How to End a War
Reinhard Mey dedicated an anthem to all the mothers and fathers who bravely and resolutely withhold their children from the bloodthirsty warmongers.
Reinhard Mey, whom critics have repeatedly accused of being too little politically engaged, often shows us through his songs very personal paths for changing, first on a small scale, what is meant to change on the whole.
When it comes to war, too, he has a simple and timeless recipe: parents must refuse to hand their children over to the war industry to be burned up. The artist wrapped this appeal in classic form in a song: „Nein, meine Söhne geb‘ ich nicht“.
How do you end a war?
By not starting it in the first place!
In a blog entry from October 2020 Mey writes that two dozen voices and instruments (…) carried my song from 1986 into the year 2020 and gave it a second life
. I could find nothing about their motivation in my research, but it does show that war is an ever-present theme at all times, whether cold, lukewarm or hot.
Right at the beginning of his song’s lyrics there is talk of a letter in which the singer, or his literary self, denies the authorities responsible for the military any access to his sons, with the clear words Nein, meine Söhne geb‘ ich nicht
.
This clear statement is to be wished for all those who do not see war as a proper means of settling conflicts, for it is always the parents, or rather the older generations, who must become a role model for their offspring through their explicit stance. If they acted in solidarity, armed conflicts would thereby be deprived of any foundation.
Yes, the world looks different: young people play with weapons at every turn, find it thrilling to compare their „kills“ with one another in „Fortnite“ or to experience the effect of weapons while completing missions in „GTA“.
When no appealing tests of mettle await in the real world, then they are simply sought in the virtual world – and found there too.
What does Reinhard Mey say about this in his song?
Original
„Ich habe sie die Achtung vor dem LebenVor jeder Kreatur als höchsten Wert –Ich habe sie Erbarmen und VergebenUnd wo immer es ging, lieben gelehrt.Nun werdet ihr sie nicht mit Hass verderbenKein Ziel und keine Ehre, keine PflichtSind’s wert, dafür zu töten und zu sterben …
Ich werde sie den Ungehorsam lehrenDen Widerstand und die Unbeugsamkeit –Gegen jeden Befehl aufzubegehrenUnd nicht zu buckeln vor der Obrigkeit.Ich werd’ sie lehr’n, den eig’nen Weg zu gehenVor keinem Popanz, keinem Weltgericht,Vor keinem als sich selber g’radzustehen!“
Übersetzung
„I taught them reverence for all that’s living,For every creature as the highest worth –I taught them mercy and the art of forgiving,And, wherever it could be, to love this earth.Now you shall not corrupt them with your hatred;No cause, no honour and no duty’s callIs worth it, to go killing and go dying …
I will teach them the ways of disobedience,Resistance and an unbending, upright will –To rise against each order and each summonsAnd never bow and scrape before those who rule.I’ll teach them how to walk their own way onward,Before no bogeyman, no court of doom,To answer to none but their own selves alone!“
And at the very end he also sketches the last way out:
Original
„Und eher werde ich mit ihnen fliehenAls dass ihr sie zu euren Knechten macht –Eher mit ihnen in die Fremde ziehen,In Armut und wie Diebe in der Nacht.“
Übersetzung
„And sooner will I take them and go fleeingThan let you turn them into your own thralls –Sooner move with them to distant country,In poverty and like thieves when darkness falls.“
For whoever loves his own life and that of his dearest, protects it:
Original
„Wir haben nur dies eine kurze Leben –Ich schwör’s und sag’s euch g’rade ins Gesicht:Sie werden es für euren Wahn nicht geben!Nein, meine Söhne geb’ ich nicht –Nein, meine Söhne geb‘ ich nicht!“
Übersetzung
„We have but this one short life given to us –I swear it and I say it to your face:They will not give it up for your delusion!No, I will not give my sons away –No, I will not give my sons away!“
The 2020 setting mentioned above has real musical substance to it, too – and should therefore have an effect on every level. May it be heard and heard and heard, until, through it, the people of this world have found their peace!