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Link: Winter, Berlin City West The idea for this song came to me when I heard Bob Dean's song "Christmas In Berlin". But this is not a memory. It's about today. In Berlin. 2025. It's about those who don't have a Christmas. The homeless. The ones left behind. Somewhere down below. Those whom no one likes to see. It's a documentary. Probably not even what you would normally call "a song". No choruses, no rhymes, nothing. Because I believe that it loses its impact if you force it into the traditional boundaries of a song. Not a song to sing along to. One that makes you think. Not sure if this works for others. Write something... Some technical information: Lyrical and dramaturgical advisor: Marty Style: TINES.STY The band:Bass: 1592 + me Guitars: 522, 1537, 3435, 3738, me Strings: 2336, 2338, me Synths: 1265 + me Piano: me Vocals: AI Tracks Stats for those interested:You can find the lyrics in the next post.
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Title: Winter, Berlin City West
(Intro)
It's drafty
Winter, the harsh Berlin winter
Is casting its shadow
The one with the icy wind
It's coming
(Verse)
A homeless man on a rusty bicycle
With plastic bags and a sleeping bag
Hanging from the handlebars rides past me
For him, it's all about survival again
Winter
Snow
Sub-zero temperatures
Full homeless shelters
(Verse)
With luck, an open subway station
Or the lobby of a bank, where the ATMs are
Where it's warm
Where, a short time later
Snobs have him picked up by officials because he stinks
He has to leave, preferably to a place where no one can see him
No one wants to see that
(Verse)
There are many of them around here
If you keep your eyes open, you'll see them
Arms buried in trash cans, carrying plastic bags
The torn sole of a shoe, broken teeth, the strange checkered jacket
That doesn't quite go with the sweatpants
If you don't want to see them, you won't
(Verse)
There are two of them standing in front of the supermarket
Disheveled
Bottle
Each holding an alibi homeless newspaper in their hands
You don't really want a newspaper
It's just an excuse to give something
And then generously do without it
You wouldn't read it anyway
(Verse)
At the supermarket, I buy a pack of Fisherman's
Fresh breath is important to me
I pay with a bill
I press the change into the hand of one of the two
And wish him a nice evening
He wishes me the same and smiles at me
No teeth
I take out my wallet again and give him what I can spare
(Outro)
Winter will be here soon
It's like this every winter
But something is different
There are more of them
There weren't so many before
So many
Last edited by B.D.Thomas; 12/12/25 11:27 AM. Reason: Lyrics added
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Hi B. D.
I won’t comment on this musically because that’s not the point.
Your song and video made me angry.
In one sense, I wondered what can one man do? It would be like throwing dust into the wind. This, coupled with growing wealth inequality, is a growing problem that we MUST fix. But first, we have to acknowledge there is a problem, and I fear that many of us - myself included - can find it easier to turn a blind eye. One of the reasons, I think, is the fear of the cost or burden it would place on us as individuals. That is why I think we must address it collectively. Here in my own state within Australia, there is a lot of commentary about how we can find AUD$16bn for a metropolitan motorway with tunnels but can’t find money for more pressing social needs.
I recall something from my uni studies back in the day - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - where physiological needs (food, shelter) then safety needs, must first be satisfied before we can get into some of the higher needs like contribution to society and self actualisation. We need to give people a safe base to start from and address their base issues before we can expect them to be back on their feet.
I fear for my own country (Australia) where housing affordability is such an alarming problem that we will have large swathes of the population living in sub-standard accommodation or none at all. We already see story after story of DV victims sleeping in cars and many people living in caravan parks.
I don’t know what to do about the size of the problem other than changing my vote in elections.
Andrew
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B.D.,
Tough subject to write about. Some great lines here and an excellent production. The band sounds great too, as does your piano.
Bob
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Powerful and moving!
It seems the homeless problem is global, we have tent cities here too in most cities across the country.
Kudos for writing about such a difficult subject.
I will also comment on the music and production, because if it was not done well it would not have the same impact, and of course you absolutely nailed it, well done.
