Translation of Franz Kafka: The Next Village.

My Grandfather used to say: “Life is stunningly short. Now, looking back it compresses so much for me that I can hardly understand how a young man can make up his mind to ride to the next village without fearing that – disregarding unhappy accidents – the time of the normally and happily elapsing life will never be enough for such a ride.”

Franz Kafka. Translated from German by Detlef

The VIP-Video

This is my song about those very special people who believe themselves to be the cream of mankind.

I think VIPs and certain animals are a perfect fit. Okay: with a “sorry” to the animals whose inherent dignity knows nothing about special treatment.

There's a song in every thing

Did you know that there is a song in all those things seeming deep asleep in the night of unconsciousness?

[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/every-thing.swf w=600h=371]

There is a song in every thing
sleeping secretly unheared.
and the world will start to sing
if you speak the magic word.

— © Detlef Cordes 2009

The words are my free translation of a poem by romantic poet J. v. Eichendorff.

If It's Due It Should Be Done

I am not the ‘Due-&-Done-Guy’ – unfortunately. I don’t like to do anything just because is due.  In fact, most things that are due I don’t like to do for the exact reason that they are due. I have to do this? Okay: mañana a la mañana. But mañana will have another mañana and so on.

So I am not the man to give any advice – but here it is:
[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/due.swf w=500 h=315]
See this at YouTube

You will have forgotten this as you leave this website.

Sometimes I Don't Have Anything to Say

Today I took my old friend, the bass guitar out of its case for the first time this year. It was a little offended, the air in that case apparently got a little thin. I even found a Christmas candy which it had refused to eat. Couldn’t have had such a hard time then.

Here is my song about babbling on while having nothing to say. That’s when talking is most relaxed – isn’t it? I even sing when I don’t have anything to say!

[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/blabber-on.swf w=500 h=315]
See this at YouTube

Sometimes I don’t have anything to say
but I babble on anyway.

Hamburg – Faces of a City

My home, the place where I live, the city of Hamburg, Germany. I didn’t photograph the tourist highlights but rather tried to capture how it feels to live here in pictures and music and to show some of the faces of this town.

[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/Hamburg.swf w=500 h=306]

This is my first video in 16:9, I had to experiment a little and to resize it. I uploaded it to  YouTube, but I decided to present it in this way, as the quality is better.

Piano Bossa: Two Willows

By Detlef.A Piano Improvisation about these willows by the river Elbe in Hamburg.
[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/twotrees.swf w=240 h=65]
Somehow this twosome struck me as funny, like a symbol for a relationship. Unspectacular to others, who would rather admire the river and the ships.
By Detlef.Here they are, savagely cut back by river patrol – but persevering together.

I don’t know the lyrics to this song – do you?

The rhythm is a shuffled Bossanova, actually played by hand and not programmed, as the trained ears might possibly discern.

This is the Way to Happiness

By Detlef.[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/happiness.swf w=240 h=65]

This is the way to happiness,
just follow the steps, don’t digress.
This is the way to happiness,
it’s unimpressive but nevertheless:
this is the way to happiness.

By Detlef.

This is the way to happiness,
you don’t have to push, you don’t have to press.
This is the way to happiness:
It’s what you are it’s what you express.
This is the way to happiness.

Piano Improvisation: Morning Glory

[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/morning-glory.swf w=240 h=65]I played this little piano improvisation on a cold morning in February, snow falling down gently in front of my window. Those snow flakes are lazy! They just lay down and take a break from their journey down from the sky.
Whatever you do today: Don’t try too hard. Sit down, let things happen, be a snowflake from time to time 😉

By Detlef.

The Snow Song

This is a song made out of a tweet.
[flash http://licht.detlefcordes.org/flosh/snowsnowing.swf w=240 h=65]
It was nice to watch the snowflakes falling gently from the sky. It’s February and I already thought spring might be just around the bend. Temperatures were over the freezing point, so the white glory was not going to last.

As I went to the mailbox just wearing slippers my feet got wet. I know, leaving the house wearing  slippers is an absolute no go – je me laisse aller, it’s inexcusable, but it’s fast and easy.

That’s the way the tweet and this song were born.

Slippers in the snow: a no go by Detlef.
Another case for appearance matters. But I had to rush inside to twitter and compose, so sorry for those …