Marian Gold developed most of the lyrics while going to a dentist. The theme was based on two friends who were involved in the sordid drug scene of Berlin's Zoo station. The song tells of such lovers who fantasize about being drug-free. The refrain "big in Japan" symbolises this idea of being successful in another world. Said Gold, "that line has a certain meaning. It means that if you're a complete loser, you're telling other people, 'I'm not a loser because in Japan I'm really big.' It's the lie of the loser and it fitted perfectly into the story of these junkies, which the song is about, in a very tragic way."[3] Gold later explained "we originally weren’t sure whether we should put it on the album, because it’s a bit autobiographical in that it reflects my time in West Berlin in the late 70s, with the drug scene around the train station and the zoo, and all the underground things. It has nothing to do with Japan."[4]