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B.D., this is an emotional gut punch of a "song" or whatever you wish to call it. I'll call it a song. A really beautiful song.
Love the sparse arrangement and open mix, and how you allow the power of the words to take center stage.
Superb.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hi B. D.
I won’t comment on this musically because that’s not the point.
Your song and video made me angry.
In one sense, I wondered what can one man do? It would be like throwing dust into the wind. This, coupled with growing wealth inequality, is a growing problem that we MUST fix. But first, we have to acknowledge there is a problem, and I fear that many of us - myself included - can find it easier to turn a blind eye. One of the reasons, I think, is the fear of the cost or burden it would place on us as individuals. That is why I think we must address it collectively. Here in my own state within Australia, there is a lot of commentary about how we can find AUD$16bn for a metropolitan motorway with tunnels but can’t find money for more pressing social needs.
I recall something from my uni studies back in the day - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - where physiological needs (food, shelter) then safety needs, must first be satisfied before we can get into some of the higher needs like contribution to society and self actualisation. We need to give people a safe base to start from and address their base issues before we can expect them to be back on their feet.
I fear for my own country (Australia) where housing affordability is such an alarming problem that we will have large swathes of the population living in sub-standard accommodation or none at all. We already see story after story of DV victims sleeping in cars and many people living in caravan parks.
I don’t know what to do about the size of the problem other than changing my vote in elections.
Andrew Thank you for writing down your thoughts about the message of the song. Much appreciated, and I fully agree. Idea: "In 2024, global military spending reached approximately $2.7 trillion". Take 10% of that, and you could save many, many people on this planet. The remaining 90% is still enough to kill the rest of us.
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B.D.Thomas,
You've done a moving and beautiful job on this song and video! You always produce excellent work! The vocals on this really propel the song to a much higher level! The violin sound in the left side of the mix is a real plus to this arrangement! Great work!
Thanks, TB
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Everything you do is so professional. I wrote several long paragraphs about this problem and then deleted them. I don't have answers. But it seems apparent to me that people don't care enough about the dilemma to solve it. That's all I'll say.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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What another wonderful gem you've created, Brain. I've heard it many times already, and each one is better than the last some how. Just brilliant. Well played, too. This should be heard the world over.
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An angelic voice for a very beautiful and moving song. Very well done.
Laurent
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Hi, BD.
Excellent work. Sounds like a song to me!
AI sings expressively, and the setting is exquisite. The lyrics are touching, especially:
I pay with a bill
I press the change into the hand of one of the two
And wish him a nice evening
He wishes me the same and smiles at me
No teeth
I take out my wallet again and give him what I can spare
It works for me. Well done.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Brian an extremely important message in this fantastic song. Everything about this song is perfect. Idea: "In 2024, global military spending reached approximately $2.7 trillion".
Take 10% of that, and you could save many, many people on this planet.
The remaining 90% is still enough to kill the rest of us. It would be fantastic is we all could live in peace. But there is always a group of people whom want to rule the world and will try to take it by force if need be. I agree about taking just 10% of the military budgets and investing in it in education and creating jobs. World peace will only come from an outside source IMHO. Hopefully a few UFOs becoming real just might force the world to unite. But I wouldn't bet on it. An outstanding song - loved it.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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This song is exceptionally brilliant in all respects. I can't praise it enough.
A lot of my best songs from the 70s (my 20s) were freeform poetry like this one, but I can't reproduce the music using BiaB and even if I could spend hours recording just my vocals and guitar accompaniment at home where making any loud sound is virtually impossible I can't see how I could incorporate BiaB. But this song makes me really want to.
Re the theme, if we lived in real democracies - governments FOR the people and BY humans of love and compassion instead of by servants of the banks and corporations for the banks and corporations - there'd never ever be any homelessness. Most people think of fascism as being outright dictatorship, but I recently read that Mussolini, who coined the term, defined it as "the marriage of the corporate with the state". I can't be certain that's true - you wouldn't find it on Wikipedia anyway - but it's what we've got.
