The soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
The queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why."
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"
Well, the young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.
She said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside and often I've bled"
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.
"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel ?
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.
He said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don't understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange."
But the crown, it had fallen and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangeling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on.
Übersetzung ins Deutsche von Volker Pöhls
Die Königin und der Soldat
Der Soldat kam und klopfte an die Tür der Königin
Er sagte: "Ich werde nicht mehr für Sie kämpfen"
Die Königin wußte, sie hatte sein Gesicht schon einmal irgendwo gesehen
Und langsam ließ sie ihn eintreten.
Er sagte: "Ich habe Ihren Palast hier oben auf dem Hügel gesehen
Und ich habe mich gefragt, wer die Frau ist, für die wir alle töten
Aber morgen werde ich weggehen und Sie können machen, was Sie wollen
Aber erst frage ich sie noch einmal: Warum?"
Er wurde nach unten in die lange, enge Halle geführt
in ihre Zimmer mit den roten Tapeten
Und sie nahm nicht ein einziges Mal die Krone von ihrem Kopf
Sie bat ihn, dort Platz zu nehmen.
Er sagte: "Ich sehe Sie jetzt, und Sie sind so dermaßen jung
Aber ich habe mehr verlorene Schlachten als gewonnene gesehen
und ich habe den Eindruck, dass es alles nur zu Ihrem Spaß geschieht
Und wollen Sie mir jetzt bitte sagen: Warum?"
Nun, die junge Königin, sie musterte ihn mit einem arrogantem Blick
Sie sagte: "Sie verstehen es doch nicht und Sie sollten es auch gar nicht erst versuchen"
Aber ihr Gesicht war ein Kindergesicht und er glaubte, sie würde weinen
aber sie schloß sich zu wie ein Fächer.
Sie sagte: "Ich habe einen geheimen, brennenden Faden verschluckt
er schneidet mich innerlich auf und ich habe schon oft geblutet"
Er legte seine Hand daraufhin oben auf ihren Kopf
und er drückte sie nieder auf den Boden.
"Sag mir wie hungrig du bist? Wie schwach du dich fühlen mußt?
denn du lebst hier allein, und du zeigst dich nie
Aber ich werde nie wieder auf dein Schlachtfeld marschieren"
Und er führte sie zum Fenster; sie sollte hinaussehen.
Und die Sonne war golden, obwohl der Himmel grau war
und sie wollte mehr als sie jemals hätte sagen können
aber sie wußte, wie sehr es ihr Angst machte, und sie wandte sich ab
und wollte ihm nicht mehr ins Gesicht sehen.
Er sagte: "Ich will wie ein ehrlicher Mann leben,
alles bekommen, was ich verdiene, und alles geben, was ich kann
und eine junge Frau lieben, die ich nicht verstehe
Ihre Hoheit, Sie benehmen sich sonderbar."
Aber die Krone war hinuntergefallen und sie glaubte, sie würde zerbrechen
und sie stand da und schämte sich, weil ihr Herz so wehtat
Sie brachte ihn zur Tür und sie bat ihn zu warten
Sie würde gleich wiederkommen.
Von Ferne wurde ihr Befehl gehört
und der Soldat wurde getötet, als er noch auf sie wartete
und während die Königin in der Einsamkeit, die ihr lieber war, nach Atem rang
ging die Schlacht weiter.
Talking Points
Remember: It is irelevant what Suzanne Vega had in mind or what others regard as the meaning of the lyrics - it is your opinion that counts!
1.) Analyze the rhyme scheme! Describe the rhyming words!
2.) Summarize the plot!
3.) Try to solve the mysteries of the song!
a) What kind of relationship is there between the Queen and the soldier?
a1) Speculate on the part "The Queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before." Do you think that he only reminds her of somebody (her father, brother etc.)? Supposing it is true that she has seen him before - who is he? Her father, brother, half-brother, ex-lover, an angel/Christ-figure in human shape?
a2) Does she love him? Would she have liked to have sex with him? If so, why didn't she give in to her desire? What is the meaning of "He laid his hand then on top of her head and he bowed her to the ground"? Does he bless her? Does he bow her down to humiliate her? Does he encourage her to give him head?
a3) Does he love her? "And to love a young woman who I don't understand." Is he alluding to the Queen?
b) What is wrong with the Queen?
b1) Why is she so young and yet the Queen?
b2) Analyze different aspects of her personality!
b3) Speculate on her secret wants and needs ("She wanted more than she ever could say"), her "hunger"! What does she want?
b4) Find evidence for the statement that she is just a cruel and evil woman.
b5) Did the meeting with the soldier change her in any way?
b6) Why did she have him killed?
c) What exaxtly happens in the end? Discuss alternative interpretations!
c1) The soldier is killed by chance or because he was not alert. "Her order" was not the order to kill him, but the order to fetch something. She was unconsolable when she learned about his death.
c2) "Her order" was the order to kill him. He was killed because he trusted her. If she had not asked him to wait, he would have escaped.
c3) What would have happened if he had deserted without going to her and telling her?
4.) Find a different ending to the story!
a) She changes her clothes and runs away with him.
b) She changes her mind, confesses her love for him and they lived happily ever after.
c) She fetches something that reveals their secrets.
5.) Why is the ending a surprise ending?
6.) Hemingway believed in his iceberg-theory: A work of art is the stronger the more of it is hidden underneath the surface. Apply this theory to these lyrics!
7.) Do you know other songs dealing with kings and queens? ("Jenseits des Tales")
8.) Do you know the motif "royalty vs. citizens" from other works of art? ("The Prince and the Pauper", fairy tales)
9.) Have you heard about young and cruel Queens in history?
10.) What makes the lyrics impressive? (the unsolved mysteries, the fact that the soldier fails) Home
