CITY - Am Fenster LP 1978 (re-up)

City is a German rock band, formed in East Berlin in 1972, best known for the song "Am Fenster" (At The Window or by the window)[1] from its 1978 debut album.

The band was founded as the City Band Berlin by Fritz Puppel (guitar), Klaus Selmke (drums), Ingo Doering (bass guitar), Klaus Witte (keyboards), Frank Pfeiffer (vocals) and Andreas Pieper (flute). The lineup changed frequently in the band's early years, but stabilized by 1976, with Puppel and Selmke joined by Bulgarian violinist and bassist Georgi Gogow and vocalist-guitarist Toni Krahl. They changed their name to City Rock Band and eventually to simply City.

City toured extensively in East Germany, and was given the opportunity to record an album in 1978. The eponymousCity showcased the band's guitar-driven rock; several songs are parables, such as "Der King vom Prenzlauer Berg" (The King Of Prenzlauer Berg), about a young man who gets into too many fights; and "Meister aller Klassen" (Masters Of All Classes"), about cocky motorcyclists whose desire for speed ends in tragedy.

The band's greatest commercial success, however, was the atypical folk rock-influenced "Am Fenster" (At the Window), which arose from a jam session in the studio when Gogow began to play on his violin. It eventually coalesced into a three-part, 17-minute piece (as well as a four-minute version for radio play). An immediate hit in East Germany, it also became successful in West Germany and was an enormous success in countries such as Greece. Following the song's success, City sold half a million copies.

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Lyrics:

Einmal wissen dies bleibt für immer
Ist nicht Rausch der schon die Nacht verklagt
Ist nicht Farbenschmelz noch Kerzenschimmer
Von dem Grau des Morgens längst verjagt
Einmal fassen tief im Blute fühlen
Dies ist mein und es ist nur durch dich
Nicht die Stirne mehr am Fenster kühlen
Dran ein Nebel schwer vorüber strich
Einmal fassen tief im Blute fühlen
Dies ist mein und es ist nur durch dich
Klagt ein Vogel, ach auch mein Gefieder
Näßt der Regen flieg ich durch die Welt
Flieg ich durch die Welt

English:

Once I knew -- that remains forever
It's not passion calling the night
It's not the gleaming of colours or a flickering candle
Caught by the drabness of the day
Once I could feel it deep in the blood
That is mine and it's just because of you
And we bring foreheads to the window no more
As the mist falls out there
Once I could feel it deep in the blood
That is mine and it's just because of you
A bird groans -- oh my feathers too
The rain makes them wet but I fly through the world
I fly through the world though