Song Meaning
These lyrics open with a solemn, almost liturgical chant, repeating "Heilig, heilig, heilig" (Holy, holy, holy) with traditional reverence. But the mood quickly sours, twisting the sacred into a sharp accusation: "Scheinheilig ist er!" (Hypocritical is he!). This sudden shift from worship to bitter critique immediately establishes a tone of profound disillusionment.
The central tension here lies in this stark contrast. The lyrics present God with all His traditional, eternal attributes—"Er, der nie begonnen / Er, der immer war" (He, who never began / He, who always was)—only to immediately undercut them with the charge of hypocrisy. This sets the stage for a dramatic, unsettling scene where the divine is stripped of its sanctity, revealing a deeply flawed, almost human, anger.
The most striking craft element is the unexpected perspective shift into a direct dialogue between the Lord and the Devil. Here, the Lord, enraged by humanity's "bösen Ketzereien" (evil heresies), consults the Devil, asking, "was soll ich tun?!" (what should I do?!). The Devil's response is chillingly casual and brutal: "bring sie um!" (kill them!). The Lord's subsequent act of sending the Flood in "seiner Stinkwut" (his stinking rage) is a powerful, almost vulgar, depiction of divine wrath, making the listener question the nature of justice itself.
Ultimately, these lyrics are effective because they challenge our assumptions about divine authority and judgment with a cynical, darkly humorous lens. The casual brutality of the Devil's advice, combined with the Lord's undignified rage, paints a picture of a capricious power. The final image of Noah "gerade an seiner Arche hobelt" (just planing on his ark) adds a touch of mundane absurdity to the impending catastrophe, highlighting a detached, almost indifferent, form of salvation amidst widespread destruction.
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