This song follows a former Nazi soldier who escaped to Bariloche, Argentina after World War II. The song's lyrics came to Orion while listening to the Spiritual Front track 'Song for the Old Man' and it is meant as a personal homage to the neofolk genre, which both Eva and Orion have found very influential and inspiring.
In Spiritual Front's original video for 'Song for the Old Man', the singer Simone Salvatori is seen in a gunfight with the subject of the song in what is implied to be South America. One line refers to '20 years in the tropic', which is alluded to in this song, while the chorus is, 'I'll sing my worst South American song at your funeral, my old man'.
Orion had an epiphany after a horrible drug withdrawal episode that most of his drama, problems, and resentment didn't really matter; rather than making him feel sad, that realisation provided a peace that no search for meaning ever could. Self-described 'nihilist' bands like Spiritual Front seem to get this more than any other sort of music. Eva and Orion both hope that Tilhas Tizi Gesheften provides that same peace by exploring these feelings of lost identity and existential release through various cultures and situations.
lyrics
Twenty years in Bariloche,
free of the old philosophy.
When you look in the mirror,
you still see terror.
You try to hide it with a whore's love,
but you cannot forget the blood
Who are you now, old man?
What is left of your humanity?
Perhaps you never had any—
perhaps you were born in profanity.
Who are you now, old man?
What is left of your humanity?
When you fought for Neue Welt,
did you think you would end up running from yourself?
Twenty years in Bariloche,
free of the old philosophy.
When you look in the mirror,
you still see terror.
You try to hide it with a whore's love,
but you cannot forget the blood
Who are you now, old man?
What is left of your humanity?
Perhaps you never had any—
perhaps you were born in profanity.
Who are you now, old man?
What is left of your humanity?
When you fought for Neue Welt,
did you think you would end up running from yourself?
When you fought for Neue Welt,
did you think you would end up running from yourself?
credits
from New World Neofolk,
released January 2, 2018
• Michael Orion Powell-Deschamps
——lyrics, production
• Eva Gnostiquette
——vocals, synth, guitar, composition
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