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.
Surrounded By The Stars
Amon Düül II Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Surrounded by the stars
So many days
And you knock
At the gates of night
No answer
But you walk in
With your decrees
With shaking knees
A street-sweeper appears
Makes your dusty feet clean
Come and jump
On my Are-You-Tired machine
At sunrise
You play your violin
On Napoleon's nose
A cop comes and says
You are one of those
But you jump
Into the trumpet of a clown
And you say to yourself
Maybe I shall leave this town?
You walk
Beside the twilight street
Jewel of the town
And you pass
The make-up zoo
Where hungry people meet
They ask you
And you give them
All you need
For a trip to the South
Maybe you think
What sort of idiot am I
Without a bone in my mouth
And you turn to the sunrise
You see a famous face
Behind a golden fence
A voice sounds round the corner:
This is you very last chance!
But you laugh
Like the son of a kangaroo
I don't believe the TV screen!
I don't believe you too!
The Amon Düül II song "Surrounded by the Stars" talks about a journey of a person who appears to be lost in life but keeps moving forward despite the lack of direction. The song starts with the lyrics, "You walk surrounded by the stars, so many days and you knock at the gates of night." This depicts a person who is walking through life but always finds themselves surrounded by obstacles and challenges.
As the song progresses, the person encounters various individuals like a street-sweeper, a cop, a clown playing trumpet, and hungry people. Each of these individuals seems to offer a different perspective, helping the person to keep moving forward. The line "you play your violin on Napoleon's nose" shows how the person is trying to find an escape in their art and creativity. The encounter with hungry people at the make-up zoo highlights the importance of helping others and giving what one can, even in the midst of their own struggles.
In the end, the person sees a famous face behind a golden fence and hears a voice telling them that this is their last chance. However, they choose to laugh and not believe what they hear, signifying a rebellion against the societal expectations to conform and be successful by certain standards. The person chooses to turn towards the sunrise, a symbol of a new beginning and a fresh start.
Overall, the song acts as a reminder to keep moving forward in life, to not let obstacles and challenges stop oneself from pursuing their dreams and desires, and to help others along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
You walk
You move forward
Surrounded by the stars
With the night sky as your only companion
So many days
For a long time
And you knock
You attempt to gain entrance
At the gates of night
The entrance to the darkness
No answer
Your attempts are met with silence
But you walk in
You still persist
With your decrees
With your demands
And you go out
You leave
With shaking knees
With fear and doubt
A street-sweeper appears
A cleaner manifests
Makes your dusty feet clean
Cleanses your soiled source of mobility
Come and jump
Pleased to demonstrate
On my Are-You-Tired machine
On my energizing apparatus
At sunrise
In the morning
You play your violin
You perform with your musical instrument
On Napoleon's nose
At an absurd location
A cop comes and says
Authoritative personnel appear and speak
You are one of those
You are an undesired person
But you jump
You leap
Into the trumpet of a clown
Into the musical instrument of a performer
And you say to yourself
Musing to yourself
Maybe I shall leave this town?
Perhaps it is best to relocate?
You walk
You stroll
Beside the twilight street
Next to the evening road
Jewel of the town
The shining attraction of the settlement
And you pass
You move beyond
The make-up zoo
The facade attraction
Where hungry people meet
Where starving individuals converge
They ask you
They inquire
And you give them
You provide them
All you need
Everything that is required
For a trip to the South
For a journey to the lower region
Maybe you think
Perhaps you ponder
What sort of idiot am I
What manner of fool am I
Without a bone in my mouth
Devoid of sustenance
And you turn to the sunrise
You face the morning
You see a famous face
You observe a renowned individual
Behind a golden fence
Protected by a valuable barrier
A voice sounds round the corner:
A voice emanates from the vicinity:
This is you very last chance!
This is your final opportunity!
But you laugh
But you chuckle
Like the son of a kangaroo
In a joyous manner
I don't believe the TV screen!
I doubt the televised content!
I don't believe you too!
I also harbor skepticism towards you!
Contributed by Jayden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@espejocarmesi
You walk
Surrounded by the stars
For many days
And you knock
At the gates of night
No answer
But you walk in
With your decrees
And you go out
With shaking knees
A street-sweeper appears
Makes your dusty feet clean
Come and jump
On my Are-You-Tired machine
At sunrise
You play your violin
On Napoleon's nose
A cop comes and says
You're one of those
But you jump
Into the trumpet of a clown
And you say to yourself
Maybe I should leave this town?
You walk
Beside the twilight street
Jewel of the town
And you pass
The make-up zoo
Where hungry people meet
They ask you
And you give them
All you need
For a trip to the South
Maybe you think
What sort of idiot am I
Without a bone in my mouth
And you turn to the sunrise
You see a famous face
Behind a golden fence
A voice sounds round the corner:
"This is your very last chance!"
But you laugh
Like the son of a kangaroo
I don't believe the TV screen!
I don't believe you too!
@ivanmay7890
Renate Knaup, the lead singer for Amon Duul II, also was a member of Popol Vuh, which also featured some of the other members of Amon Duul II.
@electronicsoddities4963
Always good track to play someone who's never heard Amon Duul, so many dynamics!
@maxxblack2802
Great band still doing gigs in one form or another Renate is still singing
@FuchsiaShocked
Best listened to either in the dark or with eyes closed, through good headphones, with volume high. Gives me shivers every time.
@harschwarz1
I listened to this group in the 70's. I love the use of the mellotron, whic predated the synthesizer. Very innovateive group. Right up there with Pink Floyd. Their sound is really astounding. Thanks for posting.
@maxxblack2802
Yes totally agree incredible sound great guitarist
@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms
I always liked The Moody Blues more but I do get that Link Floyd did it first and I do appreciate and respect them for what they did. Lot more respect than I have for The Beatles tbh. Parts of this also remind me of Jimi Hendrix,Nicos second through Third Solo Album,The VU,Santana,and Procol Harum.
@mitchsmith5171
Listened during college days. Forgotten how innovative their music was.
@ploermel56490
One of my favorites song from Amon Düül II
@davidrichard2440
del los mejores, que estilo de música! me encanta 😍.