Cystitis, acne, fucking, digestion, tears, death, defecation, cuddles, flatulence, kissing...I could go on forever, but I won't.
What do all of these things have in common? You know it.
Okay, now consider, just for a moment, that I am serious. My tongue, which is incidentally crawling with bacteria, is very firmly planted in my cheek, but I do have a point. I'm just going to rampage through and plant some ideas in your head. Jeremy's proper translation is there for you if you need to refer to it:
Bacteria live all over us, inside and out. Without them we would probably die. We have a symbiotic relationship with them, in that they form part of our immune arsenal (pun incidental) and they aid us in extracting nutrients from our food. We're riddled with bacteria, and every time we look at another living creature we are also looking at, if not seeing, vast armies of bacteria.
We are the entire world for our personal germs. They inhabit us, the way we inhabit this planet. We are theirs and they are ours. If a bacterium was as arrogant and self-aware as humanity I'm sure it would consider us here to service, house, feed, and care for it. We're their planets and they probably care for us as much as we care for the world we live in. They certainly harm us to a similar extent (I wonder if we will kill Earth in the end). They don't love us, but we're preoccupied with them.
I like the idea that I am a ship for a crew of germs to ride through oceans of life. I also get a kick from the knowledge that I am forever locked in a bacterial embrace, either fighting or benefiting from them. The bondage humanity is in is one of infection and disease, and even our greatest weapon, our immune system, isn't enough to beat them completely, and part of it is made up of the enemy's siblings.
They do major damage as the cause of Tetanus, they bring us agony through cystitis, they scar us via acne, and I won't go into detail about syphilis. They get into us via contact with animals, tools (blunt saw, anyone?) and weapons, with food, and because our own bodily functions rely on orifices, and damage to our armour (skin), opens up more.
They mark us up, and break us down. They torture us, help us, and ultimately they eat us. After you die you continue to live in all the little bastards that hasten your decomposition. Does that console you?
The line that might be a little odd in this context is the sticking of medals on faces. What is a medal if not a badge signifying what we have done? Is an acne scar a badge of honour for a bacterium? I don't know, but it's a laugh to consider it.
Anyway, I honestly do not believe that this is what Lindemann had in mind when he wrote the song. I just think it's interesting to come up with concepts that fit his words. Here endeth this one.
[discuss]
No comments:
Post a Comment