Name: Strange Ways by Kevin Van Houten
Duration: 5 min 19 s
Description: A song that was written by a friend Alex Don Otto. this is my take on it which kind of goes with the times we are living in ...

Introduction in English:
Over 30 years ago, I did a six-week hitchhiking trip in Ireland. Right at the beginning of the tour I met Ian and we hitchhiked through the beautiful Emerald Isle. 
We quickly discovered that we were both stuck in completely hopeless love affairs. He in London and me in Berlin. Both of us didn't want to admit it for a long time. Now, after countless attempts to save our relationship, we had fled to Ireland. 
I described my rescue efforts as a "Himmelfahrtskommando“. But there is no real equivalent for this German pun in English. The closest thing is "Suicide Mission". And so we came to call our community of fate "Suicide-Himmelfahrt-Mission". 
After this unforgettable tramp journey we always stayed in contact with each other. 
Until earlier this year, Ian's mother informed me that he had died unexpectedly of a heart attack. 
Accordingly, I dedicate this song to my friend Ian, who passed away much too soon. 
In the first part I sing the chorus in German. In the second part I imagine how the almost always cheerful jazz friend Ian would have sung the verses and the chorus. And in the third part, I imagine how the two of us would have sung the chorus together.

Lyrics in English:

From above, look down on me
Have completely overstretched myself

I sadly think oft he last day
I believed that could be done

Saw no age, no boundaries
Even defied the death

Suicide Mission
I can’t stand it
I am breaking down
Totally wounded
Lie to myself
All is lost
This is a Suicide Mission

Life seemed to me wihout meaning
Now finally I had the mission

First I flew along as if in a daze
Completely filled with a great vision

Yes, to heal you
And to redeem you
From the Trauma Suck

I ask myself on e last time
Why didn`t I look there?

Right in front of me the torture stake
And the warners shouted aloud

No demureness
Remote from earth
In wanting to be god burned

Refrain auf Deutsch:

Himmelfahrt
Alles zu hart
Brech‘ in mich ein
Blut wie ein Schwein
Total verschätzt
Tödlich verletzt
Das ist ein Himmelfahrtskommando

Suicide-Himmelfahrt-Mission

Introduction in English:

Sometimes I dream that I meet my great musical idols. When I was intensively occupied for a while with one of my passions, the French chanson, it happened that in one of my dreams Jacques Brel sat opposite me in my small Berlin living room and gave me the assignment to write, in my way and with my possibilities, something like a sequel to his great chanson "Ne me quitte pas".  Whereas here he had described the fear of losing a loved one, now I was to describe in my song what it was like to have lost this loved one forever. 
And on the basis of this nocturnal dream collaboration, my French chanson "Je t’ai perdu" was born. 
The cover is again by the Polish artist Renata Golab.

Lyrics in English:

I have lost you

I have lost you 
lost forever

Just wanted to hold you
Keep you warm and safe

Just wanted to protect you
Protect you from abysses

Protect you from demons
Protect you from the falling

Yes I know 
You will never understand

I know
You'll see it differently

You feel dominated
Dominated by me
Controlled by me
Imprisoned by me

You feel enslaved 
For all eternity

I have lost you
Lost forever

Just wanted to love you  
Love you unconditionally, unconditionally

Strengthen you for life
Strengthen you for becoming yourself

To raise you gently 
Lift you up against the Hades

Over, gone
I have not reached you

Nothing that remains
The oath of revelation

Reap your hatred 
Reproach and hatred
Your scorn and mockery
Scorn and derision

I have lost you
For all eternity

Französischer Originaltext:

Je t'ai perdu,

Je t'ai perdu,
Perdu pour toujours

Je voulais juste te tenir
Garder au chaud en toute sécurité

Je voulais juste te protéger
Protéger des abîmes

Te préserver des demons
Préserver de la chute, de la chute

Oui, Je sais
Tu ne comprendras jamais

Je suis conscient
Tu verras les choses autrement

Tu te sens dominé
Dominé par moi
Supprimé par moi
Enfermé par moi

Tu te sens asservi
Pour l'éternité

Je t'ai perdu,

Je t'ai perdu,
Perdu pour toujours
Je voulais juste t’aimer
T’aimer sans condition

