"Wir sind wir (ein deutschlandlied)

"Wir Sind Wir (ein Deutschlandlied)" ("We Are We" (i.e. "We are who we are"), a Germany song) was released as a stand-alone single by Paul van Dyk in 2004. Unlike most of his other singles, this wasnot released on any official studio album by van Dyk. The song features Peter Heppner on vocals, and was only recorded in German, presumably because it speaks directly to Germans and Germany.
Are wethe land of poets and thinkers, the land of the Wirtschaftswunder [economic wonder], the land of two world wars, the land which was divided and thereafter reunited? [1]
"Wir Sind Wir" deals with thedeep feeling of emotional insecurity that permeates the German society in the early 21st century. In 2004, Germany was in an economic slump, the controversial Hartz IV law had diminished the statewelfare programs, and there was a lingering feeling of division between the one-time West German and East German provinces. The fact that Germany had turned itself from a one-time pariah into a valuablefriend of the Western great powers (Britain, France, the United States) and had reunited itself with the end of the Cold War were suddenly unimportant. There was little pride in being German, andpatrotism was a suppressed emotion.
This is reflected in the lyrics: despite having turned "ash into gold", people were feeling angst and fear of the future (40 Jahre zogen wir an einem Strang, aus Aschehaben wir Gold gemacht/ (...) was vorher war ist heute nichts mehr wert). Heppner and Van Dyk then ask, where do the Germans stand, and answer "we are we, we are one, this is just a bad period, andwe won't give up" (wir sind wir/ wieder eins in einem Land/ das ist doch nur ein schlechter Lauf/ so schnell geben wir doch jetzt nicht auf).
The song is a powerful statement for all Germans that theyare neither bad nor good, but just themselves (we are we). For 40 years, everything went well, and now after some bad years, it is time to stand united and face the future together. The lyrics...