The Weimar Republic

Chorus from "its All a Swindle (Alles Schwindel), by Mischa Spoliansky and Marcellus Schiffer.

Life's a swindle, yes, its all a swindle
so get what you can
from your fellow man
Girls and boys today
would rather steal than pay
and we don't care
we tell them get your share
Life is short and greed's in season
all mankind has lost its reason
life is good, knock on wood, knock, knock

German:
Alles Schwindle, alles schwindle,
uberall wohin du guckst
und wohin du spuckst!
Alles ist heut ein Gesindle
jedes Girl und jeder Boy,
's wird einem schlecht dabei!
's wird ein'm schwindling von dem schwindel,
alles, alles, alles, schwindel,
unberufen toi! toi! toi!

Life is a swindle, when trying to analyze and interpret the lyrics of the chorus, what immediately came to mind was that its every man for themselves. Swindle means to cheat, and the lyrics reflects that meaning. life has lost its morals. Everyone wants to get ahead, nothing is wrong with getting ahead, its the approach we take in order to get there. Instead of working with and building up each other we instead try and "swindle" our way into getting things. People have become untrustworthy, unreliable and they only look out for themselves and what they can get. Greed has become the order of the day.
I chose this passage because its reflects the society we are living in today. We have lost compassion for each other, we care not for each others feelings or well being, its all about the greed and self gratification and what we can get by using each other.

2nd. "No time"  (Keine Zeit) music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Herbert Nelson
Chorus
No time, no time, no time
Yes, we have no time
Sorry, but we're always on the go,
with tongues hanging out as we run,
No time, no time, no time,
no hours nor even a second to spare,
We hardly sleep, we don't rest,
No time, no time, no time

German:
Keine Zeit, keine zeit, keine zeit, Ja, wir haben keine Zeit. Es tut uns leid.
Wir sind immer auf dem Sprung, haengt uns raus schon die Zung und doch wir renne, ja
wir kennen keine Zeit.
Keine Zeit, keine zeit, keine Zeit, keine Stunde und Sekunde haben wir Zeit. Ja, wir
schlafen heute kaum noch, den wir ruhen uns nicht aus. Keine Zeit, keine zeit, keine zeit.

These lyrics are saying people have no time, they are always moving, no time for themselves. they can hardly breath.
I choose this lyrics because to me they epitomizes life in New York. Everything is so rushed, people are always on the go. Individuals have family, school, some have multiple jobs and have no time to rest. With everything so rushed often times families suffers as a result, the family and home dynamics are broken down and causes trust issues, children going a stray. Bonds are often broken and relationships suffers, because of lack of quality time with the people that matters the most. We are so caught up in the fast paced life.