Heroes

"I, I can remember standing by the wall

And the guns shot above our heads

And we kissed as though nothing could fall."

Shot at the Wall

The first person to be shot and killed while trying to cross to West Berlin was Günter Litfin, a twenty-four year old tailor. He attempted to swim across the Spree Canal to freedom in West Germany on 24 August 1961, the same day that East German police had received shoot-to-kill orders to prevent anyone from escaping.

If an escapee was wounded in a crossing attempt and lay on the death strip, no matter how close they were to the Western wall, Westerners could not intervene for fear of triggering engaging fire from the ' Grenzpolizei', the East Berlin border guards. The guards often let fugitives bleed to death in the middle of this ground, as in the most notorious failed attempt, that of Peter Fechter (aged 18). 

He was shot and bled to death, in full view of the Western media, on 17 August 1962. Fechter's death created negative publicity worldwide that led the leaders of East Berlin to place more restrictions on shooting in public places, and provide medical care for possible “would-be escapers”. 
The last person to be shot and killed while trying to cross the border was Chris Gueffroy (aged 20) on 6 February 1989. 
Nine months before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

About the Song

"Heroes" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977. Produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, it was released both as a single and as the title track of the album "Heroes". A product of Bowie's fertile 'Berlin' period, life in the city was crystallized into a tale of two lovers who come together in the shadow of the 'Wall of Shame' (though here "the shame was on the other side"). While not a huge hit at the time, the song has gone on to become one of Bowie's signature tunes and is well known today for its appearance in numerous advertisements. It has been cited as Bowie's second most covered song after "Rebel Rebel".

The title track remains one of Bowie's best known, a classic story of two lovers who meet at the Berlin Wall. The album is considered one of his best by critics, notably for the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp who flew in from the U.S. to record his parts in one day.  John Lennon was quoted as saying that when making his album Double Fantasy in 1980, his ambition was to "do something as good as 'Heroes'

Heroes

I

I wish you could swim

Like the dolphins

Like dolphins can swim

Though nothing

Will keep us together

We can beat them

For ever and ever

Oh we can be Heroes

Just for one day

I

I will be king

And you

You will be queen

Though nothing

Will drive them away

We can be Heroes

Just for one day

We can be us

Just for one day

I

I can remember

Standing

By the wall

And the guns

Shot above our heads

And we kissed

As though nothing could fall

And the shame

Was on the other side

Oh we can beat them

For ever and ever

Then we can be Heroes

Just for one day

We can be Heroes

We can be Heroes

We can be Heroes

Just for one day

We can be Heroes