Bremen Nacht
Lyrics
Something happened in Bremen, I know (1)
Something I don't want to
Something under the ceiling muttered
Something in its steel shutters
Underlining my usual timing
Aligning casual set-list
And it aligned?
Knowing where right room is
I was more than usual pissed
Was first ashamed at bruise on wrist
Was then annoyed at skin-patch on back
Then I did myself acquit
On Bremen Nacht
Ich leave real quick das Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach aus bremen nacht
Ich rausum mach das bremen nacht
Ic-raus-Mach-Schnell aus das bremen nicht
Ich-aus Schnell mach sas bremen nacht
Ich Mach Schnell pack und aus das bremen nacht
Ich raus schnell mach von bremen nacht (2)
The child's four-fingered bruises on my hip
Meant I had been one day possessed
Right through Bremen Nacht
Right on to Bremen Tag (3)
The sunlit Bremen day
By Tonsillitis size train station Hof (4)
Could only in one way fail to impress
This on drinks door I did lay
I had been one day possessed
Ich rausum mach aus bremen nacht
Thank God skin-patch is nearly gone
And the impress of fingers dead
Have disappeared and left me alone
That's one night I didna put jackboots on
Don't want to end reflection
It's still there, though I am gone
And it will be a long long long time gone
before my spirit will in accident
go back and come from Bremen Nacht
go back and come from Bremen Nacht
Notes
1. An indication of what MES thinks "happened," from Reformation:
And:
You've got one song, "Bremen Nacht", where you sing in German about a bad show in Bremen – was that based on an actual event?
Yeah, yeah, it was a very strange thing! It was a bit like a firestorm; my whole body felt like it went up, like it'd been burnt and bruised. Its not a nice experience at all. At the time I thought I'd been pushing myself a bit too hard, hadn't been eating properly, drinking too much... But then we found out six months later that the building we had played in had been firebombed by the Royal Air Force. A bit fucking weird!
We were just messing about with soul riffs, that was where Bremen Nacht came from; us jamming on Higher Ground. We'd jam on a riff, take it apart and then repeat it and repeat it and repeat it, breaking it down into the microscopic pieces of that song, and making a whole song about that microscopic piece that we liked. We were kind of like magpies, just picking up little phrases and playing them to death.
Marcia told The Pseud Mag that "Zagreb" was also based on "Higher Ground."
Child's four finger bruises on my hip
Could only in one way fail to depress
This on drinks door did I lay
I have been one day posessed
It's still there though I am gone
But I will be a long long time gone
But my spirit will in accident
Go back and come from Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach aus Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach aus Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach aus Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach das Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach aus Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach das Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach das Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach aus das Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach aus Bremen Nacht
Ich rausum mach das Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach das Bremen Nacht
Ich raus schnell mach aus das Bremen Nacht
Bremen Nacht
More Information
Comments (31)

- 1. | 13/07/2013

- 2. | 13/07/2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twWdFC2CHhk&feature=share&list=PL806BE628217C2705

- 3. | 13/07/2013
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Neustadtswall+hochschule+mensa&hl=en&ll=53.072483,8.793252&spn=0.000898,0.002642&sll=53.072369,8.792665&sspn=0.007129,0.021136&gl=uk&hq=Neustadtswall+hochschule+mensa&t=m&z=19
Possibly.
Looks old enough. But post-war?

- 4. | 09/04/2015
In my humble opinion, Mark should pronounce German as it is supposed to sound, or take a German singer for such a song.
The ignorance is well portrayed in the notes.
The first concentration camps where build by the British in South Africa during the Boer wars, the bombing of Bremen was done after Britain had defeated Germany in World War one, and had put a puppet government there.
I hope you now understand why I get irritated here.
It is not personal, but more against British ignorance in general. And also on the main land of Europe, much ignorance is there against the Germans. Reformation started in Germany, in 1517, when Martin Luther would nail the 95 thesis on the Wittemburgh temple door.
Reformation!
Reformation and the ignorance about it is my concern here, and even about Puritans. I saw a French artist group calling themselves New Puritan, while no reality was found in the Art Work, although very good art, but had no relation to Puritanism, or New Puritanism, because the French have no clue about what Puritanism is.
Sure I do! Puritanism was a righteous theological approach to Anglicanism, any etymological meaning is ignorant.
British fire bombs, British concentration camps, and British ignorance. It's like this Youtube movie I saw, where a coward from the Boer wars was being called a hero by the comments.
Just British comments I suppose!
Sorry for this.
Just want to save your ass folks.
Europe should stop to blame Martin Luther, and put the nail on the donkey on the 7 hills, on a village country given in 1929 with Lateran accords by Benito Mussolini.
Not an opinion.
The romanist antichrist wants to burn all bibles and Jerusalem as his capital. Reality. Germans and British should be allies in common sense, your education and politics are run by romanists.
Mine also, for me it is the same.
Reformation!

