Introduction
Münster, March 6th 2020
“Snow mountains, more than sea or sky, serve as a mirror to one’s own true being, utterly still, utterly clear, a void, an Emptiness without life or sound that carries in itself all life, all sound.”
This sentence from “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen in a wonderfully poetic way describes the moment when the songs on the album appeared in my head.
Introduction
I had climbed a 6400m summit in the Nepalese Himalayas and decided to cross a lesser-known pass alone in three days off the traditional trekking route. After the pretty frightening crossing of the pass, I was filled with deep peace and happiness on the descent. I had the feeling that the crystal-clear high altitude, the loneliness, the slow walking had cleared my mind of all the debris that lay on my soul and underneath exposed my real self.
A week later, back in town with my guitar, I put the first songs on paper. But not enough. I decided to move to the mountains again, this time with a tent and guitar, to devote myself entirely to songwriting. At 4000m I spent four days in my tent and wrote.
The result are songs that tell fascinating stories from my trip.
Along the way
Pokhara, Nepal, May 31, 2018
How nice it is to meet such exciting people again and again! That applies to all of life, but especially to a trip like this. Many of the people I have met on this trip so far, like me, are looking for something, a higher meaning, answers to spiritual and personal questions or for happiness and satisfaction. You can always learn a lot from these amazing people and come across exciting new questions.
I spent the last day with such a person in a café: Mathilda from Canada, whom I met two weeks ago while trekking and with whom I feel an intense bond. She inspired me so much that I felt the need to write this song after she left. Already, I desperately want to see her again.
Along the way
CHORUS
Bm D
These people we meet along the way
Bm D
These people we meet and their impact just doesn’t go away
1
F#m
We meet them half an hour maybe half a day
F#m A7
But we’ll never forget, what they had to say
2
They’re so inspiring in their ideas and how they conceive
the world, our feelings and what they believe
3
O, we wonder, do they know how much they matter
to our hearts and our desperate souls
BRIDGE
Bm F#m D A
Soulmates – Along the way
Bm F#m D A
This strong bond – goes all along
Too Good to go
Münster, August 25, 2017
As delightful as it can be, the mean thing about meeting exciting and wonderful people is that the time together eventually will pass. With some people I find it incredibly difficult to accept that. For example with Sarah, with whom I have spent a lot of time in the past few weeks. Now she’s gone and the intensity of the encounter literally tears me apart. I fluctuate between exuberant happiness about the experience and frustration, anger and desire for more time together. The overwhelming feelings find expression in this song.
Too Good to go
1
Em Hm D Am
What are you thinking, I don’t know
Em Hm D Am
What are you feeling, please let it show
Em Hm D Am
At times it feels so good, just the way it should be
Em Hm D Am Em Am Em
But then again there’s such a distance between you and me
One look in your eyes, how can this be
I feel lost immediately
It’s so intense, this sensation
Have never felt it before, want it to go on and on
REFRAIN
C G D Em C
Now you will leave and I will feel deceived by fate
C G D D7 C
Letting me meet and then take away my soulmate
C G D Em
I know it will crave, my soul
C G D D7
You are way too good
Em
Too good to go
2
I wonder, how would this go
If we’d have time, to let flow
All of our feelings, without the thoughts
Of the time, that is way, way too short
Now that you’ve left, I feel so alone
I realize this has to go on
I desperately have the need to tell you
That you and me, I want it to become true
Lonesome traveller
Pokhara, Nepal, June 19, 2018
I really enjoy being on my own when traveling. This way, I can decide for myself what I want to do, how and when. And I learn to know and accept myself very intensely when I am by myself. But sometimes there are phases when I want nothing more than a person with whom I can share everything that I have experienced. Today was such a day. Despite it being wonderful to meet so many new people, right now I want to be with people with whom I have a history, whom I do not have to introduce parts of myself to over and over again. I miss my family and friends. Maybe it’s time to go home soon?
Lonesome traveller
1
Em Am
I’m lying in my bed and I feel lonely
Am Em
I really feel the need to be at home
Em Am
There are a lot of nice people around me
Am Em H7
But still I feel like I am all alone
REFRAIN
II: Em G Am Am/H C D :II
Oh, I’m a traveler! Oh, a lonesome traveler!
