No Roots

One of my favourite songs is “No Roots” by Alice Merton. This fits with my recent post about our visit to a restaurant in York. Alice Merton sings about not having any roots (Wurzeln) and that she is always on the move. The question is: how important is it to establish roots? Are, as she implies, memories (Erinnerungen) enough?

Here are the lyrics:

I like digging holes and hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old, I hope I won’t forget to find them
‘Cause I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night. I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down
Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running
‘Cause I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night. And a thousand times I’ve seen this road
A thousand times. I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh. I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh. I like standing still, but that’s just a wishful plan
Ask me where I come from, I’ll say a different land
But I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night. I count gates and numbers, then play the guessing game
It’s just the place that changes, the rest is still the same
But I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night. And a thousand times I’ve seen this road
A thousand times I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh. I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh. I like digging holes
Hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old, I won’t forget to find them
I like digging holes
Hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old
I won’t forget to find them
I’ve got no roots
No roots. I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uhI’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

Songwriter: Nicolas Rebscher / Alice Merton