Quote from on 27/08/2024, 13:54

Thomas once mentioned Dieter was manipulative and possessive towards women.  If someone is being manipulative, will do something against others wills just for the sake of one's love or interest. Kind of reflection?

Quote from Max OM on 27/08/2024, 15:17

In Thomas book it s said that Dieter controlled especially Nadja and didnt allow her to be near any person she also couldnt talk with anyone without his permission he also took her phone etc etc he did all these things just to cheat on her again. Anyway girls love macho men thats why lot of his girlfriends "loved" and tolerated Dieter's behavior  : arrogant, rich and reputation for being a womanizer

Quote from Efim Fedorov on 09/11/2024, 00:58

Alright, so some time ago I was asked to perform a bit more analysis on these four songs... and well, I finally decided to fulfill that request - excuse my lazy ass for postponing 😀 I had already posted my analysis for the first song, Old Town (1994), but it got deleted while the website was migrating to the new host. So I had to write it again - and I'll analyze the remaining songs later.

Let's begin:

Baby, I will hurt you
Oh, come let me alone
Heart is a heart and a home is a home

"Baby, I will hurt you" - the narrator tells straight away what he's gonna do to the addressee right in the beginning of the song.

"Heart is a heart and a home is a home" - I suppose that this is a paraphrase of the famous proverb "home is where the heart is", but with the opposite meaning. The narrator suggests that the addressee will soon lose the feeling of safety and comfort while being at their (I'm not really sure if this song is really dedicated to a woman, so lets use "they") home. The "heart" would stop "being" there - and that's because of a trauma. I think that the narrator is going to break into the addressee's house and do something to them - something that would result in a deep emotional distress and cause that person to lose their confidence or even to begin feeling aversion towards the premises they are living in.

"Oh, come let me alone" - imo, it's related to what I supposed in the previous paragraph. "Let me in, and alone - so that nobody could save you from me!"

Baby, I will find you
I will get you by phone
Heart is a heart and a home is a home

The narrator expresses his voyeuristic / stalking tendencies. He's planning to commit telephone harassment (to continuously dial the victim's number and menace them) and to track down the addressee's location wherever they go.

If you fool me sister
Drive me mad
Under pressure - maximum sex

Here the narrator threatens the addressee that they shouldn't oppose him, otherwise he'd turn violent. "If you fool me, sister, THAT WOULD drive me mad". The interlocutor shouldn't deceive him, play with him, manipulate him - or it would "drive him mad". And - yes, this will lead the narrator to rape them. He gets aroused by his own aggressive attitude and by the victim's fear.

This old town ain't big enough
Baby, for the two of us
It's the end of an old love odyssee

"This old town ain't big enough" / "Baby, for the two of us" - I guess this means that the town where the addressee is living in is not big enough for them to avoid the narrator, to get lost in the crowd. He will find them anyways, no matter how hard they try to hide from him.

"It's the end of an old love odyssee" - a reference to Dieter's feelings for Thomas?..

This old town ain't big enough
Baby, for the two of us
I will see you - I will hold you in L.A

As @maximilianfrank_ostwald1989 said, this is indicating that the addressee is most likely Thomas. He was living and recording his album in LA at the time of this song's release.

Baby, I will please you
But you leave me alone
Heart is a heart and a home is a home

The narrator is upset that the interlocutor doesn't want to have anything to do with him, so he tries to manipulate them by promising to "please" them with something.

Baby, I will hate you in a danger zone
Heart is a heart and a home is a home

The "danger zone" might be referring to the addressee's house. The narrator would be in danger while being there, as there'd be a risk that he'd get arrested. "Hate you" means "rape you".

Oh, you're so good sister
Drive me mad
Under pressure - maximum sex

Rape reference again. He wants the interlocutor to "drive him mad" now, to provoke his aggression with their struggling or fighting back - that would turn the narrator on and result in him committing a sexual assault.

Quote from The Admin Staff on 09/11/2024, 21:44

Yes, very good analysis.

It should be noted that it was Dieter who called Thomas first and the conversation on the phone, as per their words, lasted over an hour.

It's also clearly indicated and proven that Thomas has no chance to escape. The threats in the lyrics are obvious.

Btw, the Old Town chorus actually is more or less a reference to another song with the same name "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" . It's yet another uninspired song-title by Bohlen. 😂😂

Quote from Efim Fedorov on 11/11/2024, 22:59

Thank you very much @diewahrheitubermoderntalking_g8yix4 for your feedback and additions! You're right, Dieter probably just stole those lines from the Sparks song 😀

Alright, now I'm going to analyze the second track, Do You Wanna Be My Girlfriend (1988):

Saw you come in th′ depth of nite
Love for sale do you think it's right

Give them what you′ve got

These lines indicate that the deuteragonist is a prostitute.

