I followed you over the border Down to the Spree. You were standing alone by the water Waiting for me. We wandered along by the river, The towers all shrouded in haze And we kissed by the wire And they all held their fire In the good old bad old days.
Just remember how lovely it couldn’t have been, When the world was as closed as a door. I remember those nights down in old east Berlin With the microphones listening under the floor. And every stamp in this passport of mine Was a record of kisses you gave. Yes, we suffered in style And it’s all in the file In the good old bad old days.
All the streetlights were waltzing together, Crimson and green. And your dress was as gray as the weather, Oh, what a dream. We built up a city of whispers And classified war dossiers. I gave you control Of my papers and soul In the good old bad old days.
Ah, yes, wasn’t it miserable, wasn’t it grand? When the world had an iron divide And people could take a political stand Just by singing a song for the opposite side. Now nobody cares who you are anymore And nobody cares what you say, It’s liberty’s curse, But was it really much worse In the good old bad old days?
Now Alyosha is gathering flowers Every May And the statue of Marx by the tower Faces away, By the Wall is a souvenir table With hammers and sickles displayed On new watches, that work, And they’re sold by a Turk In these good boring bad new days.
Now I’m working for euros and drinking alone, Where we used to spend marks at the bar. And the weeds have grown over the border of stone That cuts through the town like a surgical scar. And so many streets on this faded old map Are like names written over a grave. It all makes me so sad Cause it wasn’t that bad In the good old bad old days.
So don’t look for a final solution Here in Berlin. For capitalist prostitution Comes from within. Don’t worry about revolution We’ll just keep the aesthetic clichés In this market of fleas, Selling klezmer CDs For the good old bad old days.
So Genossen, товарищи, let’s make a toast To the time when the state knew your name. And we’ll all say «lehaim», «na zdrovye» und «prost» To that braver old world where we all are the same. Where nobody loses and everyone wins Just as long as each comrade obeys, But that’s all in the past, So let’s raise up a glass To the good old bad old days.