Laibach are best known for their cover versions of pop songs which have been rerendered in such a way as to reveal formerly hidden or unnoticed messages, often commenting on political totalitarianism or rock stardom’s own forms of dictatorship. This was done most successfully on Opus Dei, especially on their cover of One Vision. Named Geburt Einer Nation after D. W. Griffith’s classic film The Birth of a Nation, Queen’s lyrics are sung in German to a strident military beat. All of a sudden lines like “one flesh, one blood, one true religion” start sounding suspiciously familiar...
However the bulk of Laibach’s output is their own work. Their own early experiments with totalitarian ambiguity led to their being outlawed in then-Communist Yugoslavia; their name was made illegal so the band resorted to using their black-cross emblem on posters instead. To this day their work deals with similar ideas but frequently Laibach reference their own legendary status and tongue-in-cheekily play with the kinds of in-jokes a band accrues in over 25 years of work.
Laibach’s musical style has varied a lot over the years. They began as avant-garde industrial musicians, producing what could best be described as ambient noise but soon discovered the joys of the martial rhythm. Having produced a couple of albums of heavy martial industrial music, they began to expand sonically. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia their difficult but rewarding album Kapital included hip-hop influences among many others and NATO borrowed from techno while keeping the bombastic atmosphere. The next offering Jesus Christ Superstars came after quite a hiatus and it may have shocked a lot of people with its balls-out metal guitar riffs. The 2003 album WAT returns to a more electronic sound; working with techno producer umek has produced a slightly odd album of electro beats.
Volk was released on October 20, 2006, preceded by the single Anglia. The album contains 14 songs composed and produced together with Silence, inspired by national anthems.
2008 Laibach released new album, titled Kunst der Fuge. This album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest festival in Leipzig.
VOLKSWAGNER is the title of a musical project which was realized in collaboration between Laibach and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra (2009). Laibach also cooperated with the composer and conductor Izidor Leitinger on this project, and it was decided that together they would compose a work which will in a specific manner interpret some of Wagner's better known musical motifs and combine them into a unified symphonic electronic suite.
From a formal point of view, the collaborating artists have decided to seek in Wagner the rudiments of modernism, which first through Mahler, Bruckner, and Debussy, and subsequently through Schöenberg, Berg, and Webern, developed into the core of the jazz music of the sonic experimentalists, such as Miles Davis and Sun Ra, and to upgrade them with the ambient electronic spectrum that has been developing over the last three decades. In addition, the suite will address the history of the 20th century – modernism crossbred with pop art.
4.4. 2012 a movie titeled Iron Sky was released. Laibach in collaboration with Ben Watkins as a co-writer and producer of the score provided soundtrack for Moon Nazi Invasion in Iron Sky.
Official Laibach website: www.laibach.org
The Whistleblowers
Laibach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As big as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we do not fall
With no time in between
We never stop
Whistling our chant
In the heat of the night
We sing
The spirit is clean
From north and south
We come from east and west
Breathing as one
Living in fame or dying in flame
We laugh
Our mission is blessed
We fight for you
For freedom unforeseen
Thinking as one
Rolling along
To the beat of the drum
We march
The black cross machine
We rise, we grow
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As weak as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we never fall
We stand alone
But soon the day will come
When freedom rings
We'll meet again
Now eternally
And walk
Once more as one!
The Whistleblowers by Laibach is a powerful and inspiring song that speaks about unity, strength, and perseverance in the face of adversity. The song begins with a statement of power and unity, emphasizing the strength and resilience of the human spirit. The lyrics describe how people rise above their struggles, grow stronger, and never falter in their mission to fight for their freedom. As the song progresses, the lyrics focus on the idea of unity and how people from all corners of the world come together in the spirit of common purpose.
The second verse is particularly interesting as it speaks about the diversity of the people fighting for their freedom. The lyrics describe how people come from the north, south, east, and west, and are drawn together by a common goal. The imagery used here is powerful, emphasizing that no matter where people come from, they breathe the same air and are united in a common struggle.
