Hi Febronia, even though I'm a native speaker of German, I'm afraid that I will not be able to offer you a translation that will capture the meaning of Gustav's lyrics. As in any of her songs she is using many fragments that are -- on their own -- almost meaningless. The sense arises from the picture or, even better, the collage she paints with this fragments. One of the many reasons why I like her songs that much.
As far as "Soldatin oder Veteran" is concerned, I think that she describes the recruitment of a soldier that is -- once he has involuntarily joined the army -- asked to put off his individual character and point of view and must adopt the properties of the community. Of cause this is just a picture. Note that "Soldatin" depicts a female soldier and women are usually not forced to join the army. I guess that she takes the army as a metaphor for our society where many people feel forced to think and behave in a way they don't want. And of course it pronounces the danger of people being asked to be less critical.
Hi Febronia, even though I'm a native speaker of German, I'm afraid that I will not be able to offer you a translation that will capture the meaning of Gustav's lyrics. As in any of her songs she is using many fragments that are -- on their own -- almost meaningless. The sense arises from the picture or, even better, the collage she paints with this fragments. One of the many reasons why I like her songs that much.
As far as "Soldatin oder Veteran" is concerned, I think that she describes the recruitment of a soldier that is -- once he has involuntarily joined the army -- asked to put off his individual character and point of view and must adopt the properties of the community. Of cause this is just a picture. Note that "Soldatin" depicts a female soldier and women are usually not forced to join the army. I guess that she takes the army as a metaphor for our society where many people feel forced to think and behave in a way they don't want. And of course it pronounces the danger of people being asked to be less critical.