I followed you over the border
down to the Spree
you were standing alone by the water
waiting for me
we wandered along by the river
the towers were shrouded in haze
we kissed by the wire
and they all held their fire
in the good old bad old days

can't you see just lovely it couldn't have been
when the whole world was closed like a door
I remember those nights down in old east Berlin
with the microphones listening under the floor
and every stamp in this passport of mine
was a record of kisses you gave
yes we suffered in style
and it's all in the file
in the good old bad old days

lai da dai...
all the streetlights were waltzing together
crimson and green
and your dress was as gray as the weather
oh what a dream
we built up a city of whispers
and classified war dossiers
i gave you control
of my papers and soul
in the good old bad old days

yes wasn't it miserable wasn't it grand
when the world had an iron divide
and people could take a political stand
just by singing a song for the opposite side
now nobody cares who you are anymore
and nobody cares what you say
it's liberty's curse
but was it really much worse
in the good old bad old days

now Alyosha is gathering flowers
every May
and the statue of Marx by the tower
is facing the other way
by the wall is a souvenir table
with hammers and sickles displayed
on new watches that work
and they're sold by a Turk
in these good boring bad new days

now I'm working for euros and drinking alone
where we used to spend marks at the bar
and weeds have grown over the border of stone
that cuts through the town like a surgical scar
and now so many streets on this faded old map
are like names written over a grave
yes it makes me so sad
cause it wasn't so bad
in the good old bad old days

lai da dai...
so don't look for a final solution
here in Berlin
for capitalist prostitution [bad word] from within
and don't worry about revolution
we'll just keep the aesthetic clichés
in this market of fleas
selling klezmer CDs
for the good old bad old days

so Genossen, tavarishchi let's make a toast
to a time when the state knew your name
yes we all say na zdrovye, l'chaim und Prost
to that braver old world where we all are the same
where nobody loses and everyone wins
just as long as [bad word] obeys
but that's all in the past
so let's raise up a glass
to the good old bad old days
yes that's all in the past
so let's raise up a glass
to the good old bad old days
lai da dai...