Hauptbahnhof

Two main versions:

* "1982 Version" (1982) - Atomic Roses (4:32), Traumstadt I (4:35), Traumstadt I CD (0:01 - 4:26), Legendary Pink Box (4:28)

The mixes on "Atomic Roses" and the "Traumstadt I" cassette both start cleanly at the beginning of the song, whereas the "Legendary Pink Box" mix fades in from the beginning and the "Traumstadt I CD" mix fades in a few seconds later. All mixes crossfade into the clicky tremolo/drum machine ending (which also appears at the end of the "Atomic Roses" tape), but whereas "The Legendary Pink" mix fades out at the beginning of it, the other mixes crossfade into "The Wrong Impedance."

Instruments: Slowly pulsing bass keyboard, slow keyboard arpeggios for melody, bass guitar, lush string machine, single vocal track, a choppy keyboard played during the bridge, tremolo voice during bridge, drum machine during bridge.

* "20:10 Version" (2010) - Seconds Late for the Brighton Line (6:55)

There are few lyric changes to this version. The second and fourth chorus are "People will fly by" (instead of "But the people just fly by"), and the "Bye-Bye world" is omitted in the second chorus. The third chorus adds "And the people just fly by" and removes the "easy pull" words from the original version. It ends with train station noises and looped angelic voices, with a clicky sound in one speaker.

Instruments: Slow piano arpeggios for melody, bass guitar, single vocal track with heavy reverb, electric guitar, odd synth sound effects, tinny synth arpeggios during bridge, string pads during bridge

What It's About:

I think that "Hauptbahnhof" is German for "main train station." A homeless man begs for money in a train station and dreams of mountains. He dies and nobody really notices.

Lyrics (adapted from the Cloud Zero Archive):

Sounds of methylated muttering.
Hand stretched out for a mark.
The mark of death stamped over one eye,
two flies wrestle on his raincoat...

Copulating to the muzak.
But the people just fly by.
Bye-bye, world.

Finds a sanitary sanctuary,
foot stretched beneath the door.
Takes a drag on a fag and it's good 'cos it's menthol.
He throws back his head [and he] dreams of the mountains.

He's inhaling to the muzak.
But the people just fly by.
Bye-bye, world.

As inebriated evening
spat a path for nausea night.
The lights went out with smothered curses.
A young nurse cried...a cop cried with her.

Cops are dating to the muzak.
An easy pull (?)

He got an apathetic epitaph.
There's no name on the headstone.
They buried him on Tuesday, it rained.
No-one came!

Busy listening to the muzak.
And the people just fly by.
Bye-bye, world.