Ghosts of Dachau

Album: Our Favourite Shop/Internationalists (1985)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by The Style Council's lead singer Paul Weller, this track is about the basic human need for love, even in a place like a Nazi death camp. Weller was inspired by Tadeusz Borowski's This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman, a book about experiences in concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau.

    The singer told Daniel Rachel (The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters): "In amongst all this f--king degradation and disgraceful human behavior there were still people having love affairs. There's a bit in the book where he describes a guy who's lost his trousers. He's walking around semi-naked because there was nothing else to put on, all those kind of images. Whether it sounds right to say but life carried on, in a strange way, in those camps. I thought it was unbelievable, whether it was a strength or a stupidity of human behavior: whichever way you look at it I thought it was fascinating."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Mac Powell of Third Day

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."