The chorus is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the central theme of unity and strength. The lyrics continue to focus on the idea of marching forward, even in the face of adversity. The song ends on a hopeful note, predicting a future where people will stand together in freedom once more.
Overall, The Whistleblowers is a powerful song about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of unity in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
We rise, we grow
We progress and evolve
We walk and we stand tall
We move forward with confidence and strength
We never fall
We overcome obstacles and challenges with resilience
As big as the sky
Our potential is vast and limitless
As far as the dawn
Our reach extends to the horizon
We walk
We continue on
And we do not fall
We do not give up or fail
We sleep, we dream
We rest and envision new possibilities
With no time in between
Our thoughts and ambitions flow seamlessly
We never stop
Our drive and persistence do not waver
Whistling our chant
Expressing our values and beliefs with purpose and passion
In the heat of the night
In the face of adversity and challenge
We sing
We lift our voices in solidarity
The spirit is clean
Our intentions and actions are sincere and genuine
From north and south
We come from all directions
We come from east and west
Our origins are diverse and varied
Breathing as one
We are unified in breathing the same air
Living in fame or dying in flame
Our commitment to our mission is unwavering
We laugh
We find joy and humor in our struggles
Our mission is blessed
Our purpose is holy and worthy
We fight for you
We stand in solidarity with those who seek freedom
For freedom unforeseen
We fight for a future that is not yet realized
Thinking as one
Our minds are aligned in pursuit of our goals
Rolling along
Our momentum and energy carry us forward
To the beat of the drum
Our rhythm and pulse quicken with passion
We march
We move forward with purpose
The black cross machine
We are a powerful and united force
We stand alone
We may appear isolated, but are not afraid of standing apart
But soon the day will come
We anticipate a future that brings change and progress
When freedom rings
When our ideals of freedom are ultimately realized
We'll meet again
We will come together again in solidarity
Now eternally
Our unity and commitment will endure forever
And walk
We move forward together
Once more as one!
Our unity and solidarity will be restored
Contributed by Adrian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rossi Stéphane
We rise, we grow
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As big as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we do not fall
We sleep, we dream
With no time in between
We never stop
Whistling our chant
In the heat of the night
We sing
The spirit is clean
From north and south
We come from east and west
Breathing as one
Living in fame or dying in flame
We laugh
Our mission is blessed
We fight for you
For freedom unforeseen
Thinking as one
Rolling along
To the beat of the drum
We march
The black cross machine
We rise, we grow
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As weak as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we never fall
We stand alone
But soon the day will come
When freedom rings
We'll meet again
Now eternally
And walk
Once more as one!
Alistair Boom
It's hard to put into words what Laibach means to me.
But I'll try, and I hope you, the reader, are with me.
Friends and I saw Laibach at gigs in the UK in 1985, chatted to them after the gigs, and saw them in a similar light as other contemporary post-punk groups, such as Sonic Youth, Psychic TV, Coil and Foetus, that we also met post-gig in many cases, and had a good natter.
We had also visited Slovenia in the mid-80s.
I left the UK in the early 90s.
I've been almost 30 years out of the music scene.
Laibach's evolution has been amazing, however. Their stance, their videos, confound and mesmerise.
"The Whistleblowers" is an incredible track.
I have to see Laibach again, before I die.
Their music, themes, and nuanced outlook is a light for me, and hopefully others. Rock on!
Kushim West
Every song and every video Laibach does has meaning that may not be obvious from a glance at the surface appearance or casual listening to lyrics in the way we may often do with music. It's not just beautiful nonsense, though I suppose some would imagine it that way.
The name of the song may hold part of the clue to meaning---"whistleblowers". Think about Snowden, Wikileaks, now revelations about Heartbleed and continuous stories from the Ukraine situation that fly directly in the face of what is being dished out by the Western mainstream media.
The video shows pre-teens and young teens improving their skills and undertaking challenges to toughen themselves---both individually and as a cooperating coordinated team. When combined with the lyrics, it would appear to suggest that the hope of humanity lies with the young, with the fighters who struggle for more than just themselves but who don't forget themselves and don't shirk self-responsibility for the future made by their own hands, with those who will not be satisfied with the status quo or with the "new normal" nor with passively being "average".
