HOW AN ABSENCE OF UNDERSTANDING CAN MEAN A LOSS OF MEANING

Once again I find myself motivated to write an article of extensive length that discusses
something which, I believe, is well worth bearing in mind in connection with the subject of
basic verbal communication, and the ramifications of it (which are typically not brought to
light at an early point).
If, like any reasonably intelligent person with anything resembling at least a basic level of
good judgement and conscience, you are capable of appreciating, or at least considering, how
ignorance is “basically a bad thing”, let me ask you something: have you ever appreciated
that ignorance can in some circumstances be the source of not only some kind of
disadvantage, but a loss, even a curse? And I do mean a curse not just within the parochial
scope of one’s own existence but a curse the effects of which will, eventually, inevitably
manifest themselves in society as a whole, like some kind of evil whisper. …And, to be blunt,
a kind of ignorance the fires of which will only be stoked by resolute uncompromising
naivety? All too often, ignorance can mean a lack of understanding about something – and a
lack of understanding about something can lead to losses as to its meaning. So it always has
been, so it always will be, in connection with the history of any culture.
If you ask me, that said, it is quite appropriate to bring up a whole new suggested perspective
to be related to the term “arrogant”. Let us consider the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, and
the War Dead; maybe, just maybe, you are familiar with someone who accepts that, as long
as the World Wars remain known in human history by the masses, it will basically be
accepted by the population as a whole that British soldiers fought, bled and died for Britain in
them, and good for them – only the mood is largely indifferent, and probably a bit
pretentious, compared to what it might have been back then. And we, the British people (yes,
I am British), are by no means perfect, but we have proven ourselves time and time again,
and fought the good fight at great sacrifice time and time again, throughout the many, many
years of the history of our great nation. Yes, the past is the past, and it can’t be changed; but
still, sometimes history ends up distorted, and let’s be respectful enough not to put words in
people’s mouths.
Yes, even today, it is a national tradition to hold a minute of silence on the eleventh hour of
the eleventh day of the eleventh month in memory of the War Dead, even if it might seem
pointless and/or futile to some. If I may ask: every time you are invited to stand up and join a
moment of mass undiscussed contemplation at this time, what crosses your mind? Any kind
of images of well-trained yet unhappy young men who, however determinedly they try to
deal with their own inner tensions (which it’s by no means unlikely that they would attempt
to conceal), are filled with a kind of fear that they will likely never truly get over (whether or
not they know it)? Depression? Anger and bitterness? Guilt? However you will answer that…
who could blame them? Are they a forgotten army? I guess you could call it “giving a damn”
– to view it from the perspective of how people can be prone to saying (or claiming,
depending on how you want to look at it) that they “don’t give a damn” about something –
“giving a damn” in a truly selfless sense of the expression i.e. where someone chooses to give
a damn about something even though they see no prospect in it which they could seize
upon/get involved with the good faith intent of a positive result (not necessarily a benefit for
themselves alone).
Anyway, as part of this blog I lean on that analogy as I bring up the German song “Kinder an
die Macht!”, originally written and sung by Herbert Grönemeyer, and linked to here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiqWrSAFvow It is factually correct that I have written
blogs which refer to songs in foreign languages before, but this particular song was one I was
originally introduced to by my German teacher back when I was still doing my A-level in
German, more than two decades ago now. While it is easy enough to look up the lyrics for
this song on Google – and, more specifically in this case, an English translation – I insisted
on providing my own English translation of them here – you will see why:
POWER TO THE CHILDREN!
The armies are made of jelly bears
The tanks are made of marzipan
Wars get eaten up
An easy plan
Childlike genius
There is no good
There is no bad
There is no black
There is no white
There are holes in teeth
Rather than oppression
There is strawberry ice cream for a lifetime
Always good for a surprise
[Chorus]
Give order (power) to the children
They do not calculate what they do
The world belongs in the hands of children
An end to sadness [or “gloom”, in this context]
We will be “laughed down into the ground”
Children in power (power to the children)
They are the real anarchists
Love chaos as it spreads
Know no rights
No obligations
Only uninhibited (just that “ungebeugt” translates literally as “unbent”) power
En masse
Impetuous pride
[Chorus, repeated; then the song ends]
Are you taking a moment to consider the true significance of this song yet? Is it to be
analysed, critiqued and discussed – and remembered – solely based on subjective and
possibly biased criteria? I do hope not! For what is that good for if not opportunistic, quite
possibly trivialised misrepresentations weighing on what the song really is and what it’s all
about? I insist that there is something in this song that is too “good”, too meaningful and
important, to be forgotten and lost in shallow references to it.
I bring this all up because, back when I was still doing my German A-level, for all my
language talent and my efforts in my work, I was seldom at ease being resolutely pressured to

