A song by Einsturzende Neubaten, released on the album Halber Mensch
Length: 3:30
Quite a strange love ballad, even for EN. Vocalist Blixa Bargeld upstages the group's trademark gritty, physical percussion, which also almost takes a back seat to the simple guitar tune. The beat (unusually simple for EN) and guitar combined give the song a Spanish or Arabic feeling to me, in a "movie stereotype of a faraway land" kind of way. While the focus on guitar and vocals might seem like steps toward pop conventionality for a band known for its compositions of sampled noise (which are thoughtfully intricate as often as they are purposely crude), EN manages to make this tamer offering sound very remote and alien, with Blixa pushing two distinct characters through the narrative of the song, the more passionate and tortured of which he sings in two voices. In any case, they sure get the "I am a stranger in your land" feeling out.
Note that some of the words aren't quite pronounced as what they're obviously intended to be - for instance, "wandering" sounds more like "wandered" to me, and "my" sounds like "me". This could be because of Blixa's accent, because of his purposely odd singing, or possibly intentional, to add a little distinctiveness to his characters. It's impossible to tell, and in any case the intended words are clear.
The three voices he sings in:
- "low voice": Like Blixa's normal singing voice, a deep, guttural tone.
- "middle voice": More like Blixa's "good singing" voice (as heard on such songs as Stella Maris) but not quite as tuneful. Higher than normal, and less guttural, but not falsetto and not whispered
- "high whisper": A soft whisper, almost falsetto, but still guttural.
Lyrics:
(low voice)
Young woman, share your fire with me
My heart is cold, my soul is free
I am a stranger in your land, wandering man, call me Sand.
(high whisper)
Oh, sir, my fire is very small
It won't warm thy heart at all
But thee may take me by the hand, hold my hand, I call you Sand.
(low voice)
Young woman, share your fire with me
My heart is cold, my soul is free
I am a stranger in your land, wandering man, call me Sand.
(middle voice)
At night when stars light up the sky! (sound of glass breaking)
Oh sir, I dream my fire is high
Oh taste these lips sir, if you can, wandering man, I called you Sand.
(interlude, mechanical and electronic sounds)
(high whisper)
Oh sir, my fire is burning high
If it should stop, sir, I would die
A shooting star has crossed my land, wandering man...
(low voice)
...she whispered, "Sand".
(low voice)
Young woman, shared her fire with me
Now warms herself in memory
I was a stranger in her land, wandering man, she called me Sand.
(middle voice)
He was a stranger in my land, wandering man, I called him Sand.
Thanks to http://sand.gaff.cc/discog/sand.html for "If it should stop, sir, I would die."