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.
Soap Shop Rock: A. Burning Sister
Amon Düül II Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw my sister burning
They tied her to a railway track
And made her blue eyes turning
Her dog was sitting by her feet
The whole night he was howling
On hasty pant the judge came down
Slavering his golden gown
Who made the rain turn into black
They brought my sister to trial
Cutting her face from her smile On the holy waterfront
The people stand there waiting
To see her blonde hair lighted
To see her blood drip on the floor
She suddenly stood alone
Shut down by silver and gold
The priest came and kissed her hand
My daughter! Soon you'll be released
They say you are the one
Who stole the neighbour's babies
The witness pointed at the chimney
And said this is her way home Down there in the gloomy room
Widows versed in law came soon
My daughter! We are so polite
We mak eyour dirty face white
Her lungs gasped in the fire
Her signs were flying higher
The mechanical voice of the guard
Was always repeating the same
They say she was the one
Who came walking across the sea
They cut the tree of her life
With their hypnotic life
The lyrics of Amon Düül II's song, Soap Shop Rock: Burning Sister, is a dark and vivid tale of a woman's unjust punishment for crimes she did not commit. The narrative describes the singer's sister being tied to a railway track and burned, while her dog howls in anguish. The judge, who is portrayed as animalistic, slavers as he pronounces judgment. The lyrics suggest that the woman is accused of causing an array of weather-related chaos, stealing neighbors' babies, and walking across the sea - supernatural abilities, which she denies during the trial. However, the trial ends in her conviction, and she is brutally executed before a crowd on the holy waterfront.
The lyrics depict a story that explores themes of injustice, systemic oppression, and scapegoating. The song portrays how women can be subjected to unfair treatment in society and criminal justice systems. The lyrics reference a wide range of supernatural accusations that suggest people who are different or who possess unique abilities are vilified and oppressed by society. The story ends with the woman's execution, leaving a deep and unsettling impression on the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Down there on the football place
The singer saw their sister burning on a football field
I saw my sister burning
The singer witnessed their sister being burned alive
They tied her to a railway track
Her captors tied her to a railway track as a means of execution
And made her blue eyes turning
The burning caused the whites of her eyes to turn blue
Her dog was sitting by her feet
Her loyal dog was present at her feet throughout the ordeal
The whole night he was howling
Throughout the night, her dog was howling in distress
On hasty pant the judge came down
The judge quickly arrived on the scene with inflated urgency
Slavering his golden gown
The artist paints the judge as slobbering over his adorned golden gown
They say she was the one
There were accusations against the artist's sister
Who made the rain turn into black
The accusation against the sister was that she caused the rain to become black
They brought my sister to trial
The sister was brought to a legal trial
Cutting her face from her smile
The sister had her face wiped of her smile, implying a forced confession
On the holy waterfront
The scene shifts to a holy waterfront location
The people stand there waiting
Observers were present and preparing to watch the sister's execution
To see her blonde hair lighted
Observers were anticipating her blonde hair to ignite in flames
To see her blood drip on the floor
Observers were anticipating a gruesome execution and watching blood spill on the ground
She suddenly stood alone
The sister was left solitary in her final moments
Shut down by silver and gold
The sister was compelled into silence by the power of authority and wealth
The priest came and kissed her hand
The priest came forward and administered the last rites
My daughter! Soon you'll be released
The priest reassured her that she would be released soon from her suffering after death
They say you are the one
The sister is accused of stealing the neighbor's babies
Who stole the neighbour's babies
The sister is accused of kidnapping the neighbor's babies
The witness pointed at the chimney
A witness testified against the sister, indicating a chimney as her escape route
And said this is her way home
The witness implied that the chimney was the sister's method of entering and leaving the neighbor's house
Down there in the gloomy room
The scene shifts to a dark and unhappy room
Widows versed in law came soon
Legal widows arrive to preside over the sister's execution
My daughter! We are so polite
The widows attempt to comfort the sister with kind words
We make your dirty face white
The widows try to clean the sister's appearance in preparation for her execution
Her lungs gasped in the fire
The artist reveals the sister's slow death by burning
Her signs were flying higher
The singer implies that their sister's soul was departing her body
The mechanical voice of the guard
The executioner's robotic voice repeats the same instructions for the sister's execution
Was always repeating the same
The command of the execution remained unchanged and robotic
They say she was the one
The artist reiterates the accusations against their sister
Who came walking across the sea
The accusation against their sister was that she had walked on water
They cut the tree of her life
The sister's life was terminated by her executioners, a metaphorical tree-cutting
With their hypnotic life
The sister's life was taken by those with power and control, living a hypnotic and brainwashed existence
Contributed by Ellie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@itwasntmeboningbivvy181
The godfathers of Kraut rock.
@BluegrassBuzzbomb
David Gilmour with a 'funny' cigarette at 2:06-2:08...
@flanagan6663
Yes...David Gilmour 🤔🤔🤔🤔
@CircunferenciaPunga
that was not a joint, man; just a piece of something to eat
@stetrak1967
Sehr gut!!!
@tomtrana3449
Line up: Renate Knaup, Nickname Henriette Krötenschwanz (voc), John Weinzierl (git), Chris Karrer git, violin) Lothar Meid - RIP - (bs), Peter Leopold - RIP - (dr), Falk U. Rogner (kb)
btw: OMG, considering that the listeners you see today are around 70-80 years old (written in April 2022).
@daviddelcarmenaibar7325
Muy buena banda alemana, lo único que tengo es : "VIVE LA TRANCE" de 1974 donde el lado "B" comienza con el tema "ABURRIMIENTO APOCALÍPTICO" cuya introducción es vocalizada de una manera tan especial ( registro alto ) que es similar a la introducción de la versión "MINDPHASER" del álbum "MOONDAWN" ( january 1976 ) del legendario "KLAUS SCHULZE"
@axelazaryan
Renate 😍
@Klaus734
Outstanding, Heavy Psychodelia. Albums Yeti and Phalus Dei are their best
@maxxblack2802
Renate isn't a great singer but she's a full space head even political at times they were really what the hippie etc movement was all about I absolutely admired duul since 1974 and have been collecting them on new vinyl during the last three years but still got a few to go viva la trance was my lntroduction I'd only heard can before that both very cool bands long live kraut rock ☮️