se poort
Stad van sloop, stad van bou
Mure word soms in drome onthou
Altyd in sirkels op die S-Bahn se spoor
Op Alexanderplatz my ewewig verloor
SONG FOR BERLIN
You see everything from above from the Fernsehturm [Television Tower]
This is how you get to know a new city
City of walls, city of gates
Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburger Tor [Gate]
Got to know Leonard Cohen better at the Waldbühne
Only to say goodbye shortly afterwards
At Unter den Linden we buy perfume
At the Hauptbahnhof [Main Station] we hear Lili Marleen
City of demolition, city of construction
Sometimes walls are recalled in dreams
Always in circles on the S-Bahn track
Lost my balance at Alexanderplatz [square]
Concrete block shine when you buff them
Stacked in rows the light may blind you
Getting lost in Kastanienallee or concrete
When the past collects you from somewhere in the future
Searching for Rosa Luxemburg next to Kreuzberg’s canal
Where Wim Wenders’ angels walk at dusk
The Palast der Republik’s [Palace of the Republic] shattered glass
At times hope grows where there were nightmares
City of demolition, city of construction
Sometimes walls are recalled in dreams
Always in circles on the S-Bahn track
Lost my balance at Alexanderplatz
Met you for a Steh Kaffee [standing coffee] in Prenzlauer Berg
My clothes too dark for my mood
City of those displaced, city of those who belong
Checkpoint Charlie and Ishtar’s gate
City of demolition, city of construction
Sometimes walls are recalled in dreams
Always in circles on the S-Bahn track
Lost my balance at Alexanderplatz
© Andries Bezuidenhout