Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #005
Nicole Krauchun: when you write your songs, how do you come up with such great lyrics? How long does it take you to write a song, such as Forever Young?
Marian Gold: There exist many techniques to write a song’s lyric. The classic and most regular approach is simply to start writing about the subject you have in mind e. g. SUMMER IN BERLIN, which sentimentally recalls my time in Westberlin during the late 70ies by assembling a number of anecdotic memories. Then again it matters quite a lot in which language you are writing. SIB was immediatly written in English. I am bilingual, German and English, the „official“ languages of Alphaville. If I, for one, start with a German lyric it often becomes fascinating how the transfer from German to English changes the meaning of the original. If it offers an interesting variation of the theme I sometimes curiously follow that trail and end up with something completely new. SUMMER RAIN is a good example for that. It is so to say the younger brother of SIB, primarily describing the dazzling heat of midsummer. By translating the original German text, this idea resulted in the description of some apocalyptic landscape infused into a total stillstand of time which again formed further associations becoming more and more surreal. You probably know that feeling when you are lying on the beach in the warm sun and this curious sleepiness creates all kinds of weird images in your mind?? Well, here we go with lion tamers, circus girls, atomic lizards and so on… you better run for shadow then.
Another positive impact translations produce is the effect of clarifying the substance of the text. Translations require an explicit understanding of the original. What seems to be an implicitness in, say, scientific scripts becomes a quite complicated task with poetic texts which often bear on loose connotations. In fact those translations sometimes give even me, the author, a more thorough understanding of my writings. For those who speak German I give an example of how translations alter the original. The german text, some kind of desperate love poem was called „SCHLAG MITTERNACHT“ (STROKE OF MIDNIGHT), the shortened English version was intended for „RAYS“, our last album. It will now probably go on another DREAMSCAPES release. Here it is:
Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus
Durch menschenleere Straßen breit genug für Panzerkreuzer
Ein neonkaltes Lächeln auf dem Herzen
Das soll mich unbesiegbar machen
Nicht schlecht wär jetzt ne Zigarette
Gern spräng ich über alle Gräben
Die ich gezogen hab in vielen Jahren
In diesem Kaff, genannt Berlin
Und würd so gerne flüstern was von nun an andre flüstern
Und tun was andre tun an meiner statt
Ich hör mich reden wie ich red und red
Das ist so blöd, so blöd, so blöd, so blöd
Ich könnte heulen, wenn ich mich so reden hör
Wenn nur dies Wort, dies eine Wort nicht wär
Das meine andern Worte jagen, um es aufzufressen
Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es aus mir raus:
Das kalte Grinsen und die tiefen Gräben
Das Neonlicht, die blöden Reden
Das ganze öde Kaff genannt Berlin
Das ich gebaut mit all den menschenleeren Wegen
Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus
Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es raus
Das Wort, das niemand nennt, auch wenn ers weiß
Wer ist bereit? Wer will es wagen?
Kenn ihren Namen, doch ich wag sie nicht zu fragen
One might remark that the English version in comparison to the original is so short, it can’t possibly recreate it. True for the plain text but not for the whole song which replaces the missing words with its music and by that transcends it into an even more universal context.
