Music

Songs from the album WRONG TURN BLUES (release date: February 28, 2024):

Waiting for November:

Gonna Be The Last Witness In Your Trial:

Wrong Turn Blues:

Songs from the album THE LAST OF THE HUNTING SEASON (release date: August 17, 2022)

Poor Paulita:

The Ghost Of Robert Johnson:

Jeremy:

Songs from the album FAR FROM IDAHO (release date: May 7, 2021)

Run Run Run

When I Awoke

Ballad Of A Dead Man

Songs from the album WHILE THE SUN IS ASCENDING (release date: January 19, 2021)

Two Weeks‘ Time

Summer’s Dust

The Last Time I Saw Maureen

Songs from the album BIRDS OF PASSAGE (release date: November 12, 2018)

Birds Of Passage:

Eighteen Years:

May In The Mountains:

Elliott:

The Sky Above The Sea:

Songs from the album RAINCOAT DAYS (released July 28, 2017)

Morning Sky

Next To Nothing

We Are Young

Raincoat days

Lou Reed Passed Away

LYRICS from the album „Raincoat days“

My Oldest Friends

I got two really good friends I’ve known since first grade

Last time I saw them was a year ago, in January

We never lost touch, but we somehow drifted apart

We’ll never be as close again as we used to be

When we were in elementary in the late seventies

We played football, about eight hours a day

When we were in our teens we were really into music

We were killin‘ time, it was a perfect getaway

We were discussin‘ about Joni Mitchell, David Bowie and John Lee Hooker

And we dreamed of starting our own band

At 16 we started pickin‘ the guitar

We had things to say our parents wouldn’t understand

I haven’t seen you for quite a while

For not calling I must make amends

It’s only a four-hour-ride and I could see my two oldest friends

Ed and me were in the same class till the day of our graduation

We even did the same year twice

When we went to university we shared a small flat

And at parties we drank more than all the other guys

People thought that we were brothers

Some even thought that we were twins

We could almost read each other’s mind

But when I found a job it was time for me to move

I didn’t know I was about to leave my past behind

I haven’t seen you for quite a while

For not calling I must make amends

It’s only a four-hour-ride and I could see my two oldest friends

I used to see Chris once a year

For a two-day hiking tour with a friend of ours

But last year Andy needed surgery

He needed time to recover so we didn’t go

We ain’t the tough guys we would like to be

I haven’t seen you for quite a while …..

Raincoat Days

I love the smell of raincoat days

I love the autumn wind when it’s kissin‘ my face

And I love the leaves in the trees when they turn yellow and red

I love late September Sunday mornings when we don’t get out of bed

And I love the sun when it’s goin‘ down

I love the October fog in the streets of my hometown

And I love sad songs, I never feel like dancing anyway

I love to listen to Nick Drake on a cold November day

I love the autumn wind when it’s kissin‘ my face

When I’m walkin‘ the streets on raincoat days

On raincoat days

I like violent movies but in real life I never fight

I’m afraid that I’m a coward but that’s alright

And I don’t like crowds but I like to be on my own

I don’t need a hundred friends on Facebook

And I don’t even own a mobile phone

I love the autumn wind that’s kissin‘ my face

When I’m walkin‘ the streets on raincoat days

On raincoat days

When the sun is high in the December sky

I’m watchin‘ planes though I don’t want to fly

I only need the wind in my face

When I walk the streets on raincoat days

On raincoat days

Morning Sky

Elvis Presley is on the front page

Of the German issue of the Rolling Stone

He would have turned 80 last week

And I’m sitting here reading reviews, waitin‘ on my own

For my daughter to come home from school

I’m sufferin‘ from a flu

Today she had to write a Latin test

But Latin’s the subject she likes best

I put a record on and play an old soul song

Sam Cooke is singin‘ ‚A Change Is Gonna Come‘

This morning I found the remote control

In a drawer in the kitchen

Last night we were watching the evening news

They’re still fightin‘ wars over religion

And for no reason I recall

That Sam Cooke was shot in a motel room

In LA in 1964

And I’m sittin‘ here waitin‘ for her to come home

I’m waitin‘ for the door bell to ring

I’m waitin‘ for her to come home

I wanna hear her sing

I’m watching the paintings in the living-room

The ones that she did when she was four or five

I can see exotic birds

And a nice one of my wife

There are photographs hangin‘ on the wall

And I’m tryin‘ to recall when they were taken

Late summer or early fall?