Te renforcer pour la vie 
Renforcer pour devenir soi 
Te redresser doucement
Te dresser contre l'Hadès

Fini, passé
Je ne t’ai pas attaint
Rien qui ne reste
La déclaration de reddition

Je récolte ta haine
Tes reproches et ta haine
Ta moquerie et tes railleries
Ta malice et ta derision

Je t’ai perdu 
Pour l'éternité

Je t'ai perdu

Je t'ai perdu (I have lost you)

A song to celebrate the ABSOLUTE AWESOMENESS of the strength, energy and vigour of Nature!

Natures Magic

Many of the soldiers who fought in WW2 were given methamphetamine on all sides - scary stuff man ...

/ It turns out / that the / second world war / in all its / blood and gore /
/ Was driven by / methamphetamine / yes / methamphetamine /                    x3

/ So put that / in your pipe / and smoke it /

/ WW2 on speed / the military / had the need / to use / methamphetamine /
/ WW2 on speed / the military / in its greed / they used / methamphetamine /x1

/ The soldiers were as high / as kites in the sky /
/ Spurred on / by crack / to murder / kill / and attack /     x2

/ Fighting on speed / meant / you would never need /
/ To overcome / fatigue / It put you / in the / super soldier league /     x2

/ The Americans / took Bennies / the English / called it / benzedrine /
/ The Germans  on pervitin / the Japanese on Philopon/     x2

/ Intoxicated  soldiers / an army /  junkie / Phenomenon / 
/ What about / the Russians / God only / knows / what they were on /     x2

/ Montgomery gave his troops / 100,000 meth pills /
/To drive back / Rommel / and his junkies / into / the desert hills /     x2

/ When Hitler invaded Poland / the Nazi's / were given /
/ 35 million / tablets of pervitin /     x2

/ It turns out / that the / second world war / in all its / blood and gore /
/ Was driven by / methamphetamine / yes / methamphetamine /     x2

WW2 On Speed

what this button do?

Wear the Crown

Let's do everything we not supposed to👥

Say Hi All Night👺

All Night

I have written this song for all people and creatures who suffer from the increasing resurgence of right-wing populist and repressive political systems

Lyrics in English:

The murderers are still among us
They are further called "Hinz" and "Kunz"
Are completely anonymous and nameless

Arisen from the womb
Who unites them in hatred of foreigners

White as a sheet in their souls
The heritage makes them great again

The murder legacy is now starting:

They may vomit again
Insulting, groping, staring at women
Ripping Jews Kipas from their heads
Shitting on PoC their need

Lighting homeless people at night
Inventing the Holocaust as a lie

Never again!
Turn off the brown light
Never again!
A mortuary house 
Never again!
Mass murder as a plan
The banality of evil is sneakily creeping up
Never again!
Never again!

The language is diluted
It targets the lowest instinct
Pretends to be "The People"
Invades the angle of revenge of bitter souls

Arouses envy of those who are at the top
And those who are supposedly getting better
Until a legimitation is created for them:

To kick, to beat, to torture, to rush
To sharpen the weapons against the alleged invasion
To pillory those again who think differently 
To swell the national chicken breast
To set nasty traps for those who are declared vermin
To ennoble the betrayal
To gag the deviants dead 
To wriggle themselves superiority with the tail of the power demon

Never again!
Turn off the brown light
Never again!
A mortuary house 
Never again!
Mass murder as a plan
The banality of evil is sneakily creeping up
Never again!
Never again!

Deutscher Originaltext:

Nie wieder!