At the stroke of midnight - past the city hall
Through the deserted streets wide enough for battle cruisers
A neon-venomed snakelike smile is resting on my face
Just like a mask to make me strong and inexpugnable
How much I’d like to leap across the trenches that I ripped into the night
How much I’d like to whisper words of love…
I listen to the stream of stupid words that keep on flowing from my mouth
Just to avoid the unimaginable thought
If only someone came along to rip it from my mind
The one that all these words are trying to devour
How much I hate this town that I have built
With all the nightmares one could call his own
Damned to live here for all times…
Besides the above mentioned, there are lots of other strategies in writing. For instance, one can mix up the lines of a lyric randomly, which, in best case, grants it a thrilling twist one would have never come up with by any stretch of one’s imagination. What I personally often find intriguing is to read aimlessly through movie- or book- titles and arrange them according to sudden inspirations. A prominent example for that is FOREVER YOUNG. „Heaven can wait“, „Diamonds are forever“, We are watching the skies“ and so on are all more or less quotations from movies. The creative part is to put them into a new environment where they miraculously change their meaning into the desired direction. Here’s a lyric I recently wrote for a theme concerning a really cool lady, a vamp, if you will, which is mostly inspired by titles or subtitles from mystery murder novels from the 50ies. Other sources are also easily to distinguish. It’s called THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT and goes as following:
The wine of astonishment she poured into my glass,
Doorways in the sand
Creep, shadows, creep, dwellers in the mirage, seven footprints to the devil
And a hunger for thrills
Love’s a lovely counterfeit, she was my big time girl…
She sang for her supper but did something else for her midnight snack
She’s just a cat of many tails
He was a wolf in the asphalt jungle, fair game for a tigress on the prowl
I studied the gay science and the birth of tragedy, the will to power
I was caught beyond the good & the evil, frozen in the twilight of idols
How green was my valley but murder steals the spotlight, yeah…
She sang for her supper…
The teeth of evidence, a kingdom for a hearse, bats are flying at dusk
The beckoning doors, a streetcar named desire
Saints play with fire, they ride the pink horse…
She sang for her supper…
If you are interested you should be able to find most of these lines in the internet. All in all I think whatever you do, the most important thing in writing is to create a flow and then follow it.
It will take you to „shores never seen before“ (SHIP OF FOOLS).
(photos: Gold, Prohl, Zargarinejad - provided by alphaville, used with kind permission)






![Questions Of Happiness: The winners are …
… as you read in an earlier post on this blog in may 2013 had the chance not only to win an exclusive MP3* of the demo version of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS, an unreleased Alphaville song, you also had the chance to raise a few questions and to do a fan-interview with Alphaville. The contest is closed now, answers to fan questions will be posted to alphavillenow.com constantly within the upcoming months.
This post has been updated after each draw on may 12, may 19 and may 26 (5 winners each draw). Additionally, 10 more winners are drawn and announced right here on june 2, 2013.
JUNE 2, 2013 – HERE’S THE FINAL SET OF LUCKY WINNERS:Terry Foster • Mike Shirk • Andrea Monroy • Bernd Friedrich • Juliana Oliveira • Denise Joyce • Raiko Götze • Phil Avengers • Dirk Schroeder • Jacob HolmPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 26, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Andrea Inguane • Daniel Harrigan • Peter Salomon • Elena Amosova • Heike WeindlPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 19, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Jan Schoenmakers • Jonas Persson • Ilya Shamshudinov • Roland Krude • Ronen PreislerPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 12, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Frank Mühlberg • Sven Rinke • Colin Ybarra • Mark Ferrigno • David StarkPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 5, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Nancy A. Acosta • Tina Gibson • James Mooney • Tomas Trolltoft • Herman BoelPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
All winners were randomly drawn from all accepted questions
*(the smartphone is not part of the raffle)
[photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/48971b707172757f55a0ef6c430c9383/tumblr_mm2lsdOoDK1qimlo4o1_r2_1280.jpg)


![Free Alphaville-‘App’ and theme for your iPhone 5, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch!
…well, at least almost. If you love to dress up your iPhone 5 with some Alphaville visuals please feel free to download the above shown graphics for your lock screen and your home screen right here for free.
iPhone 5 users go here: https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8072922395
iPhone 3 or 4 users or iPod Touch owners go here:https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8073606759
The cool thing is, if you bookmark www.alphavillenow.com on any iPhone and chose the “add to homescreen” option, you’ll be able to use this blog (at least a bit) like an app: a smart alphaville icon will brighten up your home screen and the blog will open without any web browser elements. If you also own the “London Sky” ringtone we offered for a limited time back then, you’ll be having the perfect Alphaville device.
Have a great day!
[photos: universal (CROG-artwork by schiller design, photograph: zargarinejad) and provocateur (production: catherine ebser, photographer: stefan gergely). used with kind permission, provided by marian gold / alphaville – iPhone, iPod Touch and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/fa5365098c6baa69d48eeccd93ac909d/tumblr_mn57xqj3oK1qimlo4o1_1280.jpg)

![DOUBLE FEATURE: Your chance to interview Alphaville – and to win an unreleased song!
UPDATE: This contest closed by may 30, 2013.
