"Here we are at the Stammersdorf Cemetery …". Ludwig Hirsch's career began some 30 years ago when his grandmother was laid to rest. For the 32-year-old actor who had recently returned from Germany to his hometown of Vienna, "Grandmother" was a symbol of the suburban-faschism and backward-looking atmosphere then commonplace in Vienna. When the Central Cemetery stench had him by the throat, he took out his guitar and began writing songs. "I had to defend myself. Vienna was grey so I had to be dark-grey". The album "Dark-Grey Songs" turned him into an overnight success. This was followed by a second album entitled, "The Looming Black Crow", plus many more subsequent albums. This book is a miscellaneous collection of well- and not so very well-known lyrics and poems complemented with biographical notes and photographs.

Hirsch proves to be an expert at black-humour and strange, melancholic poetry.

About the author:

Ludwig Hirsch was born in 1946 in the province of Styria in Austria. He was raised in Vienna, studied at the Academy of Art and the Kraus Acting School. In 1973 he made his debut at the "Stadttheater" in Regensburg, Germany. From 1975 to 1979 he performed at the "Theater in der Josefstadt" in Vienna. In 1978 he began his career as a singer-songwriter under the guidance of Karl Scheibmaier, the man who discovered Hirsch. Along with his own compositions he also interprets old Viennese folk songs. His first album, "Dark-Grey Songs", was a smash success.

In 1991 to 1992 he went on the highly-acclaimed "Gottlieb" tour. Hirsch is also a well-renowned actor of stage, screen and television. He presents his own programme, "Siesta", on Austrian radio. He is married to the actress Cornelia Köndgen and father of a son.