[This guest post was written by @derthomas about number 107 on The List. The album was also submitted by @derthomas.]

In 1978, Ludwig Hirsch has seen enough. He needed a creative outlet for all the misery he has seen living in Vienna, Austria in the 70s.

What most people usually don’t know about Vienna is that it has a very morbid culture. Death is omnipresent, garnished with sweet Viennese pastries. Ludwig Hirsch was an observer like no other and there was a lot to observe – he saw the tragic and brutal stories of dreary everyday life.

And he was a storyteller like no other.

The stories on Dunkelgraue Lieder are dark. It is a singer-songwriter album with black metal lyrics.

…A malignant old grandma who admires Hitler because he gave her a Mutterkreuz. She would later choke on her dentures while driving a go-cart in the Wiener Prater (an amusement park).

…A dead man rotting in his grave waiting for the worms. He is cold and is hoping for the tears of the grieving to warm him a bit and to shy away the worms…

…A lovely old man (Herr Haslinger) who is looking after the small park in his neighbourhood, and who kills little children.

…An overweight boy who is bullied by everyone except by his mother, who would stuff him with food.

…A village idiot who is lynched because he is blamed for a stillbirth.

Like much of Hirsch’s work, the album is mainly characterised by guitar and ‘bittersweet’ string arrangements underpinning the lyrics.

Ludwig Hirsch released numerous albums following Dunkelgraue Lieder and became one of the most important artists in Austrian pop culture. In his follow-up album, he has a song called “Komm, großer schwarzer Vogel” (come, big black bird). It is a children’s poem that expresses the wishes of a sick girl. She wants a black bird to take her away and fly her to a new world where she will be happy.

Ludwig Hirsch suffered from lung cancer. He was waiting for the big black bird on the hospital window. He flew away with the bird.

• Songlink: Ludwig Hirsch – Dunkelgraue Lieder [note: links may not work in North America]
• Youtube playlist: Ludwig Hirsch – Dunkelgraue Lieder [note: videos may not work in North America]
• Youtube: Ludwig Hirsch – Dunkelgraue Lieder – Live und unplugged 1979
• Youtube: Ludwig Hirsch – “I lieg am Ruckn” | Live aus dem Volkstheater Wien / 1993 [note: video may not work in North America]
• Discogs: Ludwig Hirsch – Dunkelgraue Lieder

https://1001otheralbums.com/2024/11/01/ludwig-hirsch-dunkelgraue-lieder-1979-austria/

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