- 5. | 25/06/2015

- 6. | 10/07/2016

- 7. | 10/07/2016

- 8. | 15/07/2016

- 9. | 15/04/2018
Anyway, sorry Gus, I don't think MES was being ignorant at all. We all knew about Dresden (after Vonnegut) and I feel this song is deeper than a jungoistic Brit rant against Nazis.

- 10. | 05/07/2018


- 12. | 19/01/2019

- 13. | 19/01/2019

- 14. | 12/04/2019
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/11/the-50-best-songs-about-europe-ranked
13. The Fall
Bremen Nacht (1988)
Mark E Smith makes feeling ill at a gig in a German college sound like the worst case of paranoia. He later suggested his maladies were caused by the ghosts of Nazis who had died in the allied bombing of the city.

- 15. | 04/05/2019

- 16. | 04/05/2019

- 17. | 04/05/2019

- 18. | 04/05/2019

- 19. | 16/07/2019

- 20. | 20/07/2019
You've got one song, "Bremen Nacht", where you sing in German about a bad show in Bremen – was that based on an actual event?
Yeah, yeah, it was a very strange thing! It was a bit like a firestorm; my whole body felt like it went up, like it'd been burnt and bruised. Its not a nice experience at all. At the time I thought I'd been pushing myself a bit too hard, hadn't been eating properly, drinking too much... But then we found out six months later that the building we had played in had been firebombed by the Royal Air Force. A bit fucking weird!
http://www.exberliner.com/whats-on/music-nightlife/mark-e-smith-interview
[Archive]

- 21. | 21/08/2020
German:
Nach „Hotel Bloedel" kommt mit „Bremen Nacht" die inspirierende Wirkung einer Deutschland-Tournee erneut zum Tragen. Dabei hiess es früher, du magst Deutschland nicht besonders.
“Das stimmt nicht. Hier gefällt es mir eigentlich am besten. Der Song handelt von den Geschehnissen bei unserem letzten Auftritt in Bremen, es war in einer Universität, niedrige Decken, ziemlich voll. Ich fühlte mich nicht besonders, hatte vielleicht nicht gut gegessen, und nach dem Konzert begann ich, mich sehr merkwürdig zu benehmen, als wäre ich nicht Herr meiner selbst.
Ich bin im Hotel herumgelaufen, habe überall geklopft und gefragt 'ist Steve Hanley hier?'. Und Brix schrie immerfort, ich solle ins Zimmer zurückkommen. Ich bekam Hassanfalle und fürchtete, es sei der Teufel in mir, obwohl ich wusste, das konnte nicht sein. Aber als ich mich ins Bett legte, hatte ich überall am Körper diese roten Stellen, als hätten sich Fingernägel in mich gebohrt. Mein Rücken hatte rote Flecken, wie verbrannt. Das hielt acht Stunden. Jeder hat mirdanach gesagt, ich wäre nicht mehr als ich selbst zu erkennen gewesen. Es muss irgendein Geist gewesen sein. Vielleicht ist das Gebäude während des Kriegs bombardiert worden oder ähnliches. Während des Auftritts fühlte ich, wie etwas an meinem Bein zog, aber das Publikum war nicht in Reichweite."
Vielleicht Asbest. Vielleicht hatte vorher auch eine junge britische Gitarren-Band dort gespielt, und die Mauern wollten sich jetzt wehren.
“Ja, die meisten sind schrecklich. Aber nicht alle. Ich bringe einen Sampler auf meinem Cog Sinister-Label heraus. Next Step sind gut, wie eine Kreuzung aus Public Image und Schoolly-D. Die Walking Seeds aus Liverpool sind jetzt auf Speedmetal, waren aber vorher auch sehr gut.”
Translation (relying on google translate with common sense adjustments):
After "Hotel Bloedel", the inspiring effect of a tour of Germany comes back to life with "Bremen Nacht". It used to be said that you don't particularly like Germany.
“That's not true. I actually like it best here. The song is about what happened at our last gig in Bremen, it was in a university, low ceilings, pretty full. I didn't feel great, I might not have eaten well, and after the concert I began to act very strangely, as if I wasn't in control of myself.
I was walking around the hotel, knocking all over the place and asking 'is Steve Hanley here?'. And Brix kept yelling to come back into the room. I got attacks of hatred and feared it was the devil in me, even though I knew it couldn't be. But when I went to bed, I had these red spots all over my body, as if fingernails had bored into me. My back had red spots, as if burned. That lasted eight hours. Afterwards everyone said to me that I could no longer have been recognized as myself. It must have been some ghost. Maybe the building was bombed during the war or something like that. During the performance I felt something pull on my leg, but the audience was out of reach."
Maybe asbestos. Maybe a young British guitar band had played there before, and the walls wanted to defend themselves now.
“Yes, most of them are awful. But not all. I'm putting out a sampler on my Cog Sinister label. Next Step are good, like a cross between Public Image and Schoolly-D. The Walking Seeds from Liverpool are now on Speedmetal, but were also very good before. "

