Scorpions singer Klaus Meine knows what it's like to live in a country with a border wall, and he's disturbed by the Trump administration's desire to build one between the United States and Mexico.

"It's almost 30 years ago the Berlin Wall came down, and there's somebody in the White House now talking about putting new walls up. It's hard to understand," Meine told Billboard. "When the Berlin Wall came down, we thought we were all moving closer together and it was more about one world, a united Europe and the United States working together, coming together, building bridges. With music, we always try to build bridges. But now it seems like so much of that is falling apart. I never thought in my lifetime I would see that. It's like the clock ticking backwards."

Summing up the current global political situation as "all kind of crazy," Meine reflected on the Scorpions' recent tour of the States, saying he could feel the uncertainty in the group's audiences. "You can feel there are a lot of people who have question marks about the future," he added. "'Where do we go from here?' It seems it's unpredictable."

Yet Meine, who was speaking with the magazine to promote the band's new Born to Touch Your Feelings ballad compilation, has lived through periods of turbulence before — and celebrated a period of healing after division, as Scorpions did with their crossover hit "Wind of Change," included on Feelings. Troubled as he may be now, he hasn't lost his hope for a brighter tomorrow.

"I think as Germans we owe America so much, so they will always be close to our hearts. No question about it. But it's hard to see how this president is acting," said Meine. "I just hope this change will come again when we are one world on the same side."

 

 

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