Berlin by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Lyrics Meaning – The Cry for Redemption in a World of Despair
Lyrics
Ain’t no use in crying like the others
Were fools in need, fools to believe,
There are fools in need, to foolish to believe
I’m gonna, uh somebody, uh somebody
Uh somebody, uh somebody
here but don’t you please, I’ve got time and time to bleed
It ain’t no use in trying to deceive
I’ve been fooled by the lover, fooled by the sinner, fooled myself into thinking I was living
I’m fighting just to breathe as I get back off my knees
Help me somebody
Help me somebody
I’m fighting just to breathe as I get back off my knees
I’m gonna, uh somebody, uh somebody, uh somebody, uh somebody
She said
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
heavy little lovers, as were fighting with each other
Ain’t no use in suffering like the others
Were fools in need, fools to believe,
There are fools in need, to foolish to believe
I’m fighting just to breathe as I get back off my knees
Help me somebody
Help me somebody
I’m fighting just to breathe as I get back off my knees
I’m gonna, um somebody, um somebody, um somebody, um somebody, um somebodies gonna, somebody, hurt Somebody,
Um somebodies gonna, somebody
She said
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
Suicides easy, what happened to the revolution
At a glance, the gritty texture and pulsating rhythm of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s ‘Berlin’ may seem like an ode to the eponymous city with a haunting past. Yet, as the gritty layers peel away, the song reveals itself as a desperate call for help in a tumultuous world. This anthem encapsulates an emotional journey—a fight against inner and outer turmoil, bedecked in poetic disguises and metaphors that resonate with the rebellious spirit at the core of the band’s ethos.
As we dissect the lyrical depths of ‘Berlin,’ it’s essential to note the raw essence of the song. It’s not just about the city; it’s a narrative steeped in personal struggle, societal challenges, and the search for direction amidst chaos. What at first may echo with the dissonance of rebellion is, in truth, a symphony of the band’s nuanced cries for change and understanding—in personal relationships, societal norms, and even within oneself.
The Bleak Landscape of Inner Turmoil: Reflecting On the Verses
Delving into the lines of ‘Berlin,’ it becomes clear that the narrative voice is pained, possibly trapped in the cycles of their own creation. The recurring claims of ‘fools in need, fools to believe’ serve as a lamentation, implying a recurrent pattern of misguided trust and hope in a love or life that only reciprocates with disappointment. This exploration of personal folly grants the song an undercurrent of existential crisis akin to a modern blues.
When the lyrics plead for someone to ‘help me somebody,’ it’s the universal cry for human connection, for a savior in times of distress. The help sought is not just physical but spiritual and emotional—a desperate grasp for a lifeline in a world where the individual is drowning under the weight of their encounters with betrayal, whether in love (‘fooled by the lover’) or by the self (‘fooled myself into thinking I was living’).
The Revolution That Never Was: A Cry Against Complacency
‘What happened to the revolution?’ This haunting question repeated in the lyrics stands like a dark monument against the landscape of the song. It’s easy to interpret this as a call to action—a statement about societal lethargy that has replaced once-fiery ambition with the ease of giving up, characterized by the line ‘Suicides easy.’
The song invokes the image of revolution not just in a historical or political sense, but as a personal, internal uprising. It speaks to the listener’s own thwarted attempts at self-improvement as much as it does to a communal halt in progress. ‘Berlin’ dares to confront the existential dread of an era that seems to have misplaced its zeal, and BRMC uses its platform to rekindle the dormant inferno of change.
Between the Beats and Bars: The Song’s Atmospheric Essence
The music arrangement in ‘Berlin’ is more than a backdrop—it’s a vital participant in the storytelling. The throbbing baseline, the commanding drums, and the garage-rock-infused guitar riffs create a rich atmosphere that underlines the angst and urgency reflected in the lyrics. It’s the sound of a band unafraid to mix the heavy with the emotional, cradling the listener in a tight grip of sound that simulates the heartbeat of desperation.
Such an encompassing sound design becomes a vessel for the emotion it aims to convey; the repetitive nature of the music echoes the cycles of the words ‘Ain’t no use in crying like the others,’ stressing the perennial nature of the song’s strife. It’s a mosaic of sound, piecing together an anthem of defiance and the need for salvation.
Unearthing the Hidden Meaning: A Struggle Beyond the Wall
While Berlin itself, a city laden with its own historical struggles of division and reinvention, plays a silent but potent symbolic role, it’s within the song’s grasp to extend this metaphor. The Berlin Wall, though unmentioned, casts a long shadow—representing the barriers we erect in our lives, whether between lovers or within ourselves, that both protect and confine us.
By invoking the image of Berlin, with its legacy of separation and subsequent unity, the song impels the listener to ponder their own walls. The plea for help becomes more resonant, anticipated among those who are fighting just to breathe as they try to get back off their knees—a testament to the shared human experience of overcoming divides and seeking connection.
Memorable Lines that Echo Through the Silence
Certain lyrics in ‘Berlin’ have a stickiness that resonates beyond the final chords. ‘Help me somebody’ and ‘What happened to the revolution’ not only serve as the hook but as a rallying call. These words are imbued with a sense of vulnerability and urgency that transcend the boundaries of the song—becoming modern mantras for those feeling disillusioned and disenchanted with the promises of a bygone era.
The lines envelop listeners, inviting them into a chorus of kindred spirits—one where the lines between the song, the singer, and the audience blur, creating a fellowship of understanding. Perhaps it’s in these simple but poignant snippets of ‘Berlin’ that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club achieves its greatest feat: crafting a lyric that manages to be simultaneously personal and universal, a call to the embers of a smoldering fire within each person.