Die Mörder sind noch immer unter uns
Sie heißen weiter "Hinz" und "Kunz"
Sind ganz gesicht- und namenlos

Entsprungen aus dem Mutterschoß
Der Sie vereint im Fremdenhaß

In ihrer Seele leichenblaß 
Macht sie das Erbe wieder groß

Das Mordvermächtnis legt jetzt los:

Sie dürfen wieder kotzen
Frauen beschimpfen, begrapschen, anglotzen
Juden Kipas niederreißen
Auf PoC ihre Notdurft scheißen
Obdachlose nachts anzünden
Den Holocaust als Lüge erfinden

Nie wieder!
Macht das Braunlicht aus
Nie wieder!
Ein Leichenberge-Haus 
Nie wieder!
Massenmord als Plan
Die Banalität des Bösen kriecht schleichend heran
Nie wieder!
Nie wieder!

Die Sprache ist verdünnt
Zielt auf den niedersten Instinkt
Gibt vor "Das Volk" zu sein
Dringt in den Rachewinkel bitt‘rer Seelen ein

Schürt Neid auf jene, die da oben stehen
Und jene, denen es angeblich besser geht
Bis eine Legimitation für Sie entsteht:

Zu treten, zu schlagen, zu foltern, zu hetzen
Die Waffen gegen die vermeintliche Invasion zu wetzen
An den Pranger zu stellen 
Die nationale Hühnerbrust zu schwellen
Den zum Ungeziefer Erklärten fiese Fallen zu stellen
Den Verrat zu veredeln
Die Abweichler tot zu knebeln 
Sich mit dem Schwanz des Machtdämons Überlegenheit zuzuwedeln

Nie wieder!
Macht das Braunlicht aus
Nie wieder!
Ein Leichenberge-Haus 
Nie wieder!
Massenmord als Plan
Die Banalität des Bösen kriecht schleichend heran
Nie wieder!
Nie wieder!

Nie wieder! - Never again!

Nie Wieder! - Never Again! (Lyrics in English in the Intro)

When I had once again surpassed myself in terms of depth and meaning in one of my songs, a music friend asked me to do a peppy circus number for a change. At first I refused and said that I could only do mostly melancholic things. 
But then I felt challenged; and the result was this basically completely senseless song, whose title is a pure mental coincidence association and if you like, has only one meaning: The pure joy of making music, of playing and arranging instruments.    

Als ich mich mal wieder in puncto Tiefgründigkeit und Sinnhaftigkeit in einem meiner Songs selbst übertroffen hatte, bat mich ein Musikfreund, zur Abwechslung mal eine peppige Zirkusnummer zu machen. Zunächst wehrte ich ab und sagte, dass ich eben überwiegend nur melancholische Sachen machen könnte. 
Dann aber fühlte ich mich doch herausgefordert; und heraus kam dieser im Grunde völlig sinnfreie Song, dessen Titel eine pure mentale Zufalls-Assoziation ist und wenn man so will, nur einen Sinn hat: Die reine Freude am Musik-machen, am spielen und am arrangieren von Instrumenten.....

From Bangladesch to Marrakesch

From Bangladesh To Marrakesch

A lot of people say the pandemic has ruined Christmas this year but for some people, Christmas is always a bit of a rough time. Let's make Christmas a great time for everybody and everyone we know.

Singing A Song About Christmas

DIRTY X CHAPOZE - OUT THE COUNTRY

A song that was written by a friend Alex Don Otto. this is my take on it which kind of goes with the times we are living in ...

Strange Ways

Grew up in Africa where music, song and dance are an everyday occurrence no matter where you are, be it standing in a bank queue or sitting on a bus. In order to earn my bread and rent money, I am a teacher by daylight and a musician by night. I do not have any preference when it comes to listening to music, all genres are open to my ears and brain. The One Almighty 'Great Spirit’ is the source of all creation and creative energies, especially in music and it is this awesome energy that drives me to keep on writing songs.

Strange Ways

Kevin Van Houten

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