Variations on Lou Reed's Berlin

my own Berlin - which I did invent, which I'm dreaming of. This Berlin, the one Rafael will meet, perhaps.

We were in a small café
You could hear the guitars play.
And back from the Bahnhof
On and on we went,
Your hips into my arms,
And our eyes did not dare to meet each other.
And back from the café
'Till the sound of guitars went off
From the permanent buzz in our ears.

And we could imagine
As in the streets nude and sharp
A red moon shone on us
Crowd of vagabonds
Pushing their feet on dislocated cobbles
And kids playing darts in the ruins.
Oh cities in ruins…
Down by the Mauer,
Down we went.
I hadn't heard your voice for years,
I was wondering
Will I be able to recognize your words ?
And down by the Mauer
We stopped there when the barbed wires sank into our skin.
Your fingers were clutching at my arm.
I was brave enough to look at you,
And to take you back,
Back from the Mauer
On and on we went.

Our bodies wet under
The rain,
We did step into ruins
Memories of antique splendour.
And rain kept falling on us through the houses,
Oh how many nights left
Before we stop prowling around,
And before the mermaids' voices
Let us drown into the sea ?

On and on I went alone,
I was back from despair.
Found myself alone in the Bahnhof
With a single lock of your hair
That your hands had done in a plait.
J'ai bu à longs traits
The vial of love they gave to me,
Met buskers in a small café,
Found burglars inside my house,
But I was back from despair's land
With a single lock of your hair.