Interpretation
In the lyrics of the song 'I've had enough of them!' by
Wolf Biermann, the artist expresses his dissatisfaction with various social groups and situations.
In the first section, he describes cold women and false friends who hypocritically cause him problems. He criticizes people who only think of their own advantage and even wet their pants. Biermann is completely fed up with these people in this broken city.
In the next section, it's about bureaucracy. Biermann rhetorically asks what all this bureaucratic riffraff is good for. He sees them as people who rise above the people and make their lives difficult with their zeal and skill. They manipulate world history and Biermann is also fed up with them.
In the third section, Biermann addresses German professors and civil servants. He believes that they could be much better if they didn't have to eat every day. He describes them as cowardly, fat, and superficial, and he's also had enough of them.
In the fourth section, he criticizes teachers who break children from a young age. They make the children obedient, hardworking, and mentally dull. Biermann is also fed up with them.
In the fifth section, Biermann addresses the poets who destroy the fatherland with their poems. He believes that they rhyme the unimaginable and deceive truth-seekers. He describes them as sellouts and slippery, and he's had enough of them.
In the sixth section, it's about the 'common man' who always suffers and never wins. He gets used to any dirt as long as he gets his bacon. Biermann is fed up with this mentality and the dreams of assassination.
In the last section, it's about the German people and the conditions in the country. Biermann finds the German Skat club hilarious and criticizes the divided country. He says that he has also found happiness at times, but that's another story. He's simply had enough.
In summary, it can be said that Biermann criticizes various social groups and situations in this song's lyrics and expresses that he's had enough of them.