Music video: Byrd & Ward – Molotov zum Blumenstrauß (Petrol bomb to bunch of flowers)
George Byrd and Ward Hanna alias “Byrd & Ward” perform their winning song “Molotov zum Blumenstrauß” (Petrol bomb to bunch of flowers) in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood of Berlin.
The music video starts with aerial shots of the Berlin district of Kreuzberg and its landmark, the national memorial for the Wars of Liberation in the Viktoriapark. From the air, Byrd & Ward are seen standing at the foot of the memorial. The musical introduction of their song is heard.
The following shot shows Byrd & Ward on a basketball court in front of a large work of graffiti with a multi-coloured elephant. The artists are first shown from behind, then the camera slowly pans around them. At the bottom left, a caption with the key visual of the song contest appears with the text, “Dein Song für EINE WELT!” (Your song for ONE WORLD!) EINE WELT album (ONE WORLD album) Vol. 3 – order now for free on www.eineweltsong.de”.
Then, both artists are seen from the front. The text “Molotov zum Blumenstrauß (Petrol bomb to bunch of flowers) – Byrd & Ward” is displayed in white writing. The next shot shows George Byrd sitting on a basketball basket while Ward Hanna stands in front of the graffiti wall. Then, the duo are seen in front of another graffiti that shows multi-coloured birds flying out of the hood of a hoody.
Now, George Byrd starts to rap. Different scenes are shown as he performs the first verse of the song:
I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION, WHAT’S THE COST OF THE EARTH?
MONEY CAN’T BUY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS!
WE DON’T NEED ANY DOLLAR BILLS OR EURO NOTES
COME ON, WE’LL BURN THEM
IT’LL BE AN EXPENSIVE BONFIRE!
I LIVE LIKE I WANT, EY, I LOVE WHO I WANT
NOTHING IS IMPOSED
LIKE THE SCRIPT IN A FILM!
MAN, I JUST DO WHAT I DO
WITHOUT YOU LAUGHING AT IT
TODAY IT’S JUST A DREAM
WE COULD BE FREE OVER NIGHT
24/7 SURVEILANCE, WHO IS STRAIGHT-TALKING?
WHAT IS FAKE, WHAT IS REAL?
CAUGHT IN THE MATRIX!
IMAGINE EDWARD SNOWDEN GETTING AN HONORARY TITLE
IMAGINE THEY BOMB YEMEN WITH FOOD!
IMAGINE EVERYONE ONLY WANTS
THE BEST FOR EVERYONE
EVERYONE DRINKS WATER FROM THE
RIVER AND NOT FROM NESTLÉ
I’VE BEEN WONDERING FOR YEARS
IF THERE ISN’T MORE TO THIS WORLD
MUSIC TO THE HALLS, PEACE TO THE CORRUGATED IRON!
During the performance, the two artists are shown at different locations in Berlin: on the basketball court in front of the graffiti wall, sitting on the basketball basket, on a bridge for the underground trains, on a roof in twilight, in front of an abandoned factory building and on the streets in Kreuzberg. Several times, Byrd & Ward are shown playing basketball with a group. During the fourth verse, a shot is seen in which the group is standing side by side. Additionally, the duo are shown in front of another graffiti: a rose, around whose stalk a handcuff is locked, which bears the writing “Rise Above”.
It is followed by the chorus, which Byrd & Ward perform together:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT ONCE MORE
WHITE DOVES FLY OVER PITCH-BLACK LANDS
KIDDIES HOLD TEDDIES NOT BAZOOKAS IN THEIR HANDS
WORDS STOP BULLETS
PETROL BOMB TO BUNCH OF FLOWERS! (2X)
In addition to the already described scenes, other men and women are also shown who perform the chorus in front of the graffiti wall of the basketball court, including the two rappers Fargo and Kris Kraus.
Then Ward Hanna raps the following verse. As he does, the two artists are again shown in the described locations in Kreuzberg:
TAKE COVER, BROTHER, DUCK!
OTHERWISE THE NEXT SHOT WILL
PUT AN END TO YOUR LIFE!
YALLA HABIBI, WHERE I’M FROM IT’S NOT FUNNY
WHEN MAMA GIVES HER SON THE FINAL KISS!
LOOK ME IN THE EYES
AND YOU’LL KNOW WHAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH
CAN HARDLY WALK
LOOK HOW STONY THE PATH HAS BEEN
NOW WE ARE HERE
BUT I STILL HAVEN’T ARRIVED
ALL IS LOST BUT THE FAMILY, BUT STILL GAINED SOME GROUND!
I SEE CHILDREN WITHOUT THEIR MOTHERS AND FATHERS
I SEE CHILDREN PROTESTING FOR OUR FUTURE IN THE STREETS
I SEE PARENTS SOWING CHAOS WITH ONE HAND
WHILE THE OTHER OBSESSIVELY MOWS THE LAWN FOR ORDER!
IMAGINE THAT EVERY PERSON HAS ENOUGH TO LIVE
IMAGINE THAT DONALD TRUMP WAS A MAN OF HONOUR
IMAGINE HE WAS LIKE MANDELA FOR JUST ONE DAY
DO YOU HEAR THEM SINGING IN THE ALLEYS OF THE FAVELAS?
During the final verse, a shot of Byrd & Ward in a flower shop is displayed. In addition, a new graffiti being sprayed is shown. At the start of the final chorus, the graffiti is complete: the lettering “MZB” (Molotov zum Blumenstrauß) gleams on a wall, written in upper case and surrounded by flowers and flames in bright colours. To the left, the words “Byrd & Ward – Molotov zum Blumenstrauß (Petrol bomb to bunch of flowers)” can be read.
In front of this graffiti wall, the two artists once again perform the chorus:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT ONCE MORE
WHITE DOVES FLY OVER PITCH-BLACK LANDS
KIDDIES HOLD TEDDIES NOT BAZOOKAS IN THEIR HANDS
WORDS STOP BULLETS
PETROL BOMB TO BUNCH OF FLOWERS! (2X)
During the performance, a burning bunch of flowers is displayed in front of them. The flames draw back each time the bunch of flowers is shown until at the end only the fuse is burning.
During the outro, further shots of Byrd & Ward holding two Bengal torches with coloured smoke are shown. The shots are played forwards as well as backwards (the smoke rises from the torches and then appears to be absorbed by them again). Then, the pair are again seen in front of their own graffiti with their backs to the camera. The focus is placed on their black hoodies with the lettering “#MZB” (Molotov zum Blumenstrauß) and the Flower Thrower graffiti by the British street artist Banksy. The graffiti shows a man in a street fight who instead of a Molotov cocktail has a bunch of flowers in his hand. It served as the inspiration for the title of the song.
At the end of the music video, a large shot of the graffiti with the multi-coloured elephant is shown once more. Under the elephant, the words “PEACE, UNITY, LOVE, WISDOM” can be seen.
Then the key visual and the logo of the song contest are displayed. At first the words “Dein Song für EINE WELT” (Your song for ONE WORLD) can be seen, then it is replaced by the call to action, “EINE WELT album (ONE WORLD album) Vol. 3 – order for free now!” An arrow points to the link to the website www.eineweltsong.de. In addition, the logos of Engagement Global, of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and also of the competition partners are displayed.