Ever wondered about a song’s meaning or inspiration or background? Ever wanted to know something about the production process of your favorite Alphaville album? Ever wanted to know about the story behind the cover of a specific Alphaville record? Ever wanted to ask Marian something, but never had a chance to do so? Or … alternatively Maja Kim? …or Martin Lister? … or Jakob Kiersch or Dave Goodes?
Well, here’s your chance to interview Alphaville and, with a little bit of luck, to win one of 30 digital copies of the yet unreleased Alphaville Song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS” (studio recording, demo version). Please note: this exclusive song will NOT be on the upcoming album with the working title STRANGE ATTRACTOR!
[Update: Initially the song to win was LONDON SKY. When comparing versions with Alphaville, the band literally rediscovered this nifty tune – which now may make it’s way to some upcoming official release. For this reason we decided to give away QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS instead to the lucky winners; a song which has, by the way, a nice and fitting name for an interview-event.]
How does it work?
From april 24 to may 30, 2013, you have the chance to send in one ore more questions (to be more precise: as many questions as you like) you always wanted to ask any Alphaville member - to do so, please use the link at the bottom of this article. If you like to, you can also add a photo of yourself which might be published (in case your question is chosen).
All questions which meet the rules below are accepted and will be forwarded to the musicians they are addressed to. Answers to selected questions will be published here on www.alphavillenow.com, later this year and step by step. Aaaand – how to win the song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS”?
It’s easy: each sunday in may (5.5., 12.5., 19.5. and 26.5.) five winners will be randomly drawn from all submitted and accepted questions, the winners will be announced (with their full name) here on www.alphavillenow.com.
Additionally, ten more winners will be drawn and announced on june 2
All winners will receive their prize per email on june 9.
Are only questions from winners to be answered?
No. It’s up to the band to decide which questions will be answered. So wining a copy of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS does not automatically mean that the questions sent in by the winner will be answered. And, vice versa, not winning a song might still mean that your questions could be answered later on.Answers to fan questions will be published here on alphavillenow.com from time to time later on.
By participating you accept the following rules:
Ask your questions to one (or more) band members. Start each of your questions with: “This question is addressed to” – so we know from whom you wish to receive an answer.
The deadline for your submission is may 30, 12.00 CET.
Questions like “When will you play live in..”, “When will you come to…”, “When will the new album (or single) be released?” or similar are not accepted, same goes for insulting questions or questions that contain harassment – ask a question you would ask in public and that can be answered in public as well.
The audience of this blog is a global one, and the language most people understand is english - that’s why we’re communicating in english here. The question you submit has to be written in english. If you feel you are not able to write a question in proper english, please ask a friend for help – the better we understand you the more precise we can answer. Online-translation tools may be helpful but, in most cases, they don’t deliver a result that matches the initial input. Please understand that questions in other languages than english or that are not understandable can not be accepted.
If you win or if your questions are selected to be answered, they will be published on alphavillenow.com, together with your full name (and, eventually, with your photo - if you submitted one). Please keep in mind: As alphavillenow.com runs on a social platform (tumblr.com), all content published can be and will be duplicated by other people on the web by reblogging posts or simply by sharing them. By submitting your questions for this raffle you agree that you are aware of this fact, that you are fine with the release and the possible duplication and that you release alphaville and alphavillenow.com from any responsibilities.
It’s up to the band members to decide which questions will be answered, so even if you win an answer is not guaranteed. Of course the aim is to get as many questions answered as possible. In case that similar questions are received, one of them will be selected randomly.
In case you win, you will receive your mp3 of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS on june 9 via email.
In case you win, you agree that you will not publish the song you received as a gift from Alphaville anywhere on the web. Else, legal action may be taken, and (even worse) further raffles like this may not happen – and still, we really plan to do so.
Are you ready?
then…
– write down your questions (and whom you are asking) – double check if your questions meets the rules above
– add your full name and, if you like, a photo of yours
…next, use the link below to open an e-mail-window for your submission.
SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Good luck and thank you for your involvement!
[photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville / m.gold]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/ba7540bf9f5818bf1b70b3ffdfa8be7a/tumblr_mlsuxqkZjI1qimlo4o1_1280.jpg)