Here's a poem I wrote in 2009, actually thematically atypical for me (it's published in one of my poetry books):
=======
The Lost Ones
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
So many are dying
From simple starvation
When in truth they need not
While others die obese
For we live in a loveless man-made world.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Many persons are being burgled
While others are robbed openly, or kidnapped
And others are beaten and murdered.
Homo sapiens - 'man the wise' - the species
Of both guilty and innocent.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
A woman is being raped in the USA
And many more the loveless world over
While children are being abused:
Some beaten, some raped, some murdered as unwanted
While somewhere another is recruited to fight a war
And is coerced to execute adults and to rape
Or is recruited only to sexually service rapists
And at this moment
Yet another is sold and enslaved.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
A person is being tortured
By the command of a despotic government
While another is being tortured in a land where
Free 'man the wise' elects hi/r own dictators.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Both children and adults are dying
From diseases cultured by others of their own species
'Man the wise'
In the name of profit, free enterprise and national security
While many others are dying from inadequately tested cures
For both natural and cultured viruses
Some cures paid for
Some malevolently given free
As it saves the pharmaceutical manufacturers
Testing time and therefore
Millions of dollars.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Another human dies
Treading on a land mine
Or unexploded cluster bomb
While many more innocents are killed in wars
By lethal arms
Sold for lucrative profit by the dealers of which
The five permanent member states
Of the UN Security Council
Are the most
Successful.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Another innocent person goes to prison
Or execution
Either due to incompetent courtrooms
Or framed
By police, prosecutors, or governments
Or some without even trial.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Yet another innocent human vanishes
And joins all those who are called "the disappeared"
'Vaporised' by governments who fear their feeble words
Or just thoughts.
Somewhere tonight ...
This day ...
This moment
Many find they cannot forgive
The Lost Ones
Who perpetrate these crimes.
© 2009
Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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That is beautiful, sad and relevant all rolled into one exceptional song BD. The simplicity of the arrangement, clear vocals just adds weight to the message.
Really well written and produced. Loved it. Kind regards.
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INCREDIBLE.
Excellent on every level.
An amazing arrangement/production. Your productions have real "class".
Mix is perfect. Vocal is amazing.
A truly strong write.
A truly important message.
Respect. On many levels.
fj
(a side note:
My wife volunteers at the local feed-the-homeless cafe (she "captains" one shift a week - directing all other volunteers).
It is part of Feeding Tampa Bay which is part of Feeding America. At this location, they typically feed 200 a day
So, we interact with and talk to "the homeless" on a weekly basis.
They are people. They are families.
The stories of how they ended up there are too varied to even imagine.
Once you've heard those stories, you realize... any of us could end up there.
We need to all take care of each other)
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B.D.,
Tough subject to write about. Some great lines here and an excellent production. The band sounds great too, as does your piano.
Bob Thank you very much for your kind comment, Bob, especially about the lyrics. Coming from you, that means a lot to me 
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Beautiful!! "Write something...?" Is that an order???? No but seriously man, great song, and lovely pop. The production and mix are great. Very touching as well. Poignant. Happy Holidays.
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Sad indeed, a subject we usually want to close our eyes to. You depict the situation very powerfully, Berlin hasn't felt as cold and desolate place since I read the book "Christiane F.". "The torn sole of a shoe, broken teeth, the strange checkered jacket/That doesn't quite go with the sweatpants", you are not just writing excellent lyrics, you are telling something that goes to the core.
The band has the right elements to bring that mood into our hearts, no big drama, just wind blowing, the vocalist whispering and strings mourning. The vocal melody and lyrics flow very naturally. Touching, makes me think about the underprivileged and the true message of Christmas.
Janne
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“If you don't want to see them, you won't”
That is the saddest line because it is true.
The world, it seems, is in great need of more compassion and empathy.
B.D, the song is beautiful in sound and in message.
Excellent production in a aspects.
Powerful,
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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