And despite the great experience, sometimes I feel alone
Oh, I’m a traveler! Oh, a lonesome traveler!
A journey abroad can let you sense, how great it is at home
2
It’s amazing to be on this great adventure
To see the world, to be completely free
To be alone makes this trip so much more pure
But sometimes all I need is familiarity
3
I learn a lot about myself by comparing what I see
To all the things at home and to what I believe
The one thing that I miss though is the long lasting bond
Connecting me to friends that I’ve known all along
Craving for the sun
Münster, November 25th, 2018
There are days when I am simply depressed. Even a walk in nature doesn’t help. Even though everything is just fine. I think it’s due to the weather – in autumn all the light suddenly changes and gets dark. This song expresses my mood quite well.
Gm Fm
I’m sitting on a bench in the woods
Gm Fm
hoping to feel good
Gm Fm
I haven’t seen the sun in a while
Gm Fm
but I could use it for a smile
Gm Fm
I’m in a bad mood
Gm Fm Gm
Autumn seems so gray in its first days
Fm
can you feel the light change? Uuuh
Gm Fm
Days fade away way too short
Gm Fm
skies grow windy and cold
Gm Fm
weighs heavy on your soul
REFRAIN
Bbm Dm
I’m craving for the sun aaah
Bbm Dm
I sense that I am done aaah
Bbm Dm
Want to feel it on my face aaah
Bbm Dm D
Am hoping for some better days
Would you?
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, January 24, 2018
When traveling, for me it is always part of the journey to deal critically and questioningly with the local history, culture and way of life. Which evil did people experience here, what shaped them, what do they do better than “us” in the global north? My most moving and depressing experiences were, for example, the Dachau concentration camp, the A-Bomb-Dome in Hiroshima and, on this trip, the Killing Fields of Cambodia. The question that I ask myself is: How can something like this happen? How can millions of people accept and even actively do something like this? I wonder, would I do the same? What would have to happen for me to do this? Perhaps I am already doing it passively, for example when you look at the impending climate catastrophe or the situation with refugees at Europe’s borders? I wish that many more people would actively reflect these questions.
Would you?
1
Am C Em Am
Would you shoot an unknown person who is like you and me?
Am C Em
Would you invent a bomb to kill hundreds randomly?
Am C Em Am
Would you give the order of attack although you know
Am C Em
That ten thousand people will suffer from the blow?
1
Am C Em Am
Would you shoot an unknown person who is like you and me?
Am C Em
Would you invent a bomb to kill hundreds randomly?
Am C Em Am
Would you give the order of attack although you know
Am C Em
That ten thousand people will suffer from the blow?
CHORUS
F G C Am
The evils of war, they make my heart sore
F D G G7
Because they’re not human anymore
C Dm G
Can you imagine what makes a person do all these things?
C Dm G
I do not feel the empathy to grasp any of this
F G C Am
What does a man feel when he commits such evil?
Dm G C
Does it hurt or does he feel some pleasure?
F G C Am
The threat of your own life, the will to survive
F G C
Does that justify any of these actions?
2
Would you force a mother to kill a child of her own blood?
Would you attack a person trying to save a comrade in the mud?
Would you help in systematic cleansing of minorities
Ending lives of innocent humans permanently?
3
Would you smack a child against a tree until it dies?
Would you throw a bomb to wipe out hundreds of lives?
Would you cause excruciating pain just to prove
Someone’s guilty of a crime he didn’t do?
Rise & Fall
Yangon, Myanmar, February 22, 2018
The last few days I have been meditating silently in a Vipassana meditation center. An incredibly intense insight into Buddhist teaching and my own view of the world. Everything that is, everything we do and what we are is impermanent and will eventually pass. And we suffer from it again and again. But is it really a reason to suffer? Why don’t we just accept the impermanence and enjoy every moment even more? This question inspired this song. Like our breath, everything arises and disappears again. If you look closely, everything in this world consists of waves – the coming and going of species, the social development of dynasties and trends, sound, weather, even the elementary particles are actually waves – quite fascinating. If we can accept this phenomenon and, in consequence, not react to the lack of beauty and well-being with desire and craving, and to bad things with aversion and hatred, then a peaceful equanimity may arise.
