Die Herren dieser Welt
Hildegard Knef
The Lords of This World
When the riverbed dried up,
children searched for the shore,
they looked in the shallow depths
for the fish that by now
had gone over the mountains.
When the seas abandoned us
and the rain followed them,
when the plants refused
to do even the slightest thing,
the landowner spoke, troubled,
now it’s really open season,
we are the lords of this world,
who have conquered sea and land,
whoever stands against us,
will meet the wall.
When the lions retreated
and the tigers followed them,
when the last rooster prepared
and decided to set off,
farmers and scholars came
and other outraged folks,
the lords of this world came,
and they demanded for cash,
that loyalty be kept to them.
As the sun quietly burned out,
women wrung their hands,
men ran to the end,
to the end of this world,
and they swore eternal vengeance
to the very last limb,
and their hatred drove away the stars,
and they followed all the lions,
and they waved to all the lords,
to all the lords of this world.
