The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Irgendwas über Delfine" by the artist "Von Wegen Lisbeth"

English

In the song "Irgendwas über Delfine" ("Something About Dolphins"), the German band Von Wegen Lisbeth paints a portrait of a person stuck in the mire of their own helplessness and apathy. The lyrical hero, like a reflection of modern consumer society, is torn between the desire to be better and the unwillingness to change anything.

On the one hand, he is aware of his shortcomings: he buys avocados from faraway Peru without thinking about the environmental consequences, throws cigarette butts on the ground, doesn't listen to others, lies, and is mired in consumerism, spending hours choosing shoes on Amazon. He feels pangs of conscience, thinking that he could be doing more useful things, such as participating in demonstrations or watching educational videos on YouTube. He is tormented by the thought that he is not a good person.

On the other hand, the hero takes no real action to change his life. He spends his days in idleness, sleeping, watching TV shows, scrolling through Instagram, and drinking cheap coffee without thinking about the fate of the people who grow it. Even his interest in dolphins is more like a passing fad than a genuine concern for the world.

The only thing that keeps him from complete moral decline is his sympathy for "good-hearted people" like his friend, who travels to Lesbos and Athens to help refugees. Perhaps this sympathy holds the hope that one day the hero will find the strength to break out of the vicious circle of apathy and begin to live a more conscious life.