Scorpions Changing Lyrics To Popular Song Thanks To Putin
What is this world coming to, Berkshire County? Do you remember back in the day, the late 1980s and early 1990s when Gorbachev came up with "glasnost" as part of his Soviet reform efforts? And we all started experiencing an unheard-of at the time feeling of friendliness toward big, bad Russia?
At the time, right around 1990, hard rock's Scorpions recorded a power ballad called "Wind of Change" after they toured the Soviet Union during the height of "perestroika" and felt a strong bond and kinship with their Russian fans.
"Wind of Change" went on to become not only one of the most popular songs by the Scorpions but also one of the biggest-selling singles of all time. It still holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist. The Scorpions even presented Mikhail Gorbachev with around $70,000 in proceeds from the sales of the single to be given to children's hospitals in Russia.
Well, thanks to Vladimir Putin, those days are long gone, at least for now. Because of the current world situation, and with what Russia is doing in Ukraine right now, the Scorpions have changed some of the lyrics to "Wind of Change".
If you're a fan of the song you may recall the very beginning where Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine sings, "Follow the Moskva/Down to Gorky Park". Now when the Scorpions perform it live, the intro has been replaced with the following line, "Now listen to my heart/It says Ukraine, waiting for the wind to change."
In an interview with Loudwire, Meine had this to say:
...With this terrible war in Ukraine raging on, it's not the time to romanticize Russia with lyrics like, 'Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park,' you know?...We had so many amazing moments, so many emotional moments we shared with our fans in Russia, but this is about the regime and there's a lot of people in Russia that just don't know the truth.
Very well put, Mr. Meine. Maybe along with your many fans who are listening to your words right now, a certain Vladimir Putin is also listening...and getting the point.
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