First of all, prostitution is closely associated with the nighttime, as many slang euphemisms for a prostitute show ("creature of the night", "woman of the night", "lady of the night" etc.).

Second, "love for sale" obviously means "sex for money". And many people perceive it as something morally wrong - thus "do you think it's right?". "Give them what you've got" refers to sexually pleasing all the lustful men who hook the deuteragonist up ("them" means MANY people).

Emmeline you are so hot

The name choice for the deuteragonist is pretty interesting. Emmeline isn't a particularly popular name - yet, it was borne by as many as three notable women rights activists: Emmeline Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Emmeline B. Wells. I think that Bohlen chose that name to indicate the strong and independent character of his deuteragonist, to convey that this person, this woman, won't simply submit to a man but would set her own rules. This supposition will be used hereinafter.

Oh Emmeline I need you
Emme-Emmeline

I assume that the narrator, the protagonist, is a whoremonger who fell in love with Emmeline.

You break my heart
Talkin' in the sleep
Cryin' too much tears
You′re too young to die
Have too much fears
Oh Emmeline Emme-Emme-Emmeline
Break my heart tonite

I think that Emmeline was raped by someone among her clients and this resulted in her developing PTSD & depression ("crying too much tears"). She is tormented by the nightmares with plots related to that traumatic event ("talking in the sleep"), has suicidal thoughts ("you're too young to die") and suffers from phobias ("have too much fears"). This makes the narrator worry about her ("you break my heart" - by your sorrows) and therefore he tries to comfort Emmeline, for example by telling her that she's too young to take her own life.

Now, remember that the name Emmeline very likely symbolizes the resilient personality of the deuteragonist? Well, this stands in contrast with the circumstances in which she found herself. First of all, a huge amount of feminists and other women rights activists oppose prostitution, because they believe that the sex industry is exploiting those who found themselves in a difficult life situation and have to sell their bodies to get out of it. So the deuteragonist, despite being headstrong and independent by nature, for some reason had to accept that derogatory role of a sex worker - eventhough it made her lose her pride and suppress her will. Second, the possibility that the deuteragonist got raped and broke inside after that albeit being psychologically strong and resilient is... like a bitter irony of the life.

I believe that the "Emmeline" character is the mask for Thomas yet again. As Admin said, Thomas was de facto prostituted by those three Balling witches, they viewed him as their whore. They raped Thomas constantly - and this resulted in him breaking down mentally, eventhough he had a very strong personality. And if this is true, then it means that Dieter... felt sorry for him. That he knew everything and wanted to stop Thomas' pain - but for some reason, did not. The question is - why? Perhaps we will find that out in the future.

It′s undercover love for me
I'm feelin′ deep inside

"Undercover love" means secret love. The narrator has to hide his feelings for the deuteragonist.

Do you wanna be my girlfriend just tonite
Do you wanna be my love just now forever
Do you wanna be my girl babe for the nite
Do you keep my love oh baby now or never

The narrator expresses his longing for "Emmeline". He wants her to reciprocate his love - at least for a single night, albeit it would be much better if she'd stay with him "forever". "Now or never" means that the protagonist needs it urgently.

Pillow talkin' foolish games
With broken wings you fly again

"Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that can occur between sexual partners after sexual activity, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, kissing, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with honesty, sexual afterglow, and bonding, and is distinguished from dirty talk which sometimes forms part of foreplay and of sexual act."

I guess that there should be a comma in that sentence, because "pillow talking, foolish games" would make more sense. Since the first line is accompanied by "with broken wings you fly again" ("even after all that abuse you are still able to rise like a phoenix from the ashes"), I guess that this distich refers either to Thomas' ability to stand and endure everything what the Ballings were doing to him (that he's still capable of pillow talking and playing "foolish games" with Nora despite everything), either to Dieter's fantasies about "comforting" Thomas and making him "fly again" if he'd engage in the relationship. Then it would be Thomas and Dieter who'd be "pillow talking", not Thomas and Nora.

Come give what you′ve got
Emmeline you are so tough
Emmeline I need you
Emmeline

The narrator continues to desire "Emmeline". He notes (and laments) that she's "tough", or headstrong, and therefore it's hard to "win" her favor.

You break my heart
A little bit of you
That you don't wanna try

The fact that Emmeline doesn't want to submit to him makes the narrator upset. He wishes if the deuteragonist would just "try" to give him a chance and engage in the relationship with him, because eventually she'd perhaps find it satisfying and stay with the protagonist forever.

