For Sasha
Here by my window in GermanyA morning bird flies close to meOn his wing I see a yellow starThe lights are on in the factoryThe frost is hung on the linden treeAnd I remember where we are
And I remember the holocaustI remember all we lostThe families torn and the borders crossedAnd I sing of it now for Sasha
A young German officer lies in his bedBandages from toe to headA prisoner of the camps draws nighIf you are Abel and I am CainForgive me from my bed of painI know not why we die
It was I who ordered the building burnedThe job was over and as I turnedA father and his sonCaught in the flames high above the groundFrom cradled arms the boy looked downOne leap and their lives were done
And I remember the holocaustI remember all we lostThe children gone and the borders crossedAnd I sing of it now for Sasha
You in frozen streets of HeidelbergYour youth unbearded takes form in wordsAnd the ghosts of the past are kindFor this was your universityThe years were long but the spirits freeAnd your river runs to the Rhine
The smoke filled taverns that you once roamedWith the discontented who'd stayed at homeYou must have whiskey or you'll dieThe beer garden under the old chateauOur faces now in the candle glowSee the memories how they shine
But you remember the holocaustYou remember all we lostThe families torn and the borders crossedAnd we'll sing of it now for Sasha