“express my opinion” (if only I had any to express) in some sort of lucid and definitive
manner (not to mention in a different language) on subjects that matter in society at large,
like the environment or drugs or the mass media; in this case, the youth, and what they are
expected to learn and appreciate, and the new responsibilities that they are expected to adopt,
as they enter into adulthood. I was only 17 at the time, so you can imagine how humbled I
felt when this song came along in my life for the first time. After all, as we all know, children
are the future… for better or worse.
The lyrics in this song seem to hint mostly at very young children (“Armies made of jelly
bears”; “Strawberry ice cream for a lifetime” etc.). Now, you don’t have to have a degree in
German like me to know that “Kinder” in German means “children” and “Macht” means
“power” (whether in a physical or authority sense; it’s just the standard German word for
“power”, OK?). But to me that’s of no real importance here. I cannot emphasise this enough:
there was no selective reasoning in my response to this song/my critiquing of it. I say this
because, when I was still doing my German A-level, I think I originally translated “Kinder an
die Macht!” as “children in power” – as if to suggest that this song merely raises the question
of what would happen if children were in charge (even if it is only fantasy); and I would say
that the song presents it all in a manner in which judgement of children is reserved. Even so,
when you accept, as I mentioned earlier, that children are the future, it can’t be ignored that
children will indeed be in charge of the world eventually. But that was my original
interpretation of that phrase/its meaning and, for what I have said about it here, I would say
it’s quite beautiful.
But it also can’t be disputed that adults will always have a responsibility to children. Now,
today, the new interpretation I have of “Kinder an die Macht!” is more like “Power to (the)
children” – which suggests a rather different kind of message, and mood, from what you
would associate with “Children in power.” Like a deliberately implied optimistic message of
hope and belief invested in children – something meant to truly inspire children, nay help
them conquer the fears that are inevitably associated with growing up; while it’s also a song
that will likely make adults happy. I would say it’s just theorising, like I did when I came up
with my first interpretation of “Kinder an die Macht!”, but this new one made me happy; for
something that came from me rather than anything else, this new interpretation has left me
humbled in a new way, even though I have known this song for like two decades. The thing
is, maybe this new interpretation is indeed the correct one – take a moment to consider
exactly why there’s an exclamation mark after the final word in the title of the song. Don’t
get me wrong, it’s quite possible that when I studied it for the first time back when I was 17,
in the version I read, there was in fact no exclamation mark after the final word in the title of
the song, so no wonder I never thought of this new interpretation back then if that was the
case; but the fact is that I would never have been inspired to write this article had I not
decided, for no apparent reason, to just have another look at this song recently, for “my own
satisfaction.” Give a damn about it out of the blue, no less. In that sense, someone should ask
Grönemeyer whether or not the title of the song was supposed to end with an exclamation
mark.
You may have noticed the inverted commas in my own English translation of the lyrics of the
song at the point “We will be ‘laughed down into the ground’”. It was hard to provide a clear
or coherent translation of this bit – certainly when “Wir werden in Grund und Boden gelacht”
isn’t even grammatically complete in German. But surely it’s not meant to hint at something
horrible like the children laughing at the adults as the adults die and leave the world (hence
the “in the ground bit”) while they take the world that is now, in essence, theirs for the

taking? Just that the song mentions “anarchists” and “chaos” at one point. Is “we” supposed
to represent only the adults or the adults and the children as a collective whole? I mean, what
are the chances of the children laughing when the adults are no longer there for them? If my
second interpretation of “Kinder an die Macht!” means anything, consider it to be painting
this picture: one of children laughing – being happy – as they become in charge in the world,
and it’s something that the adults will hear as they depart it by heading into their graves in the
ground. And that really is something that’s enough to make us all happy.
Some other relevant musings, which are largely of direct relevance to the translation of this
song that I have provided here:
“Die Welt gehört in Kinderhande” – which I translated as “The world belongs in the hands of
children”
I reconsidered my translation of the verb “gehören” i.e. the word “belong” – it’s not like this
is really an authoritative declaration in this context, nor is it actually factual, so to speak… is
it?
“Sie berechnen nicht was sie tun” – “They do not calculate what they do”
The German word “berechnen” typically translates as “calculate” – but in a case like this, it’s
not purely a matter of quantification and the application of cold logic, is it? There’s failing to
properly calculate the content within what you do, then there’s failing to acknowledge the
consequences of your actions in a larger forum, right up to and including society at large; this
is of course to be related to how adults in particular will always be expected to take
responsibility for their actions. (Of course, this does not always happen, but that’s another
subject for debate.)
But why stop discussing the subject matter of the song there? Like I have already tried to
imply, I fully believe that this song indicates a love of and hope in children which transcends
the situation of life as we know it (which I find myself making a point of emphasising even
though I’m not a father) – but something inside of me suggests that there is more to be
identified in this song as the cultural artifact of significance I have come to accept it as. For
example, is it just me or is there a particular kind of sadness identifiable in the lyrics – maybe
one that only comes with old(-er) age? Like mid-life crisis or “older age depression”?
Admittedly, this is not exactly relevant to the subject of the latest generation, but I mentioned
it anyway to (again) highlight how “ideas of real-life substance” might be forgotten as a
result of no other reason than either shameless ignorance or mere unemotional indifference
which has become only to be expected, par for the course – in all humility, maybe sometimes
it can be hard to tell the difference.
Speaking as a fully-fledged language professional, I would say that this is a fine example of
how being confident enough to define what you have read or experienced, or what you think,
in your own words, however articulately, is by no means in itself always enough to ensure
that the message of what you are dealing with – and if you are a professional translator, no
doubt expected to acknowledge and deal with in some way, shape or form – won’t go amiss
or lost.
So feel free to let me know what you think, and don’t be afraid to be optimistic. Ultimately,
whatever your age, the best is yet to come, isn’t it?
…well, isn’t it?