HEIMATLOS

Heimatlos sind viele auf der Welt,
heimatlos und einsam wie ich.
Uberall verdiene ich mein Geld,
doch es wartet keiner auf mich.

"They (hijackers) asked me if I would sing. Thinking that I would try anything at this stage, I told him yes and said, 'What do you want to hear?' I was trying to keep them out of the cockpit as much as possible. At first I sang them Brahms' Lullaby. I sang Lili Marlene, but they really wanted to hear songs by a German singer named Freddy, who sings about being homesick (Heimatlos). They requested it over and over again.

"When I sang Heimatlos, or 'without a country,' one of the hijackers said, 'That's just like the Lebanese people.' When I sang, his eyes filled with tears. It was the first time I saw him show any real emotion. The hijackers actually put down their revolvers.

"I chose the song because I felt it had a strong message. In effect I was saying, 'I sympathize with your cause; your cause may be just, but your methods are all wrong. Please leave these people alone.' My singing kept them from brutalizing the passengers, from torturing the crew, and it kept them out of the cockpit so the pilot could fly." - Uli Derickson