Karat - Über Sieben Brücken (1978)

Karat was founded three years after I was born, 1975 in the eastern part of Berlin, then part of my native East Germany. They also gained a strong following in West Germany when their 1982 album 'Der blaue Planet' (The Blue Planet) was one of the year's top sellers in both parts of the country, making Karat one of the more prominent bands in German-language rock music of the late 70s and early 80s. They developed out of jazz-rock fusion group Panta Rhei, which lost much of its focus in 1973 when its lead singer Veronika Fischer left to pursue a solo career and escaped to West Germany, and three of Panta Rhei's members carried on. Members of Karat varied over the years, but their most prominent member, Austrian-born Herbert Dreilich, made most impact, taking over as lead singer. With him, the band landed a string of hits, recognised in all of the German-speaking European countries, despite the obstacle of iron curtain and cold war. One of those is 'Über sieben Brücken', which has since been covered numerous times.

Karat - Über sieben Brücken (1978)



Lyrics:

Manchmal geh ich meine Straße ohne Blick,
Manchmal wünsch ich mir mein Schaukelpferd zurück.
Manchmal bin ich ohne Rast und Ruh,
Manchmal schließ ich alle Türen nach mir zu.
Manchmal ist mir kalt und manchmal heiß,
Manchmal weiß ich nicht mehr, was ich weiß.
Manchmal bin ich schon am Morgen müd’,
und dann such ich Trost in einem Lied.

Über sieben Brücken musst Du gehn,
sieben dunkle Jahre überstehn.
Sieben mal wirst Du die Asche sein,
aber einmal auch der helle Schein.

Manchmal scheint die Uhr des Lebens still zu stehn,
Manchmal scheint man immer nur im Kreis zu gehn.
Manchmal ist man wie von Fernweh krank,
manchmal sitzt man still auf einer Bank.
Manchmal greift man nach der ganzen Welt,
Manchmal meint man, dass der Glücksstern fällt.
Manchmal nimmt man, wo man Liebe gibt,
Manchmal hasst man das, was man doch liebt.

Über sieben Brücken musst Du gehn,
sieben dunkle Jahre überstehn.
Sieben mal wirst Du die Asche sein,
aber einmal auch der helle Schein.

English translation:

Sometimes I go along my street without looking,
Sometimes I wish that my rocking horse was back,
Sometimes I am totally restless,
Sometimes I close all doors behind me
Sometimes I get cold, and sometimes hot,
Sometimes I don't know anymore what I know,
Sometimes I am already tired in the morning,
And then I seek solace in a song

You have to go over seven bridges,
Get through seven dark years
Seven times you will be the ashes,
But once also the bright light

Sometimes it seems that the clock of live is standing still,
Sometimes you seem to go permanently in a circle,
Sometimes you seem to be sick as if with wanderlust,
Sometimes you sit silently on a bench
Sometimes you reach out for the whole world,
Sometimes you think that the lucky star is falling,
Sometimes you take, where you should give,
Sometimes you hate what you still love

You have to go over seven bridges,
Get through seven dark years
Seven times you will be the ashes,
But once also the bright light