Berlin, Linienstrasse
Do you know the land?
It could be happy and bring happiness.
There are fields of coal and stone and steel
and sweat and strength and barbed wire.
But morals and pluck - why - they’re reviled!
and heroes true - they’re hard to find
In every second man is a child
who wants to play toy soldiers with mankind
There, freedom wilts in stunted gloom
engulfed by scaffold and citadel
Do you know the place where the cannons are in bloom?
You know it not? You’ll get to know it well.
Erich Kaestner (1928)
English version published by Chris Lee on Sept. 7, 2024 on LinkedIn
Berlin, Linienstrasse
Do you know the land?
It could be happy and bring happiness.
There are fields of coal and stone and steel
and sweat and strength and barbed wire.
But morals and pluck - why - they’re reviled!
and heroes true - they’re hard to find
In every second man is a child
who wants to play toy soldiers with mankind
There, freedom wilts in stunted gloom
engulfed by scaffold and citadel
Do you know the place where the cannons are in bloom?
You know it not? You’ll get to know it well.
Erich Kaestner (1928)
English version published by Chris Lee on Sept. 7, 2024 on LinkedIn