You can have the absolutely recommendable experience of a Vipassana meditation all over the world:
Rise & Fall
II: Am C Em :II
CHORUS
Rise and Fall x3
Feel your breath as it comes and goes
Everything is in a flow
1
In spring the flowers bloom
In autumn they wither
In the morning sun rises, in the evening it sets
To make way for the moon
A life is born, it grows
Grows old and finally dies
Hunger and thirst arise
And fall silent again
2
A melody will sound
Only to fade away again
And so will the deep bond
To a long forgotten friend
Even the greatest empire will one day crumble
To make way for something new
Even the tallest, most eternal seeming mountain
One day returns to be sand in the blue
3
Hatred and war, they come to be
To be followed by times of love and peace
Nothing exists eternally
Is it not this impermanence
That gives us hope in times of darkness?
Is it not this cycle of life
That makes everything more beautiful
That lets life be more worthwhile?
There must not be sorrow or suffering
Be conscious
Be mindful
Be at peace
Two Souls
Pokhara, Nepal, June 26, 2018
” Two souls alas! are dwelling in my breast!” Goethe’s Faust
A recurring theme of this trip is my reflection on ambivalences. The two sides that everything in this world contains. One question I intended to answer this trip for is that of the appeasement of the two souls in my chest. For years I have been looking for a way to combine them so that I can find inner peace. Now, I have been in a yoga retreat for a few days and am spending my free time writing songs. And suddenly, while writing this song I found a wonderful metaphor in Hatha Yoga of the two sides inherent in the body and mind, titled Sun (Ha) and Moon (Tha) and promptly the (very simple) answer to mine Question.
Two Souls
1
Em Bm C
Do you know the feeling that you
Em Bm C
Are not only one but rather two?
Em Bm C
One of you loves calm and loves peace
G H7 Em
But number two is opposite of this
No matter how often you try
To unite and satisfy
The needs of the two, you rarely feel
The joining of your souls coming to be
CHORUS
Bm C G
Two souls, I feel like I have
Bm C G
Two souls inside myself
D C Am G G/F# Em H7
Who knows, how do I bring them together?
2
I feel like I want to be alone
To think about life and turn of my phone
This time for myself is so precious to me
To reflect my thoughts and gather energy
On the other hand I often long
To be with friends and build strong bonds
I show off my skills, am looking for love
Feel like I am always on the move
3
Maybe it helps to change my view
To look at it in some way new
The sun and the moon, they take their turn
It rarely happens that you see them join
Nevertheless they both are free
To shine their light on us daily
Although they always fluctuate
They are balanced almost every single day
CHORUS II
Two souls, like sun and the moon
Who knows, they might always be two
But now I feel like I can embrace that
BRIDGE
C D Em
The sun and the moon
C D Em
If you can do start soon
C D Am Bm
To set your souls free
C F# H7
For balance is the key
4
So take this opportunity
To feel that balance is the key
If you give both souls their very own time
The calmness of you mind will be sublime
snowflake
Descent from Mesokanto La (5121m), Nepal, May 20, 2018
Chinta Nalinos! (Nepali for “Don’t worry!”)
Since quite some time I have had fun learning the phrase “Don’t worry” in as many languages as possible, as it always brings a smile to the locals face. The sentence semms to be universal, but especially true when travelling. There is rarely a real reason to worry, because in the end everything will somehow turn out in a good way or rather exactly as it should be*.
And now, especially the last two days I am thinking about these coincidences a lot after meeting Mathilda on the way to Tilicho Lake. In addition, the sentence “No Snowflake ever falls in a wrong place.” in Peter Mathiessen’s “The Snow Leopard” popped up very fitting and completely knocked me off my feet. Especially because Mathilda’s nickname is “Snowflake”. Incredible. Most confident and full of happiness because of this knowledge, I now dance with a beautiful reggae song in my mind through the stunning landscape down to the valley.
