Erblast is solo project of Oswald Henke, founded in 1996, that become somet… Read Full Bio ↴Erblast is solo project of Oswald Henke, founded in 1996, that become something more when joined by his friends Juliane Ihl and Tim Hoffmann. Unfortunally, the band doesn't exist anymore.

Music and lyrics of Erblast were very similar to another famous project of Henke - Goethes Erben, but Erblast was for the artist an opportunity for trying singing e.g. English language.

Kelch der Wahrheit
Erblast Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Erst fern glitt rauher Nebel nah
An unser beider Wangen
Kalt und blind und voller Zorn
Nahm Angst uns jäh gefangen

Die Wolkenlichter stürzten
Und beugten so ihr Haupt
Umschlossen wie ein Schleier

Lobpreisten ihn im Tausch

Am Waldrand stehen Könige
Sie verloren ihren Atem
Stachen ihre Augen aus
Und fingen an zu warten

Der Kelch der Wahrheit
War noch leer

Doch der Dritte ward geboren
Die grauen Weisen
Neigten stumm ihr Haupt
Verschluckten ihre Zungen
Und spuckten stumme Fragen
Unvergeßlich auf den Grund

Die Herrlichkeit war Grauen
Und die Tränen schwarzes Erz
Vernichten jede Trauer
Von welcher Sehnsucht spricht dein Herz
Und mit Erz füllt nun der Dritte
Den Kelch der Wahrheit mit Schwermut ein

Erst fern glitt rauher Nebel nah
An unser beider Wangen
Kalt und blind und voller Zorn
Nahm Angst uns jäh gefangen

Koste den Geschmack der Wahrheit
Er ist leer

Der Kelch der Wahrheit

Lügenschwer und von
Jedem Kuss befreit

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Erblast's song Kelch der Wahrheit present a dense and complex narrative that can take multiple readings to unravel. The song opens with an image of rough fog creeping closer to the couple, filling them with cold, blind and angry fear. The clouds themselves seem to bend and praise a mysterious figure as they crash down to the earth. At the edge of the woods, kings stand breathless, gouging out their own eyes and waiting for something. The cup of truth remains empty for a time, until the coming of the third one, who fills it up with a heavy sadness born from the gray sages who bowed their heads, swallowed their tongues and asked undying questions at the bottomless lake.

The second verse repeats the opening lines, but now the listener is invited to "taste the flavor of truth" because it is empty, a riddle in itself. The final line of the song, "the cup of truth, heavy with lies and freed from every kiss," reinforces the idea that truth is a double-edged sword that can both unveil and conceal.

The song leaves many questions unanswered, and its enigmatic poetic language might suggest different meanings to different listeners. Depending on your perspective, Kelch der Wahrheit can be interpreted as a metaphor for the search for knowledge, for the dangers and illusions of power, for the price of sacrifice, or for the burden of collective memory.

Line by Line Meaning

Erst fern glitt rauher Nebel nah
At first, a rough fog drifted far away before it suddenly came close to our faces

An unser beider Wangen
To the cheeks of both of us

Kalt und blind und voller Zorn
Cold and blind and full of anger

Nahm Angst uns jäh gefangen
Suddenly, fear captured us

Die Wolkenlichter stürzten
The lights in the clouds fell down

Und beugten so ihr Haupt
And bowed their heads

Umschlossen wie ein Schleier
Enclosed like a veil

Lobpreisten ihn im Tausch
They praised it in exchange

Am Waldrand stehen Könige
Kings stand at the edge of the forest

Sie verloren ihren Atem
They lost their breath

Stachen ihre Augen aus
They poked their eyes out