Criticism of cult song
Foundation deletes word from famous song by Udo Lindenberg
Udo Lindenberg’s song “Special Train to Pankow” is cult, and for some even a piece of German history. But one word in it now gives you a stomach ache – it should be deleted.
Udo Lindenberg is Udo Lindenberg. A unique piece. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, the panic rocker mumbles his way through the world. His Udo slang, full of neologisms, is as idiosyncratic as the musician himself. He says he is a flexibilist. How flexible he really is, for example when it comes to his linguistic quirks, will probably become clear soon. Because the censorship pen is now being applied to one, if not the most famous, of his songs. This is reported by the “Bild” newspaper.
It is the Humboldt Forum in Berlin that allows itself to change around in Udo’s “Special Train to Pankow”. In mid-November, songs from “Hanns Eisler to Udo Lindenberg” will be performed there by several choirs – Lindenberg’s cult hit, however, not entirely in the original. The stumbling block is a word that, as they say in modern German, has aged poorly: Oberindianer. This is what the song says:
“Excuse me, is this the special train to Pankow
I just have to go there
Just to East Berlin
I have to clear something up with your head Indian.”
Lindenberg song is adapted to current events
After discussions with the choirs involved and the artistic director, it was decided to delete the word, which “from today’s perspective can be perceived as discriminatory”. Even though the song had a metaphorical connotation when it was written in 1983 and made a satirical and critical reference to Erich Honecker, “we are also aware that the word echoes the violent history of the colonization of indigenous population groups,” says the Humboldt Foundation. Forum at the request of the newspaper.
The Humboldt Forum in Berlin-Mitte is home to several museums, including the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art. In 2023, the Humboldt Forum was the most visited museum in Germany with 1.7 million visitors from all over the world. The foundation says they want to use language and images very sensitively and respectfully, not least because of the history of the place and the history of the collections. And: “The word is perceived by many indigenous people, but also by many of our national and international visitors, as discriminatory and racist.” This point of view is taken seriously and respected.
Lindenberg has not yet spoken out about the matter. Maybe he still does. Maybe, just maybe, he also thinks: “Don’t panic on the Titanic.”
tpo.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