And I know that after all these years I’m still in love with you

After sixteen years I’m still in love with you

I’m watching the morning sky I’m waitin‘ for the first snowflakes to fall

It’s January and I’m waitin‘ for the snow

I’m watching the morning sky I’m waitin‘ for the first snowflakes to fall

I’m watching the morning sky …..

Joni

At 15 I fell in love with you

When I was listenin‘ to ‚Hejira‘ for the first time

I loved the flow of your rhythm guitar

And the way you sang about the white lines of the free way

But I loved every song, most of all I loved ‚Furry Sings The Blues‘

Cause I knew here it was, the soundtrack

That would remind me of my childhood and my youth

From now on I spent my spare time in record stores

Where I could find things I hadn’t even been looking for

I got me the live version of ‚Woodstock‘

The one with Robben Ford on guitar

The LA Express were the tightest band I had heard so far

But soon I started cheatin‘ on you

I dated Robert Allen Zimmermann

But to be honest, Joni, sometimes I didn’t get a single word he sang

I grew older and I kept movin‘ on

And I always kept on searchin‘ for another song

Ohoh, Joni

Soon I was keen on New Wave and Led Zeppelin

And at 18 I was crazy about the Doors

With James Douglas Morrison by my side I was sure I’d never need you anymore

Then came Little Walter Jacobs

A friend gave me a tape that knocked me out

The big sound of the big Chromatic

That was what the blues was all about

But Joni, I fell for you again

At 40 after so many years

Joni, it’s been a long long time

But listenin‘ to ‚Hejira‘ still brings me to tears

Yeah, Joni

Next To Nothing

I found a half-eaten sandwich on the kitchen table

Next to an empty bottle of Australian wine

Someone’s drawn a parrot on its yellow label

I woke up at eight and got up at quarter to nine

I’m gonna make coffee and a marmalade roll and I hear you breathe

The bedroom door’s been left slightly ajar

The morning sun it is shining through the chestnut trees

And your bra is hangin‘ on the neck of my acoustic guitar

I know next to nothing

I know I need you

I know next to nothing

But I know I love you

Last night we were watchin‘ ‚Bad Taste‘ and ‚Tucker & Dale‘

Your sense of humour oh it shows me that you got a good heart

You always treat me right while I always seem to fail

You’re my soulmate, I hope our marriage won’t fall apart

I’m thinkin‘ of the 15^th of October

A cold night in 1999

The Hobos were playin‘ and when the show was over

I was kissin‘ you for the very first time

I know next to nothing

I know I need you

I know next to nothing

But I know I love you

You’re the girl who knows how to fix a water tap

And you know when I need a new pair of shoes

I’m only a lazy hypochondriac

And for no reason at all I even sometimes got the blues

I know next to nothing ….

Lou Reed Passed Away

The band is playin‘ a twelve-bar-blues

While we’re slowly gettin‘ drunk

And I don’t know why we’ve ended up here

This bar is a rotten dump

There are posters hangin‘ on the wall

Announcing some other awful bands‘ shows

And there’s a strange smell driftin‘ over from the restrooms

Well, you never know which way the wind blows

You said tonight would be the night

Everything we did and drank would make us feel alright

With shakin‘ fingers you try to light another cigarette, another cigarette

Another cigarette, it’s a cold October night

I remember we first met in 8^th grade

On that day I was wearing a Joy Division shirt

And I thought you had one of the most stupid first names I’d ever heard

But we soon became friends

We didn’t talk to those guys who were listening to Depeche Mode

We even made fun of those morons when they were around

Cause we just used a secret code

But after graduation you moved to LA

The only thing I knew about California was that it was so pretty far away

I was sad and jealous that I had to stay

But I visited you in LA

We had a great time that’s all I got to say

And before I flew back home we saw Lou Reed play

Now you’re here to pay a visit to your mum and dad

You told me they both have retired, but they still live in the same old little flat

