Island Life by David Slack

Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn

Now that's an earworm that I'm happy to have for the next 22 minutes!

Though we could follow that up with "Ja, das Hokey Kokey".

I never thought you'd be pro-highway Tom Beard! :)

Though we could follow that up with "Ja, das Hokey Kokey".

That is exactly what goes through my head every time someone mentions Kraftwerk.

I never thought you'd be pro-highway Tom Beard! :)

So, I'll take the Trans Europe Express instead. And I'm definitely pro-Pocket Calculator.

"Band" would be much better translated as "ribbon" here.

This sounds like a 'round'...

We are driving on the autobahn...
From the speaker it sounds:
We are driving on the autobahn...
From the speaker it sounds:
We are driving on the autobahn...
From the speaker it sounds:

Who did the translation?

Who did the translation?

It comes from this unimpeachable authority.

Do, all of you who are fluent in German, feel free to have at it and its deficiencies. I have already stuffed a couple of exercise books down the back of my trousers in anticipation of Mr Temple's verdict.

Apropos (how I hate that word) of absolutely nothing. This came to mind. The awesome Transfusion song, by Nervous Norvus

ZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM

Tooling down the highway doing 79

I'm a twin pipe papa and I'm feelin' fine

Hey man, dig that was that a red stop sign-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

I'm just a solid mess of contusions

Never never never gonna speed again

Slip the blood to me, Bud

I jump in my rod about a quarter to nine

I gotta make a date with that chick of mine

I cross the center line, man, you gotta make time-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

Oh man, I got the cotton pickin' convolutions

Never never never gonna speed again

Shoot the juice to me, Bruce

My foot's on the throttle and it's made of lead

But I'm a fast ridding daddy with a real cool head

I'ma gonna pass a truck on the hill ahead-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

My red corpsuckles (sic) are in mass confusion

Never never never gonna speed again

Pass the crimson to me, Jimson

I took a little drink and I'm feelin' right

I can fly right over everything everything in sight

There's a slow poking cat I'm gonna pass him on the right-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

I'm a real gone paleface and that's no illusion

I'ma never never never gonna speed again

Pass the claret to me, Barrett

A rollin' down the mountain on a rainy day

Oh, when you see me coming, better start to pray

I'ma cuttin' up the road and I'm the boss all the way-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

Oh, doc pardon me for this crazy intrusion

I'm never never never gonna speed again

Pump the fluid in me, Louie

I'm burning up the highway early this morn

I'm passing everybody, oh, nothing but corn

Man, outta my way, I don't drive with my horn-

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

Transfusion, transfusion

Oh, nurse, I'm gonna make a new resolution

I'm never never never gonna speed again

Put a gallon in me, Alan

Oh, barnyard drivers are found in two classes

Line crowding hogs and speeding jackasses

So remember to slow down today

Hey, daddy-o

Make that type O, huh

Atta-boy

(scrreeech-BANG!!tinkle)

That is exactly what goes through my head every time someone mentions Kraftwerk.

Snap.

(For anyone who is baffled: check here)

Meanwhile out west ...

"I'm out exploring the modern world,
By the pine trees and the Howard Johnsons,
On Route 128 when it's late at night,
We're heading from the north shore to the south shore,
Well I see Route 3 in my sight and
I'm the Roadrunner".

For anyone who is baffled:

Waay back, but what the,,,,, can't sleep anyway so.....

Time, all the long red lines, that take
Control, of all th smoke-like streams that flow into your
Dreams, that big blue open sea, that can't be
Crossed, that can't be climbed, just born
Between, oh the two white lines, distant gods and faded
Signs, of all those blinking lites, you had to pick the one tonight...

Holes, dug by little moles, angry jealous
Spies, got telephones for eyes, come to you as
Friends, all those endless ends, that can't be
Tied, oh they make me laugh, and always make me
Cry, until they drop like flies, and sink like polished
Stones, of all the stones i throw,
How does that old song go?
How does that old song go?...

Bands, those funny little plans, that never work quite right.

How does that old song go?"

Nice wee number innit.

Sofie,

It sort of reads like a Sam Hunt poem (but I see, googling it, that its not)

Rob,

Yes, it does, and no, it's not. Quite melancholic. And it was the "telephones for eyes" line that stuck, but the whole song is a feature of my brain.....holes dug by...there it is again:)

Thanks David. I've always wanted to know what the words meant. This was the song that introduced me to stereo when I heard it on a Honolulu FM station in the late 70s. I still love it after all these years. It's a magnificent tune. I used to make the lyrics up - going fast, fast, fast on the autobahn. Buffalo Daughter do a nice faithful version on a Japanese CD compilation to Kraftwerk called Radioactivity.

I have a mashup called "Milkshake Model" which combines Kraftwerk's "The Model" with Kelis's "Milkshake".

Love the Kraftwerk, have done ever since my mate Glyn introduced me to Autobahn in 4th form. Early Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream too.

If there's anyone who likes late-70's/early-80's Tangerine Dream as much as I do, check out SkinMechanix on Magnatune: http://www.magnatune.com/artists/skin_mechanix

This made the biggest impression on me - the scene from the BBC "Dancing in the Streets" doco with Bronx kids clambering up chainlink fences by dusty basketball courts with Kraftwerk blasting the soundtrack.

Birth of hip hop, and I hadn't realised at all. Spine tingling.

I'll also admit to earlier buying some Tangerine Dream after hearing them in the Risky Business train scene. Wasn't paying much attention to Tom Cruise, even then.

<aside>Julian, are you one of Rod's sons?

Given that my e-mail address is "krautrockboy" I can hardly resist a Kraftwerk thread, can I ?

Autobahn is a great song and album. The three before that, Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2__ and Ralf And Florian are superb, very under-rated. There's also a lot more experimental stuff going on.

The drummer on Kraftwerk, Klaus Dinger, went on to form the even better (IMHO) NEU!, then La Dusseldorf. If you like Kraftwerk, then be sure to check out these bands and others that family tree such as Cluster and Harmonia. (Here endeth today's sermon...).

How spooky Mr Slack - here I was enjoying a random play of the 22-min version of the 'Werk's finest that popped up on shuffle today on my iPod for the first time in forever - and then I spot your post. Uncanny.....

BTW for a superb live performance DVD, make Kraftwerk's Minimum Maximum top of your shopping / Xmas list.

I played The Model last week on commercial radio and now news that Kraftwerk is coming here again in this morning's paper.

It's like you called them, David. Mysterious gods from other worlds drawn by your electronic emissions.

or else you knew they coming awhile back.

Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn

Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal

Die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl

Short, shameful confession: my first thought was this was going to turn out to be a German translation of How Bizarre.

a German translation of How Bizarre

Wonder if Mr Grigg knows one?