I think the song is essentially optimistically revolutionary on a philosophical and spiritual level. It seems to say that this ostensibly all-powerful anti-human global order will also be overthrown and replaced by a better humanity, and it may come sooner rather than later (the preteens and teens will grow up quickly, will know themselves to be worthy of a decent future, and will basically know that a better world is objectively possible---woe to those that stand in their way!). The remaining flower at the end would suggest the better tomorrow, followed by the young boy with his arms extended in a victorious stance at the end of his action signifying a better more advanced humanity that has been forged by the experience of a self-emancipation struggle to secure that better future. The militaristic tone of the song and the coordinated discipline of the youth striving for a common purpose in the video suggests that there must and will be a FIGHT for the better future, and that those how want such a future must prepare and act as fighters working together like an army for our common aim to be achieved. But a revolutionary FIGHT is waged not only with weapons and not only by spilling blood...half of the struggle is within and among ourselves, remembering and striving for the kind of humanity we wish to inhabit the better future and who could earn it by their action (this is what the phrases "we rise, we grow" and "the spirit is clean" imply). Anyone can merely take up arms and fight, but what does it require to fight successfully for a better future?
Even the talk of 'freedom' here doesn't seem to be about individual self-seeking, but rather that it will take a better world for a better self-liberated humanity in order for real freedom to be possible for each, and any such freedom made possible by the collective action of humanity requires social responsibility as well because "an injury to one is an injury to all", because all support and protect the freedom of each, and equivalent reciprocity is expected to maintain the free humanity rather then once again put it under the yoke and at the mercy of anti-social anti-human individualist predators and parasites.
If my interpretation is anything similar to what Laibach intended, then clearly this is an brilliant communication which is simultaneously very subversive and also quite beautiful and hopeful.
Martyllo Groover
The Whistleblowers
We rise, we grow.
We walk and we stand tall,
we never fall,
as big as the sky,
as high as the dawn.
We walk and we do not fall.
We sleep, we dream,
with no time in between.
We never stop,
listening our chant in the heat of the nights.
We see, the spirit is clean.
From north and south,
we come from east and west.
Breathing as one,
living in fame or dying in flame.
We love, our mission is blessed.
We fight for you,
for freedom and for sin.
Thinking as one,
rolling along to the beat of the drum,
We watch,
to red cross machine
We rise, we grow,
we walk and we stand tall.
We never fall,
as big as the sky, as strong as the dawn.
We walk and we never fall.
We stand alone,
but soon the day will come ,
When freedom reach,
we meet again and we take the lead.
And walk, once more as one.
Hlynur Gambetti
There is hope in the songs of Laibach. Freedom, brotherhood, no egoism, no totalitarism. I like their poetic hymns.
The Rising Hope
No like on this comment as i like it. Let`s keep this at 42.!
Rossi Stéphane
We rise, we grow
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As big as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we do not fall
We sleep, we dream
With no time in between
We never stop
Whistling our chant
In the heat of the night
We sing
The spirit is clean
From north and south
We come from east and west
Breathing as one
Living in fame or dying in flame
We laugh
Our mission is blessed
We fight for you
For freedom unforeseen
Thinking as one
Rolling along
To the beat of the drum
We march
The black cross machine
We rise, we grow
We walk and we stand tall
We never fall
As weak as the sky
As far as the dawn
We walk
And we never fall
We stand alone
But soon the day will come
When freedom rings
We'll meet again
Now eternally
And walk
Once more as one!
pirzol89
Można słuchać bez końca. Te słowa i ta melodia... po prostu świetne.
Tomasz Bartkowiak
i gwizdać !
Kremit TV
Odkryłem dopiero 3 tygodnie temu, i od tego czasu codziennie leci w moich głośnikach
Lucek Kalafiorek
słuchałem tej piosenkii gdy przejeżdżałem przez Laibach w ubiegłym roku(:
The Biertriot
After so many years, this song is still so deep in my heart. a hymn for the free world!
Warrix
There is no "free world". Not yet at least.
starramus
What are the GPS coordinates for this free world?