And you say you live in Seattle now

And last week you saw Eddie Vedder

Standing in a queue

You told me that you saw him at the butcher’s

I don’t believe a word, but you say it is true

Now it is way past closing time

I think we ought to go home

We’re way too old for a night out

And we’re way too old to roam

On the taxi that I called

They’re playin‘ ‚Walk on the wild side‘ on the radio

As a kid I’d never known what it was all about

But I always loved the saxophone solo

I ain’t got no money and you are way too drunk to pay

So you hand me your wallet and I don’t know what to say

You still got the tickets of his gig in LA

And we don’t know it yet

Right now we don’t know it yet

Last night Lou Reed passed away

Turn Of The Tide

I know I know I know things are gonna change

Today I was in strange mood, baby, while I was watchin‘ the rain fall

I was listenin‘ to ‚Moondance‘ and you were making stew

You invited your mum to come over for dinner, maybe I just oughta help you

Last week I read Hemingway’s ‚The Old Man and the Sea‘

I don’t like fishin‘ in open waters cause the depths been frightening me

Last night the guy who lives next door and his drunk buddies were having fun

I was about to call the cops but then I remembered when I was young

It’s the turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

The turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

It’s only a matter of time

The turn of the tide

Ed has sent me his record and Frank has sent me a pic

Of his first son born three days before

A cute little boy named Benedict

I was relly enjoyin‘ the music I almost thought I was still in the band

But our last gig together was ten years ago

And my little brother’s now a full-grown man

And I was callin‘ on Martin

In the background I heard Luca and Camille

He told me that they were moanin‘ because they were not allowed to watch TV

And Ella, you’re in your teens now and I know I can’t turn back time

Life is just a fast race and I’m afraid that I’m gonna fall behind

It’s the turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

The turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

It’s only a matter of time

The turn of the tide

This morning I passed the small coffee shop

That’s just halfway down the street, I’ve lived here for 15 years

I’ve been there only once or twice though the place is neat

Today the shop was closed someone’s dropped a note

The owner had died of cancer

I hadn’t even asked a question but I just got an answer

I know I know I know that things are gonna change

Maybe that’s why I’m in a strange mood while I’m watching the rain

It’s the turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

The turn of the tide, the turn of the tide

It’s only a matter of time

The turn of the tide

We Are Young

We’re rollin‘ down the highway we’ve just passed Cologne

It’s 1 a.m., I’m at the wheel and I’m listening to the radio

Just to stay awake and I can still smell the rain

But it’s stopped now and tomorrow we’ll be back in Zottegem

Right now I’m overtakin‘ one more Dutch caravan

Which reminds me of last year when we were runnin‘ out of gas in the Netherlands

In the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night

The driver of the car we stopped

Man, we gave him a fright

Last year we met this hardcore blues fan whose name I can’t recall

Back in 1995 he had seen our own band play

In a small club in a town I don’t know yet I’m gonna move to in about two years from now

Will I do the things I used to?

Right now Christian’s smokin‘ a cigarette

With his window wound down and Ed he’s takin‘ a nap

I’m so glad to be here with my buddies by my side

Cause I know that we’ll have fun in our parking lot in Aalst tonight

Ed is wakin‘ up, he says he needs to pee

It’s 1998 and we’re three morons born in 1970

I’m at the wheel and the night is young (and so are we)

And I know my friends and me are having fun (everything’s alright)

I know one day I’ll hope to find someone (a girl to be by my side)

But tonight I only know that we are young

Oh, it took a long, long time to get over losing my girlfriend

Way too many times I’d thought about the time that we’d spent together

But today I’m sure she had always been dreaming of someone else and I hadn’t seen it

But I don’t care anymore cause we’re on our way to Zottegem

We’ll listen to the ‚Lumberjack‘ for the hundreth time

And we are gonna sleep in a baseball field again

And we’ll brush our teeth with homemade apple wine

But we don’t know yet this is the last time

We won’t come back in 1999

I’m at the wheel and the night is young (and so are we)

And I know my friends and me are having fun (everything’s alright)

I know one day I’ll hope to find someone (a girl to be by my side)

But tonight I only know that we are young

I don’t know yet that in one year from now I’m gonna meet my future wife

And I don’t know how she’s gonna save my life

And how I’m gonna change my ways

And I don’t know yet we’ll live in a beautiful place

I don’t know yet in four years from now my daughter will be born

How can I? I’m still a kid myself

I’m at the wheel and the night is young …..

Online-Album „5 A.M. In Memphis,TN“ (December 2014)

Still Awake

Even A Blind Man Knows When He’s Walkin‘ In The Sun

Perfectly Blue

Remedy

What Will I Do?

