The music chosen by Angela Merkel for the farewell ceremony from the post of chancellor made the Germans wonder if they knew her so well, writes the British newspaper The Guardian. Particularly lively discussions were caused by the song of the punk rock singer Nina Hagen, who gained popularity in East Germany in the 1970s: if earlier the composition was perceived as a hidden criticism of the socialist republic, now they saw in it an attempt by Merkel to reproach her male colleagues for not being enough do their job well.
Angela Merkel’s choice of music for the departure ceremony is surprising, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.
Angela Merkel made Germans wonder how well they know the Chancellor, who ruled them for 16 years, when she chose the song of punk rocker Nina Hagen as the soundtrack for the army leaving ceremony.
Merkel’s Social Democratic successor, Olaf Scholz, is expected to be sworn in as chancellor next week. As for Merkel herself, a traditional military farewell ceremony will take place in the courtyard in front of the Ministry of Defense on Thursday evening.
The Chancellor’s farewell ceremony will be more modest than usual due to coronavirus-related restrictions. As reported in the article, only 200 guests will attend.
Like her predecessors, Merkel was allowed to order three songs to be performed by military musicians during the military band parade. But if Gerhard Schroeder and Helmut Kohl chose for this occasion traditional pathetic musical works – My Way by Frank Sinatra and Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven – then some of Merkel’s options hint at uncharted depths, writes The Guardian.
Großer Gott, wir loben Dich (Holy God, we praise your name) is a popular 18th century Christian hymn, a reference to her upbringing as the daughter of a Protestant pastor and the religious aspect of her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Merkel’s second choice is Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen (“It will rain for me from red roses”) Hildegard Knef is a sad song about teenage ambition and youthful arrogance, which suggests a spark of irony, the newspaper notes. “I had to comply, to act, – says the lyrics. “Oh, I cannot match, I cannot be content with what I have, I also always want to win.”
However, Nina Hagen’s song Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen (“You forgot the color film”) by Nina Hagen attracted the attention of commentators who began to look for subtext and hidden messages.
First recorded in 1974 in the traditional smash hit style, the song became a hit on the East German pop charts before Hagen emigrated to the other side of the Iron Curtain, where she plunged into London subcultures and became the prominent West German punk figure of the 1980s.
But even recognizing her East German identity is an uncharacteristic step for Merkel, whom her country has known for almost 16 years in power as a politician who rarely drew attention to her East German upbringing.
The song, whose lyrics were written by Kurt Demmler, is an angry lament in which Hagen chides his boyfriend Michael for taking only black and white tape with him during their vacation to Hiddensee Island. As a result, she laments that “No one will believe how beautiful it was here.”
Although the song was not subject to state censorship, its fans at the time perceived it as a hidden criticism of the socialist republic and its gray and dull everyday life, among which color films were a rare commodity.
Some commentators have suggested that the outgoing chancellor may have seen a more modern meaning in Hagen’s song: the howl of frustration over men not doing their jobs properly can also be seen as Merkel’s farewell attack on her male colleagues, The Guardian explains.
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