☝️ Key Points
- The song describes the protagonist's search for a place where he truly feels at home.
- It portrays a journey through different worlds and encounters with mythological figures like Poseidon and Mephisto.
- The protagonist is disappointed with the boredom in heaven and longs for action and excitement.
- The orgiastic angels on Venus seduce the protagonist and promise him a more thrilling life than in Bielefeld.
Interpretation
The song lyrics "Rätselhaftes Bielefeld" by
Udo Lindenberg describe a journey of the protagonist through different worlds and his search for a place where he truly feels at home. The song begins with a metaphorical image in which the protagonist dies in a fight with a shark and is pulled to the bottom of the sea by Poseidon. There, he arrives at a red gate, behind which Mephisto awaits him. Mephisto wants to send him to hell, but the protagonist argues that he hasn't done such terrible things to deserve such punishment. The devil is confused and says that as a musician, the protagonist should actually go to heaven.
Once the protagonist reaches heaven, however, he is disappointed by the boredom and monotony there. There is no action and people live quite boring and chaste lives. The protagonist feels increasingly unhappy and starts thinking about leaving for the "Eternal Underground".
Finally, he flies to Venus, where the orgy angels seduce him and tell him that it's much more exciting there than in Bielefeld.
The lyrics of the song "Rätselhaftes Bielefeld" express the protagonist's longing for a place where he truly feels at home and where it's exciting and lively. Bielefeld is portrayed as a mysterious, but possibly interesting place where the protagonist might find what he's looking for.