With her fine red earth and her diamonds of ore underneath,
She casts spells to bind your soul for as long as you will breathe,
As far back as you look, she’s turned boys into men,
You give her all you have and more if you can.
With the wind blowing tunes across her wide open space,
And through her canyons, it sings her glory and her praise,
I know hers is the place where I belong,
She’s the country, the rock and the song.
She’s the mother you run back to,
The cradle and the grave, too,
In the freezing cold or in the blistering sun,
There’s nothing you can do she ain’t already done.
She’s the one.
The pain and the joy, the fun and the sweat,
With that secret pact, she’s the butter on your bread.
Her scars she won’t disguise, call all the lies,
And if you bleed and believe her, your wounds she dries.
The bitterness, don’t think she cannot feel,
With her tenderness, she’s made of the most sensitive steel,
Welcomes strangers from afar and near,
All confessions she will hear.
You cannot run away from her however fast you go,
She’ll tug at your heart of stone, ask you not to be thrown, so
She tells you stories at night to soothe you in your sleep,
In your own blood her love thunders hot and deep.
She’s the one.
She’s your widow and your bride,
Shines in the day and darkest night,
Blows you kisses and won’t ever leave you alone,
She’s in your marrow and your bone.
And wherever you escape to
She’s already been to, just waiting for you.
There’s no promise she won’t keep,
She’s of a unique breed,
And though her tunnels are now deserted,
Her smokestacks exported,
On her riches we still feed today,
A true lover’s flame that will never go away.
She’s the one.
About the author
Born in Luxembourg in 1973, Tom Hengen grew up in Dudelange. He studied English and American literature at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, where he came into contact with a vibrant and eclectic literary scene. He co‑founded and co‑edited the university’s Interchange Poetry magazine, organised or took part in readings and had his poems published in various British and American magazines and collections. Back in Luxembourg, he was awarded the Luxembourg National Literature Prize for his collection Explorations in C in 2011, which was also published by Éditions Phi. He subsequently published a second collection of poetry, Journeys into Modern Mythologies with Black Fountain Press in 2021, and in the same year contributed poems to the art book Correspondance Exquise by Thierry Lutz & Jean‑Claude Salvi.
She’s the One
With her killer graces
And her secret places
That no boy can fill
With her hands on her hips
Oh and that smile on her lips
Because she knows that it kills me
With her soft French cream
Standing in that doorway like a dream
I wish she’d just leave me alone
Because French cream won’t soften them boots
And French kisses will not break that heart of stone
With her long hair falling
And her eyes that shine like a midnight sun
Oh she’s the one
She’s the one
That thunder in your heart
At night when you’re kneeling in the dark
It says you’re never gonna leave her
But there’s this angel in her eyes
That tells such desperate lies
And all you want to do is believe her
And tonight you’ll try
Just one more time
To leave it all behind
And to break on through
Oh she can take you
But if she wants to break you
She’s gonna find out that ain’t so easy to do
And no matter where you sleep
Tonight or how far you run
Oh she’s the one
She’s the one
Oh and just one kiss
She’d fill them long summer nights
With her tenderness
That secret pact you made
Back when her love could save you
From the bitterness
Oh she’s the one
Oh she’s the one
Oh she’s the one
Oh she’s the one
Bruce Springsteen
(from the album „Born to Run“, 1975)
© Sony Music Group/Eldridge
Die Serie: This Hard Minett Land
Von März bis Oktober 2022 laden das Tageblatt, das Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) und capybarabooks die LeserInnen jeden Freitag zu einer besonderen Entdeckungsreise durch Luxemburgs Süden ein. Rund vierzig SchriftstellerInnen und HistorikerInnen lassen sich von Bruce Springsteens Songs inspirieren und schreiben Texte über das luxemburgisch-lothringische Eisenerzbecken, „de Minett“, sowie über diejenigen, die dort geboren oder dorthin eingewandert sind, dort gelebt, gearbeitet, geliebt, geträumt, gehofft, gekämpft, Erfolg hatten oder gescheitert sind. Begleitet werden die Texte in deutscher, englischer, französischer und luxemburgischer Sprache von Illustrationen des Luxemburger Künstlers Dan Altmann. Im Herbst erscheinen sämtliche Texte und Zeichnungen dann versammelt in Buchform bei capybarabooks. Bis dahin heißt es: „Son, take a good look around/this is your … Minett Land!“
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