Good Old Bad Old Days

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 all shrouded in haze
And we kissed by the wall
And they all held their fire
In the good old bad old days
Just remember how lovely it couldn't have been
When the world was as closed as a door
I remember those nights down in old East Berlin
The microphones listening under the floor
And every stamp in this passport of mine
Is 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
All the streetlights were waltzing together
Crimson and green
And your dress was as grey 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 sold in the good old bad old days
Ah, 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
Or 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
Faces away
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 old bad new days
Now I'm working for Euros and drinking alone
Where we used to spend Marks at the bar
And the weeds have grown over the border of stone
That cuts through the town like a surgical scar
And so many streets on this faded old map
Are like names written over a grave
It all makes me so mad
Cause it wasn't that bad
In the good old bad old days
So don't look for a final solution
Here in Berlin
For capitalist prostitution
Comes from within
And don't worry about revolution
We'll just keep the aesthetic cliches
In this market of fleas
Selling klezmer CDs
For the good old bad old days
So Genossen, tovarischi
Let's make a toast
To the time when the state knew your name
And we'll all say L'chaim, Nazdrovie, and Prost
For that braver old world
Where we all are the same
Where nobody loses and everyone wins
Just as long as each comrade obeys
But that's all in the past
So let's raise up a glass
To the good old bad old days
That's all in the past
So let's raise up a glass
To the good old bad old days