<aside> <img src="/icons/translate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/translate_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Quick and dirty with ChatGPT — I’m sorry.
Original: https://www.riolyrics.de/song/id:178
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Mariannenplatz was blue, there were so many cops there, and Mensch Meier had to cry, that was probably the tear gas. And he asked someone: "Hey, is there a festival here today?" "Something like that," someone said, "Bethanien is being occupied." "About time," said Mensch Meier, "it’s been empty long enough." Oh, how beautiful life would be if there were no cops anymore. But the commander yelled: "Clear Mariannenplatz, so my baton squad has enough space to beat!"
But the people in the occupied house shouted: "You won’t get us out of here! This is our house, finally throw Schmidt and Press and Mosch out of Kreuzberg."
The senator was furious, the CDU was highly outraged, that these guys were taking what belonged to them anyway. But to show the world how generous they are, they said: "We’ll clear it later, let them stay for now!" And four months later, in Springer's hot paper, it said the Georg-von-Rauch-Haus was a bomb workshop. And the clear evidence are ten empty wine bottles, and ten empty bottles can quickly be ten Molotov cocktails.
But the people in the Rauch-Haus shouted: "You won’t get us out of here! This is our house, finally throw Schmidt and Press and Mosch out of Kreuzberg."
Last Monday, Mensch Meier met his son on the subway. He said: "They want to evict the Rauch-Haus, I’ll probably have to live at home again." "That’s crazy," said Mensch Meier "we’ll be one more again in our two-room luxury apartment and Bethanien will be empty again. Tell me one thing, do those up there have straw or crap in their heads? They live in the fanciest villas, while we live in the last hole. If they really clear the Rauch-Haus, I'll be there and knock the first cop’s heads that show up.
And I’ll shout it loud: "You won’t get us out of here! This is our house, finally throw Schmidt and Press and Mosch out of Kreuzberg."
3x And we’ll shout it loud: "You won’t get us out of here! This is our house, finally throw Schmidt and Press and Mosch out of Kreuzberg."
"Der Mariannenplatz war blau" = Rio Reiser means that there were so many police vehicles that the sirens enveloped the square in blue. Additionally, the police vehicles and uniforms of the Berlin police were blue (until the introduction of the nationally standardized green-white in the mid-70s).
"hau den ersten Bullen, die da auftauchen, ihre Köppe ein" = originally, the text was: "hau dem ersten Bullen, der da aufkreuzt, was auf seine Fingerlein" (hit the first cop that shows up something on his little fingers).
"das ist unser Haus" = originally, the text at the end of the second refrain was: "Das ist unser Haus - wenn ihr Bombenleger sucht, schmeißt doch die Amis raus." (This is our house - if you're looking for bombers, throw out the Americans).
"stand in Springer's heißem Blatt" = in the BZ, a newspaper of the Axel Springer Verlag, it said: "Bastelten Bethanien-Besetzer die Bomben?" (Did the Bethanien occupiers make the bombs?) (see article archive).
"Schmidt" = refers to Günter Schmidt; real estate agent.
"Mosch" = refers to Heinz Mosch, real estate agent.
"Schmidt und Press und Mosch" = builders and speculators of the Kreuzberg New Center; the name refers to a redevelopment area north of Kottbusser Tor in Berlin, which was to be transformed into a showcase area of the Kreuzberg industry by 1974; this area also included the Rauch-Haus. (Source: Die Welt; 3.12.1970)
In a book from the Rauch-Haus about a demonstration for the BVG zero fare (see "Mensch Meier"): "But the Senate throws our money into the throats of the speculators. The real estate speculator Mosch pocketed 622 million DM last year through manipulations and tax evasions. The Senate could cover the subway deficit for 2 1/2 years with that alone."
Ton Steine Scherben were essentially the first true squatter band. Often before a concert in a city, they would discuss where an empty house stood and what could be done with it. After the concerts, they would discuss with the audience, often leading to everyone occupying the house together, providing the youth or alternative scene with a new youth club, rehearsal space, or something similar. This was also the case with the occupation of the Georg-von-Rauch-Haus on December 8, 1971. Ton Steine Scherben played in the Old TU cafeteria at a "Teach in" on the shooting of the member of the "Movement 2 June" group, Georg von Rauch, and then occupied the house. Reiser was there and wrote the song during the occupation. This house occupation was only the second in Berlin. The house was named after Georg von Rauch, who was shot by the police during his arrest on December 4, 1971. This song inspired me to write "Tacheles" after hearing about the impending eviction.
The text changes in the piano version (on "Am Piano II") are:
Notes: The original song is accompanied only by piano and drums. It is therefore very difficult to capture the feeling with a guitar. The chords are not too difficult, but it is important to get this dragging rhythm right. An offbeat or muting would be too noticeable, so only the emphasis on the strum remains. I prefer to play in 2/2 time, striking each chord once strongly and once less strongly from above. If you have other good options, email me! The "h7" can be omitted if it is too difficult to play.