Right from the beginning it was clear that the presentation and the image of Dunkelwerk wasn't an easy task. On the one side people were fascinated, on the other side some came up with the old presumptions you have to face when using war themes and dark aggressive music. Aware of this and to prevent some misunderstandings here is in short what Martin thinks about it:
Main theme of Dunkelwerk is the moment of total defeat.
No glory, no victory just the sweet smell of discomfiture. Dunkelwerk is about defeat, not about victory! Using images and themes of war creates an atmosphere of leave, loss and comedown. The whole concept of Dunkelwerk focuses on this aspects. There is no heroism or glory. War was and always will be a fatal catastrophe for lives, homes and love.
...sometimes nothing can be saved, sometimes everything gets lost...
The first album -Troops- leads to the darkness and sadness of WW1+2.
The second album will leave the battlefields of war behind, conquering the wastelands of love, defeat and misery. Planned to be released in 2007. Dark tales from dark lands.
Bastard
Dunkelwerk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing heard yet, where are our troops?
We found them in the wastelands, in some ruins of death.
In the fields of glory, they all reaped death.
Here comes defeat! Come On, come on you bastard!
We want our troops back home!
We need support.
Bring them back alive!
And here we are in silence.
Digging 1000 graves to honour the memorial.
Our troops came home dead... Behind cold stone we cower, 1000 days of misery.
We wait to face the enemy at the gates!
The lyrics of Dunkelwerk's song "Bastard" are a reflection of the agony and despair of people left behind when soldiers go to war. The first two lines of the song set the tone, suggesting the hopelessness of the situation. The lyrics then move on to talk about the fate of the soldiers, who are now in ruins and have all reaped death in the fields of glory.
These lyrics are a cry of anguish and pain from those who wait for their soldiers to return home. The lyrics call out to the enemy, referring to them as bastards, and ask for the troops to be brought back alive. The line "No one returns... Horizon burns!" suggests that the war has taken a toll on everyone, and it is impossible to escape its destruction.
The last two verses of the lyrics reveal the aftermath of the war – the silence of the people left behind, who are now responsible for honoring the dead soldiers with a thousand graves. The final line of the song speaks of their determination to face the enemy at the gates, implying that the fight is far from over.
Line by Line Meaning
We're watching the wastelands, no triumphant salutes.
We are keeping vigil over the desolate terrain with no signs of celebration or victory.
Nothing heard yet, where are our troops?
We have not received any information yet regarding the whereabouts of our soldiers.
We found them in the wastelands, in some ruins of death.
Our troops have been discovered in a lifeless and ruined part of the land.
In the fields of glory, they all reaped death.
Our soldiers died in battlefields with no sense of achievement or honor.
Here comes defeat! Come On, come on you bastard!
We are acknowledging the arrival of defeat and urging it to approach directly.
We want our troops back home!
We demand the return of our soldiers to their homeland.
We need support.
We require assistance and help to deal with the consequences of this war.
Bring them back alive!
We insist on our soldiers being brought back home in a living state.
No one returns... Horizon burns!
Sadly, nobody is returning, only destruction and devastation loom on the horizon.
And here we are in silence.
We have found ourselves in a state of quietness.
Digging 1000 graves to honour the memorial.
To pay tribute to the soldiers who died, we are digging a thousand graves.
Our troops came home dead... Behind cold stone we cower, 1000 days of misery.
Our soldiers arrived home as corpses, and we are cowering in front of their lifeless remains, grieving for one thousand miserable days.
We wait to face the enemy at the gates!
We anticipate confronting the enemy at the gates and are ready to fight.
Contributed by Mila G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.