The Kids

Album: Berlin (1973)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Berlin is a dark rock opera about the demise of a relationship between two drug-addled bohemians. This song tells of the mother having her children taken from her by the authorities. It doesn't get any better for the mother, who in the next song, "The Bed," kills herself on the bed where the children were conceived.
  • Producer Bob Ezrin used his own kids, David and Josh, for the sounds of the children crying and shouting for their mom. Urban legend has it that Ezrin told the boys their mother had died to get them so upset, but that seems cruel and unlikely. Rob Bowman wrote in the loner notes to the Between Thought and Expression box set: "According to Ezrin, the story is that he went home and told his seven-year-old son David that he was doing a play in the studio and he needed some kids' voices to sound scared because their mom was being taken away. The first few attempts didn't sound terrifying enough but on a third, unprompted, his two-year-old joined in and just started screaming. The two children screamed so loud that they distorted the tape."

    Ezrin's children can also be heard on another one of his productions: the 1976 Kiss song "God Of Thunder."
  • The UK group The Waterboys took their name from a line in this song: "And I am the water boy, the real game's not over here."

Comments: 1

  • Lauren from ChicagoTalk about a song wrenching an emotional reaction out of the listener. The wailing of the children just rips your heart out. One of Lou's best songs.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.