The band emerged in 1968 out of the scene of hippies and squatters in Munich, Germany, but their strong interest in music led them to go their own way. They took their name from the old Egyptian name Amon, being an Egyptian sun god, and Düül, a character from Turkish fiction. Their personnel changed constantly, but maybe the most permanent members were Renate Knaup (vocals), Chris Karrer (guitar, violin), John Weinzierl (guitar), Peter Leopold (drums), Falk Rogner (organ, synthesizer). After several successful albums with a style that reached from long improvisation to more structured rock songs they split. Later they tried several resurrections but none of them brought back the old days of glory.
Amon Düül was initially an anarchist commune, but it split into two factions, Amon Düül (sometimes called Amon Düül I for disambiguation) and Amon Düül II. ADI was more politically inclined, but ADII preferred making music. Their anarchist tendencies are clearly seen in their music, especially on the albums Yeti, Tanz Der Lemminge, and Wolf City.
The band can be seen as having two distinct periods in their glory days, the improvisational period and the compositional period. The improvisational period consisted of albums such as Phallus Dei and Yeti, and, to a lesser extent, Tanz Der Lemminge. These albums all featured long, improvisational tracks (Phallus Dei was entirely improvised, and disc two of Yeti was as well, but Tanz Der Lemminge only featured one improvisation). Their compositional period starts with Carnival in Babylon and is highlighted by Wolf City. In this period, the band moved to more structured composed pieces. Many fans saw this as a poor move, but some believed that Amon Duul II proved that they were just as good at composing as they were at improvising.
Amon Düül II's drummer Peter Leopold died on 8 November 2006.
Bass player Lothar Meid died on 3 November 2015.
Da Guadeloop
Amon Düül II Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Die Augen links!
Und eins und zwei und drei!
(Telefon)
Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer
Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer
The opening lines in Amon Düül II's song Da Guadeloop are a reference to military drills, specifically the commands given during marching exercises. These orders are given to ensure that the soldiers maintain proper formation while moving. The "Achtung!" is a German word commonly used to alert someone to danger or to get their attention. "Die Augen links!" translates to "Eyes left!" and signals to the soldiers to turn their heads to the left.
However, these military orders in the song are used in an ironic manner, as the rest of the lyrics revolve around a person's unsuccessful attempts at making a phone call. The line "(Telefon) Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer" translates to "Telephone, no connection under this number." This could be interpreted as the singer being thwarted in their attempts to connect with someone, despite being as orderly and disciplined as a military unit.
In this sense, the lyrics of the song critique the authoritarian structures of military and government systems that dictate how people should behave and move, while at the same time pointing to the futility in trying to maintain perfect order in one's personal life.
Line by Line Meaning
Achtung!
Attention!
Die Augen links!
Eyes to the left!
Und eins und zwei und drei!
And one and two and three!
(Telefon)
(Telephone)
Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer
No connection under this number
Kein Anschluss unter dieser Nummer
No connection under this number
Contributed by Olivia E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
David Metcalfe
on She Came Through the Chimney
Maybe it's "indigo sea" and not Indian sea on Sleepwalkers Timeless Bridge?