Deep in this lonely heart
I′ve seen the sky

The narrator appreciates the fact that Emmeline still kept a good heart despite all the horrors that she was put through ("sky" = "heaven"). It's also possible that by "sky" or "heaven" he means their potential love affair, thoughts of which are warming his soul, or maybe he was actually talking about himself ("I felt lonely without you and only saw the "light" after meeting you").

Oh Emmeline Emme-Emme-Emmeline
Break my heart tonite
It's undercover love for me
Feelin' deep inside

The continuation of longing and desiring.

TLDR: I believe that the lyrics of Do You Wanna Be My Girlfriend reveal that Dieter knew what the Balling witches were doing to Thomas, felt sorry for him, wanted to save him and hoped that his affection could help Thomas to recover from the psychological trauma. This is particularly interesting since it seems that Dieter also had rape fantasies about Thomas (see Old Town lyrics). I suppose Dieter has a warmer side too, although it's usually hidden underneath the layers of dirt that cover his soul, and we could have seen it in those lyrics. One question remains open, though: why didn't he intervene and help Thomas out of his misery?

These lines indicate that the deuteragonist is a prostitute.

First of all, prostitution is closely associated with the nighttime, as many slang euphemisms for a prostitute show ("creature of the night", "woman of the night", "lady of the night" etc.).

Second, "love for sale" obviously means "sex for money". And many people perceive it as something morally wrong - thus "do you think it's right?". "Give them what you've got" refers to sexually pleasing all the lustful men who hook the deuteragonist up ("them" means MANY people).

I think that Emmeline was raped by someone among her clients and this resulted in her developing PTSD & depression ("crying too much tears"). She is tormented by the nightmares with plots related to that traumatic event ("talking in the sleep"), has suicidal thoughts ("you're too young to die") and suffers from phobias ("have too much fears"). This makes the narrator worry about her ("you break my heart" - by your sorrows) and therefore he tries to comfort Emmeline, for example by telling her that she's too young to take her own life.

Now, remember that the name Emmeline very likely symbolizes the resilient personality of the deuteragonist? Well, this stands in contrast with the circumstances in which she found herself. First of all, a huge amount of feminists and other women rights activists oppose prostitution, because they believe that the sex industry is exploiting those who found themselves in a difficult life situation and have to sell their bodies to get out of it. So the deuteragonist, despite being headstrong and independent by nature, for some reason had to accept that derogatory role of a sex worker - eventhough it made her lose her pride and suppress her will. Second, the possibility that the deuteragonist got raped and broke inside after that albeit being psychologically strong and resilient is... like a bitter irony of the life.

I believe that the "Emmeline" character is the mask for Thomas yet again. As Admin said, Thomas was de facto prostituted by those three Balling witches, they viewed him as their whore. They raped Thomas constantly - and this resulted in him breaking down mentally, eventhough he had a very strong personality. And if this is true, then it means that Dieter... felt sorry for him. That he knew everything and wanted to stop Thomas' pain - but for some reason, did not. The question is - why? Perhaps we will find that out in the future.

"Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that can occur between sexual partners after sexual activity, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, kissing, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with honesty, sexual afterglow, and bonding, and is distinguished from dirty talk which sometimes forms part of foreplay and of sexual act."

I guess that there should be a comma in that sentence, because "pillow talking, foolish games" would make more sense. Since the first line is accompanied by "with broken wings you fly again" ("even after all that abuse you are still able to rise like a phoenix from the ashes"), I guess that this distich refers either to Thomas' ability to stand and endure everything what the Ballings were doing to him (that he's still capable of pillow talking and playing "foolish games" with Nora despite everything), either to Dieter's fantasies about "comforting" Thomas and making him "fly again" if he'd engage in the relationship. Then it would be Thomas and Dieter who'd be "pillow talking", not Thomas and Nora.

The continuation of longing and desiring.

TLDR: I believe that the lyrics of Do You Wanna Be My Girlfriend reveal that Dieter knew what the Balling witches were doing to Thomas, felt sorry for him, wanted to save him and hoped that his affection could help Thomas to recover from the psychological trauma. This is particularly interesting since it seems that Dieter also had rape fantasies about Thomas (see Old Town lyrics). I suppose Dieter has a warmer side too, although it's usually hidden underneath the layers of dirt that cover his soul, and we could have seen it in those lyrics. One question remains open, though: why didn't he intervene and help Thomas out of his misery?

Quote from The Admin Staff on 15/11/2024, 23:11

Great analysis as always comrade!