Fast ein Liebeslied [English translation]

I wanted to write a love song for you

One that tells about nobody but you

In which "desires" don't burn like "fires"1

And that won't pass as a tear jerker

Its only objective would be to tell "I love you"

With a few notes and some words on top

But it's not that easy to say it in a simple way

Maybe, I just haven't got the right words

I wanted to give you a love song

The same way people hand over a bouquet of flowers

I wanted to think up a thousand images for you

And I forced my love into rhyming lines

I pondered for hours and hours

I filled sheets and pages with lines

But I didn't consider them novel enough for you

Deceived, I tore them and crumpled them up

I've learnt to talk about problems

And how to tackle taboos

And how to let go of them betimes

Blowing with the wind

I've learnt to cleverly tell stories

In front of classy people at midnight2

How to pick a proper cliché for each one of them

And how to pretend it was all my idea

I've got songs about all kinds of tremendous things

But when it comes to what seems most obvious –

Simply singing "I love you" –

I've yet got to manage to do it

1. This line is a comment on lazy rhyming in soppy love songs. A more literal translation would be "In which 'lust' does not drive away 'love'".2. It's a (nowadays) slightly dated cliché referring to parties that are held late at night to seem more "classy" (it implies that rich people can stay up late since they don't have to go to work the following day).