Black and White 1945 Songtext
von Reinhard Mey & Matthew Pearn

The first snow drifts across these winter fields
It stirs old guilt and painful memories
I think of what we did to poor Elise
I see her tears of dread
I see her shaven head
And pray to winter that my guilt will ease

She was a young girl on a small French farm
He was a young man in a uniform
Her eyes were gentle and his arms were warm
I see her tears of dread
I see her shaven head
Should youthful love have led to so much hurt

In times of war, we deal in certainty
We tend to think in black and white
There is no blurring, no soft focus
We learn what is, we lose what might be


Their snowy footprints lead us to her door
A German soldier and a young French girl
But now I wonder what we really saw
I see her tears of dread
I see her shaven head
Did we miss true love in the rage of war?

Her black hair fallen on the virgin snow
Black tire tracks crossing where the armies go
Was she a traitor and was he the fool?
I see her tears of dread
I see her shaven head
And as the years pass, I don′t really know

Those footprints in the snow betrayed her
We found them with self-righteous rage
Sure in our minds she was a traitor
But now doubt's harmed me in old age

Elise was single to her lonely hand
Her baby grew to be my daughter′s friend
They laugh together and my stiff heart bends
But I still see that dread
That roughly shaven head
And all the hurt that's not too late to mend


In war and peace, let's learn uncertainty
Not always think in black and white
Harsh vision blur into soft focus
Not knowing right but seeking ways that might be

The first snow drifts across these winter fields
It stirs old guilt and painful memories