(Small note: As a white, male, economically well-positioned and tall adult with a German passport, I am one of the most privileged people on this planet. I try to be aware of this constantly. But this awareness should not detract from the mentioned realization.)
snowflake
1
Cm Gm
I go through the day, it’s beautiful
Gm Cm
But I don’t see because my mind is full
Cm Gm
I’m in a bad mood, just had a fight
Gm Cm
Asking myself how to make it right
C# G#
Eventually I meet this guy
Cm G
He says “Hello, a buddhist Lama am I
C# G#
Let me tell you, as you look stressed
G G7
A little secret about happiness:”
CHORUS
Cm Gm
“Chinta Nalinos!”, the wise man says
Gm Cm
“No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place!
Cm Gm
So worry not and trust in life
Fm Gm Cm Gm Cm Fm Gm Cm Gm Cm
and finally you will be in peace at mind.”
2
I’m with my friends, having fun
Still I feel like I am on the run
My heart is full of random worries
I say to myself “Let me be in peace!”
Suddenly I hear my friends
Talking about a religion called Zen
I remember this wonderful phrase
That had impressed me in its very own ways:
shepherds shelter
Shepherd’s Kharka (3417m), Nepal, May 27, 2018
Everywhere in the Himalayas you can find slate slabs piled up in a square with two thick branches in the middle. These are walls over which traveling yak shepherds can put a tarp to find shelter. I am fascinated by the image of the shepherd because, especially in Christian culture, it is metaphorical for a caring person. I am particularly inspired by Paulo Coelho’s great backpacker novel “The Alchemist”, which is about a shepherd looking for happiness and his purpose in life. All of these things inspired this song, which feels like it has been waiting for a long time to be written by me. Ultimately, the therapist in myself is speaking, who is aware that he time and again needs moments and places of withdrawal and who is sure that everyone, no matter how strong this person might act, also has very sensitive moments in which he needs affection and compassion.
shepherds shelter
1
Am Em G Am
The shepherd is an exceptional man with many hidden talents
Am Em G Am
He’s seen the world, knows many things of peace and of balance
Am Em G Am
Takes care of his sheep, knows all their names, their needs and their desires
Am Em G Em Am
He leads them all across the land through storm and wind to the shire
BRIDGE
F C G Am
But even he who takes care of others, who seems so invulnerable and strong
F G Em Am G Em Am
Every now and then needs a place to feel at home
CHORUS
Am Em Am
II: Shepherds Shelter :II
C G Am Em Am G Em Am
Even he needs his own safe space
2
You’d think this shepherd calm and wise is happy by himself
Shows care and love to everyone, would never ask for help
But don’t be fooled by this disguise, don’t think that he never cries
This man, he also has some times when he needs a shelter
3
If you have a shepherd in your life who’s always there for you
Don’t forget he has his needs, be caring for him too
For a shelter doesn’t have to be a place necessarily
It’s also friends or family, where he can be free
it's Time
Varanasi, India, July 19, 2018
Wow, a really special moment just happened. Reflecting that the trip will soon come to an end, I sat jamming on the guitar on the hostel roof and found the perfect song. I played two chords, immediately thought “They feel good!” In that moment the puja, the nightly Hindu ritual on the banks of the Ganges, started. In addition, a priest was singing in the distance, at exactly the right pitch, matching my two chords. I knew immediately that this would be the song. One of those magical moments that you would love to capture. What a perfect end to this wonderful journey.
CHORUS
II: Fmaj7 Cmaj7 :II
It’s time to go back home
No further the world to roam
It’s time to let things go
And give life a grateful bow
1
Fmaj7
To end this great experience
Cmaj7
To be with your old friends
Fmaj7
To relax your thoughtful mind
Dm Fmaj7 Cmaj7
And leave these days behind
2
To be thankful for the times you’ve had
To accept the feel of being sad
To reflect the special days that passed
And enjoy them to the last
3
To go back to a peaceful life
To stop to always strive
To give yourself your own space
And be in a homely place