Love Is Like A Loaded Gun

Maybe I Am

Nothing Ever Happens

Waiting For The Wounds To Heal

5 A.M. In Memphis, TN

Lyrics Still Awake Suitcase is packed But I ain’t about to go I hope I will get back on track And I want you to know I really didn’t mean to leave I really didn’t mean to leave Sunday morning, 4 a.m. Don’t wanna wake up in a hotel room I oughta be just where I am Through the curtains I can see the August moon This is what I need to know This is what I need to know Why, why are we still awake We should try, try to get some sleep Time is movin‘ fast (like a jet plane) One day it might be runnin‘ out Instead of talkin‘ ‚bout the past We should start fightin‘ all our doubts This is what I need to know This is what I need to know Why, why are we still awake We should try, try to get some sleep Why, why are we still awake We should try, try to get some sleep Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitars & vocals ; Micha Herrmann – harmony vocals Even A Blind Man Knows When He’s Walkin‘ In The Sun I know even a blind man Knows when he’s walkin‘ in the sun, but I don’t And I know know I ain’t a wise man But I love you, I won’t leave you, no I won’t You know me better than I know myself And you thrill me more than anyone else You please me, you please me more than I’ve ever shown to you How could I forget to tell you? I know know I ain’t a wise man But I love you, I won’t leave you, no I won’t I trust you cause I know I can do You are true though I wasn’t true to you I shouldn’t wonder if I ever find a girl like you again You are my lover and you are my friend I know know I ain’t a wise man But I love you, I won’t leave you, no I won’t And I know even a blind man Knows when he’s walkin‘ in the sun, but I don’t Knows when he’s walkin‘ in the sun, but I don’t Knows when he’s walkin‘ in the sun, but I don’t Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals ; Micha Herrmann – piano ; Johannes Kübel -cello Perfectly Blue Woke up in room 301, it’s on the 3rd floor and there’s no elevator But I would’ve walked anyway I only know, sooner or later I need to brush my teeth Cause we had burgers at the station You had a Royale with cheese I remember they called it Quarter Pounder Way back in the 80s when we were in our teens There’s a crack in the bathroom door And dust in every corner and the mirror’s broken But I don’t care cause I know tonight we won’t stay sober You can hear the footsteps and the voices of the girls in 302 And a bunch of drunk boys is stumblin‘ down the hall The Heineken is cold and the sky is perfectly blue You can smell it in the air Summer’s bound to turn to fall Last night we saw a pretty cool band in a small club The encore was a song written by Van Morrison ‚The Way Young Lovers Do‘ I should’ve bought a CD Local bands never make a lot of money But I spent my dough on beer instead And today I am so sorry Now we’re in this room and I don’t care If someone’s listenin‘ to our laughter Or to anything what we’re doin‘ here You can hear the footsteps and the voices of the girls in 302 And a bunch of drunk boys stumblin‘ down the hall The Heineken is cold and your eyes are perfectly blue You can smell it in the air Summer’s bound to turn to fall We’ve been married for a dozen years and our girl has turned 11 I know that I’m in heaven When I look into her eyes I’m so sorry for all the promises I didn’t keep But believe me, my regrets are pretty deep The encore was a song written by Van Morrison ‚The Way Young Lovers Do‘ Your eyes and the sky are perfectly blue Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals Remedy It’s been a long time since I was at your grave And I haven’t seen my daddy in more than a year Today I took a train to my hometown In my backpack I hid a bottle of beer When I left the station I didn’t feel at home I even missed the bus, for a ride I called my old man on the phone We had a conversation and a bottle of wine Then he went to bed, he said, for him it was about time I was sittin‘ there not knowing what to do In my head a lot memories And the faces of people that I never knew I tried to call an old buddy but he was not at home I even tried to talk to my ex-girl, but she didn’t answer the phone My melancholy needs a little remedy The past is a song in a minor key Its melody is just like a malady My memories are killin‘ me apparently Today I paid a visit to your grave My daddy keeps it clean and I live a three-hour-ride away I had a hangover and hadn’t had a shave Oh, don’t you know today is tomorrow’s yesterday Then I hit the road, it was time to go When will I be back, I do not know My melancholy needs a little remedy …. In the rearview mirror things always disappear They even vanish faster if you shift into a higher gear My melancholy needs a little remedy …. Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals ; Micha Herrmann – piano & harmony vocals What Will I Do? What will I do on the day you turn 16? What will I do if you start to smoke? What will I do if I find out you’re drinkin‘? What will I do if you think that life’s just a joke? What will I do if I don’t like your first boyfriend? What will I do if I think you might get hurt? What will I do if you don’t wanna kiss me in public? What will I do if I don’t like your short skirts? What will I do? What will I do? What will I do? What will I do on the day you turn 16? What will I do if you tell me you’ll stay out late? What will I do if I wait for you to come home? What will I do if you tell me you’ve just had a date? What will I do? What will I do? What will I do? Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitars & vocals ; Johannes kübel – cello ; Micha Herrmann – harmony vocals Love Is Like A Loaded Gun Love, love is like a loaded gun Love can kill you or it saves your life when all your hope is gone Baby, you saved me Oh, you saved me You’re my AK-47 that knows who I am And your bullets tell me who I wanna be You don’t need no gunsight cause you see everything You see everything that I’ll never see Love, love is like a loaded gun Love can kill you or it saves your life when all your hope is gone Oh, I hurt you Yes, I hurt you I’m a .44, but I don’t know what I need The trigger didn’t even know what I was lookin‘ for I hope your wounds don’t bleed Hope your wounds don’t bleed anymore Love, love is like a loaded gun Love can kill you or it saves your life when all your hope is gone Well, you saved my life when all my hope was gone Yes, you saved my life when all my hope was gone Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals Maybe I Am Maybe I am a dirty liar Maybe I am the man who’s never been true Maybe I have been lyin‘ to you Maybe I’m smilin‘ at you Only because you want me to Maybe I am the big imposter Maybe I ain’t the man you want me to be Maybe you just didn’t see Maybe you don’t know me by now Maybe you don’t know how to get on with me Maybe I’m only a dirty liar Maybe I’m true Maybe I am Maybe I am your true companion Maybe I am the man you’ve always been waiting for Maybe you should open the door Maybe you should change your mind Maybe you should take your time Maybe I’m only a dirty liar Maybe I’m true Maybe I am Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals ; Micha Herrmann – piano Nothing Ever Happens The sea is still and I wonder why I ain’t waitin‘ for the waves I only know that time goes by While I’m standin‘ in a shade Every day is just the same We always sing the same refrain We need someone who’s to blame Before we go to bed and sleep again Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens I wonder what I’m waitin‘ for Will things ever turn out right? Who told us not to ask for more? Who told us not to fight? Every day is just the same We always sing the same refrain We need someone who’s to blame Before we go to bed and sleep again Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens Nothing ever happens Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals ; Micha Herrmann – Fender Rhodes & harmony vocals Waiting For The Wounds To Heal Girl I wanna warn you Don’t believe anything I say But I know that I love you And I also know Everything will go astray But I know I’ll never be the man you want me to be I only want you to believe in me We’re waitin‘ for the wounds to heal We’re waitin‘ for the wounds to heal Oh girl, have I told you I’d give you everything I own? One day you’ll be happy The next day You might be all alone But I’ll never be the man you want me to be But I want you to believe in me We’re waitin‘ for the wounds to heal We’re waitin‘ for the wounds to heal Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals ; Johannes Kübel – cello 5 A.M. In Memphis, TN I met Cordell Jackson a long time ago Having chicken wings at Sun studio I got my first Astatic at a vintage store I thought I was a bluesman but I was only 24 In Graceland I was waiting in a long long line It was August 16, I saw a Japanese man cry And on Beale Street there ain’t no instant fame Hey Mr Hermann Green Did you ever know my name? Now it’s noon in my hometown And I’m still around Noon in my hometown But it’s 5 am in Memphis, Tennessee Hey Chuck, did you really leave the band? I know sometimes things are gettin‘ out of hand Your wife, she was a nurse, you played rock’n’roll all night She had to get up early Did you ever wake up by her side? Now it’s noon in my hometown And I’m still around Noon in my hometown But it’s 5 am in Memphis, Tennessee Now I don’t miss many things I did before I know I ain’t 24 no more They put up Presley’s tomb for public sale But me, I ain’t gonna wail Now it’s noon in my hometown And I’m still around Noon in my hometown But it’s 5 am in Memphis, Tennessee Ralf Steinbacher – acoustic guitar & vocals