Satan Is Real
The Louvin Brothers
The spoken sermon that starts it all · 3:01
country gospel, spoken intro, brimstone, the first warning
The Mercy Seat
Johnny Cash
Preacher-voice and prisoner-song, one light · 4:34
late Cash, electric chair, dread, American III
Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash
I shot a man in Reno · 2:49
Sun rockabilly, boom-chicka, stoic, 1955
Help Me Make It Through the Night
Kris Kristofferson
The “I need this” in its plainest American form · 2:28
outlaw country, tender, need, Kristofferson
Folsom Prison Blues (deutsch)
Gunter Gabriel
Cash weighed twice, in German · 2:36
Gabriel, German translation, acoustic, homage
Ich werd gesucht
Gunter Gabriel
Where the whole line begins — Dylan via Cash via Bünde · 3:24
German country, Wanted Man, outlaw, origin
Ein ehrenwertes Haus
Udo Jürgens
The transatlantic wire: Kunze + Tom T. Hall · 3:30
Schlager, Viennese bariton, respectability, exile
Baby, gib Gas
Johnny Kovacs
The glowing center — throttle floored · 4:20
neo-rockabilly, hot-rod duet, Vitamin L, Currywurst, the center
Delmenhorst
Element of Crime
The same kitchen table, twenty years on · 3:56
German indie, trumpet, dry, Regener
Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen
Hildegard Knef
Greed for life as manifesto, not exit · 3:12
chanson, Knef, defiant, appetite
Radar Love
Golden Earring
Autobahn eros, unforgettable drum intro · 6:27
Dutch hard rock, trucker, driving, propulsive
Tour de France
Kraftwerk
Speed without a motor · 5:13
Kraftwerk, electronic, cycling, Düsseldorf
Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen
Tramps like us · 4:30
heartland rock, saxophone, American vastness, escape
Wer nichts mehr zu verlieren hat
Juliane Werding
Gabriel’s own words, handed to a woman · 3:35
Schlager, Werding, provincial grief, Gabriel-penned
I Can’t Drive 55
Sammy Hagar
Speed as libertarian protest · 4:14
eighties hard rock, revolt, throttle, speed limit
Highway Star
Deep Purple
Pure machine theology · 6:06
hard rock, Machine Head, engine worship, no pastor
Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins
Hans Albers
The German forefather: one night made eternity · 3:07
Weimar Schlager, Hamburg, Albers, vintage
Seitdem ich Johnny Cash bin
Kapelle Petra
Imitation as redemption · 3:02
German indie, Hamm-Westen, Cash impersonator, tender
Hurt
Gunter Gabriel
Translation as approach: Reznor → Cash → Gabriel · 3:26
Gabriel, German Hurt, three layers deep, farewell
The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
Originality as revelation — the circle closes · 4:27
late Cash, apocalypse, spoken intro, American IV