Kinderaugen [English translation]

Today something or someone’s shown us

what to do or not to do,

how we should behave

and to whom we should fit.

I’d really like to block out

that a lot of people fall down out here

and sadly, don’t get up again.

I would have never known

that there are children, who’ve got to carry arms. ²

They bleed from within.

I don’t want to know that wars exist,

that our fellow men have to steal because they freeze.

I’d like to be free from fear and violence,

but if I fall, reality grabs hold of me.

If I could see the world through the eyes of a child,

if I couldn’t name a thousand good reasons,

which take beliefs away from me.

Just for a moment, have a heart; ³

no burden on their shoulders, no pain to carry.

It’s dark here. Look, I’m not asking for much.

Apart from the anger I carry, I only have one wish.

[Jonesmann]

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried. ⁴

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried.

[Silla]

There’s a fine line between financial straits and fear. ⁵

The kids also don’t know what the world makes of us.

They become purse snatchers,

small-time dealers, and bangers;⁶

of them, no one knows

if anything changes at some point.

No wonder, that some play crazy,

are only for themselves, and then isolate themselves.

We don’t know

what happens behind closed doors

and we can only imagine how the victims feel.

We see the homeless begging in the subway, ⁷

who, especially on cold days, wish they had shoes.

The child looks her mom in the eye and asks

if she can give the old man some money.

They don’t know yet, that they’ve got to

fight for a lifetime;

they just see the good in people and

dream without limits.

It all seems so simple

when you’re little

if you still don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong.

[Jonesmann]

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried.

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried.

[Silla]

Tell me, what the feeling is when everything seems easier; everything seems easier; when you go through

life with ease.

The children see the bad things only through us,

they see us cry, but don’t know why.

The youth of today can change something tomorrow

as a rapper, a politician, a teacher, or a parent.

Let’s see this world as a playground

and walk together hand-in-hand across the finish line.

Come and enjoy the time, and suddenly it seems very easy,

put your frustrations aside, it could be worse.

You’ve got to see the world again through the eyes of a child. See to it that it goes full steam ahead ⁸

from an early age on.

Know nothing of the misery, which surrounds us. Only be aware of the good things, and nothing which brings you down. Hang in there, the way out is open ⁹

We can only stop being afraid if we

give up hope.

[Jonesmann]

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried.

The days are gray where I come from.

Children only see bad things, which they learn from.

I dream about streets without a war;

change your life, before it’s dead and buried.