Sabrina

youtube.com/watch

The music video is fascinating. Notice how certain themes are subtly revealed: being the goat and wearing horns, the horror of self-reflection, the uselessness of make-up and jewelery, and the washing of hands. The setting is a dingy restroom, an underworld where dirty things are meant to be flushed away and forgotten. There's a lot of water, too, which to me is suggestive of the River Styx.

Why do I mention this? Because I think it it ties in strongly with the lyrics, where the flag interpretation is probably correct. The song is many things: a critique of, a lament for, and a dialogue with, modern day Germany. The name Sabrina could be a personification of the country as a motherland. Perhaps the singer (Blixa Bargeld) is treating the nation as his lover, and is describing the qualities which he feels she lacks and should strive for.

Consider all the positive things which the colors of the German flag are said NOT to stand for:

• the beauty of a sunset
• sexual consummation and procreation (i.e. stained sheets, and Zeus' descent as a shower of gold to be with Danae)
• vital fluid, both literal (blood) and symbolic (red wine)
• golden memories and golden ages
• actual valuable gold, which would quickly be snatched if left in the open

Germany's blackness dominates and muddies all the other colors. Malevich's Black Square, for example, is an interesting reference. That painting is usually associated with the new order that was about to be established in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Lenin's utopia, however, never came to be. The fact that the revolution didn't live up to its promise might be tied to the lyric about "a high pitch on a future scale".

As a parallel to Russia, Germany also derailed itself through the rise of Nazi ideals and the "cold furnace" of the Holocaust. Certainly, it's no fun to carry an albatross around your neck into the post-WW2 world. How does a nation collectively atone for such a thing? Is it even possible? How can one move on with dignity rather than forgetfulness?

Those are big question with no easy answers. However, the desire to look for answers is important, which a song like "Sabrina" beautifully captures. When Bargeld sings "I wish this would be your color", I like to think he's dedicating it to Germany, with "this" referring to the song itself. Perhaps one day, the country's colors will boldly stand for the right things.

If someone were to ask me if this is a love song, I would say yes. It's about tough love.

Another idea:

The colors of the German flag are black, yellow, and red. If yellow translates to gold, it could be about the darkness of Germany's past. You know, the nazi regime, et cetera. And of course, ignorant non-Germans automatically think of nazi when they hear "Germany", so the country is still suffering from its past.

"A world of ruin all in vain"... obvious, holocaust and whatnot. "All in vain" meaning how nothing but, well, bad-ness came from it. Yeah.

"It's in the open but it doesn't get stolen" This line reminds me of a story about Vlad the Impaler; supposedly he left a golden cup or something out in the centre of the town square, by a fountain or something, and nobody stole it for fear of being, well, impaled. And I know that's a completely different, well, region of the earth, but Vlad was a dictator and so was Hitler. Just a thought.

"It is as black as Malevich's square" Kazimir Malevich is a russian painter who painted "Black Square" (which is just what it sounds like; a black square). So that's probably just a weird, abstract simile.

That's... all I really know. Anyway. That's all.

One of my favorite music videos of one of the best bands. It’s a little bit unusual and graphical for this band, and the lyrics are minimalistic and seemingly easy to understand.

What I want is to share my point of view on what’s happening in the video.

The main character is obviously a Minotaur who was a bastard of a queen and a god hidden in a maze. And I feel like this maze is a brain and Minotaur is a part of the identity of protagonist exposed in the toilet chamber of his own mind. This part of him reflects on his life in this moment of sincerity and weakness deep inside, tries to tell what kind of person he is. In a second-person narrative.

I like how the room weeps at the end. And how on the verse about black color Blixa himself comes in all dressed in black. Blixa is like a superego checking out on himself and washing hands after.

Oh. I really like this one... Dark, thoughful... Like so many of Einstürzende Neubauten's songs

definitely one of my favorite EN songs.. beautiful. :)

sexy.

If you've seen the video for this one, it seems to be about, basically, self-loathing.

You look in the mirror and try to see beauty. But you don't. You put on something that's supposed to make you pretty. But it doesn't.

A brilliant song, most definitely.

I liked the thought about German flag :D

for me personally it is more simplier:

the title is Sabrina, and what comes to my mind when I think of something that could be red, could be gold, but is black, is a heart. why red - it's obvious why gold - when someone is good, we're saying, that he has a heart of gold (at least in my country) but she's not good for the person singing, she's dark and mystirious, bad; her heart (Sabrina's) is black.

That's not as nice as the one about Germany :D If you connect the title to the colours of flag, you'll convince me to it.

I don't know if my interpretation is good, cause I'm EN fan not so long, so I may not know some important things about the band which can explain their lyrics.

And the song is absolutely great :)

@Tokabi... the colours of the german flag are black - red - gold(!) (schwarz-rot-gold)... it is definetly 'bout the german flag! And I think it might has something to do with proud. since WWII the germans totally lost their proud to their country... "i wish, this would be your colour"... sounds logical... "it's not as golden as memories" --> WWI and WWII ... maybe something in the way

By the way: It says "a world of ruby all in vain" not "ruin". I would be interested to know what is meant by the stain on the morning sheets (menstruation?).