- 22. | 23/10/2020
We were just messing about wit soul riffs, that was where Bremen Nacht came from; us jamming on Higher Ground. We'd jam on a riff, take it apart and then repeat it and repeat it and repeat it, breaking it down into the microscopic pieces of that song, and making a whole song about that microscopic piece that we liked. We were kind of like magpies, just picking up little phrases and playing them to death.
Marcia told The Pseud Mag that Zagreb was also based on Higher Ground. Given what Marcia says above, obviously more than one song could come out of such a method.

- 23. | 23/10/2020
I remember being obsessed as a child by the folk tale Town Musicians of Bremen. It's about a group of animals that use their voices to scare people. I am sure I talked to Mark about that a lot. That was part of the spark for the name of Bremen Nacht.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_Musicians_of_Bremen

- 24. | 13/03/2021
The sunlit Bremen day
By Tonsillitis size train station Hof
Could only in one way fail to impress
This on drinks door I did lay
Maybe this is an improvement:
The sunlit Bremen day
By tonsilitis skies train station hops
Could only in one way fail to impress
This on drinks door I did lay
I noted this from http://thefall.org/gigography/gig88.html, attached to the "Friday, 22 April 1988 Vooruit Gonzertaal, Ghent, Belgium" gig:
"Tonsillitus skies (...) station hop burnt my brains and burnt the top of my skull off." (amended lyrics to "Bremen Nacht")
So I listened again.,
"Tonsilitis skies" is a a superior bit of imagery, and I can hear "skies".
"Station hop" would seem to fit with the subsequent line about drinks, but I'm not entirely sure about "hop". It still sounds like it could be "hof".
Perhaps more ears would be good?

- 25. | 13/03/2021

- 26. | 20/03/2021

- 27. | 06/04/2021
Dead Can Dance live at HFT Mensa Bremen 1986
I used to visit Bremen quite a lot, but can't work out either what the tonsillitis part is meant to refer to. If the day is 'sunlit', then the 'skies' would hardly be tonsillitis in colour, surely?
Bremen train station is an impressive building, and I think the sense is that MES would have been impressed by it, if he hadn't felt so ill. 'Hof' makes more sense here than 'hop'.

- 28. | 10/04/2021

- 29. | 06/05/2021

- 30. | 01/03/2022

- 31. | 24/07/2022
"HFT" will be the Hochschule für Technik, which became part of the Hochschule Bremen, the University of Applied Sciences (so all equivalent to what in the UK we would have called a polytechnic).
"Mensa" is German for cafeteria, or, I guess in the polytechnic context, "refectory."
Would be interesting to find some pictures of it from the time.