It’s not easy to write a song about love that’s not trite, but this one by Jochen Distelmeyer comes close. Not surprising from the former lead singer of Blumfeld, who went solo in 2009. His lyrics have always cut against the grain of popular songwriting convention. They leave you feeling a bit uneasy, and often just at the moment when you’re about to settle in to that comfortable old thought or emotion. Here’s the one that got me in this song: “Love is the attempt to understand each other / Love is a technology and a system”. Unsettling, and yet it speaks to the still humane touch of Distelmeyer’s art that his sobering awareness of power and social constructs hasn’t turned him cynic. He still loves, despite (or maybe because of) all. Distelmeyer’s sound carries over some quintessential notes from his Blumfeld days. The steady, reassuring rock beats and rhythms are overlaid with suspended, diminished, and augmented chords in a way that complements the hard edges and unexpected turns of the lyrics. It’s always an uneasy pleasure listing to Distelmeyer, but it’s beautiful despite all.
Because It’s Love
Because it’s love
to describe that feeling
and how good it is
when it happens to us.
People say: I love you
to show each other
that they’re happy
because the other is there
Love begins as a fleeting moment
the feeling that you’ve known the other forever
How strong the feeling is
what beautiful suffering
when you’re in love
and how much you long
for it to be love
yes, both of you at once
and because it’s cool
when you finally kiss
Love is friendship, sex, and tenderness
Love is the end of an eternity
You – I’m searching for a picture that captures
You – shows you what you mean to me
You – I’ve missed you for so long
You – because it’s your love
And when the everyday sets in
you start to quarrel
because it’s not easy
to stay true then
And because it’s love
not to stay silent
about what matters most to you
so that it keeps going
Love is the attempt to understand each other
Love is a technology and a system
You – I’m searching for a picture that captures
You – shows you what you mean to me
You – I’ve missed you for so long
You – because it’s your love
And because it’s love
it’s forever hard to describe
because it’s in flux
The magic between us two
And whether it’s love
to write a song about it
I don’t know,
just that it’s You.
(trans. a. f. erwin)
The Flow 