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English
Translation
What's Going On Here?
We build up,
And then break down,
We begin,
And then stop,
We want a lot,
We can't do anything,
First comes truth,
And then dare*
First nothing begins,
Then nothing starts,
And if not today,
Then someday,
Nothing goes in,
Then nothing comes out,
Only hot air,
In this honorable house,
[Refrain:]
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
How can it be,
That that doesn't concern anybody here?
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
Should it be so
That here nothing works at all,
What's going on here?
What's going on here?
What's happening here?
What has happened?
The gut thinks,
The heart obeys,
What's going on here?
Is that normal?
First comes eating,
Then come ethics
[Refrain:]
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
How can it be,
That that doesn't concern anybody here?
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
Should it be so
That here nothing works at all,
What's going on here?
Who gains nothing,
Yet loses,
Has learned much,
And understood nothing,
It never begins, it never ends
[Refrain:]
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
How can it be,
That that doesn't concern anybody here?
What's going on here - what?
What has happened - what?
Should it be so
That here nothing works at all,
What's going on here?
Eiszeit
LT
Saq✕
Comments
AdMol 
Freigeist
Sun, 14/01/2018 - 00:55
" Erst kommt das Fressen und dann kommt die Moral." is a famous quotation from Berthold Brecht's "Dreigroschenoper". (The Threepenny Opera)
It depicts a philosphical insight that in real life poeple treasure money more than ethics.
Dict.cc proposes the following interpretations in English:
Grub first, then ethics
First comes a full stomach, then comes ethics
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
About translator
*A reference to the game Wahrheit oder Pflicht - Truth or Dare, but literally "truth or obligation"