The Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF) is an influential industrial /… Read Full Bio ↴The Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF) is an influential industrial / Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 in Wuppertal, Germany featuring drummer/synth player Robert Görl, vocalist Gabi Delgado-Lopez/Gabi Delgado, guitarist Wolfgang Spelmans, Kurt Dahlke "Pyrolator", Michael Kemner, bassist and bassist/keyboardist/saxophonist Chrislo Haas. The band's name is a term that had originally been used in West Germany, without irony, in the early years of the Cold War, at the height of German popular enthusiasm for all things American, and as humoristic counterpart to the "deutsch-sowjetische Freundschaft" (german-soviet-friendship) parole used in the German Democratic Republic. (GDR, or DDR in german)

DAF's most famous song is the grimly sarcastic "Der Mussolini" from the album "Alles Ist Gut", a pulsing dance song featuring the lyrics "Dance the Mussolini, move your behind, clap your hands, and now the Adolf Hitler, and now the Jesus Christ, and now the communism ...". The song caused a scandal amongst the more humourless elements of German liberal society.

In interviews they claimed to not target anything or anyone specific while creating lyrics to be taken as a parody of words and phrases floating around in the public media. "Sato-Sato" and "Der Mussolini" are both examples of songs written around Delgado-Lopez's fascination with the sound of a particular word.

The album "Alles Ist Gut" (All Is Well) received the German "Schallplattenpreis" award by the "Deutsche Phono-Akademie", an association of the German recording industry.
Following that they released two more similar albums called "Gold und Liebe" and "Für Immer", all produced by legendary Conny Plank.

After experimenting with more mainstream attempts of their particular style of contemporary dance music on the 1986 album "1st Step to Heaven" but with limited success DAF split up (1986).

A few months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq DAF released "Der Sheriff (anti-amerikanisches lied)" (An Anti-American Song) criticizing perceived American imperialism.

In the hiatus of DAF 1985-2002 both Robert and Gabi had their own careers. DAF was more or less resurrected by Gabi alone when he toured in 1994-5 as DAF OPD (On Public Demand) touring with classic and remixed DAF material. Following the success of that partial comeback he started Daf.Dos with Wotan Wilke. They released two more techno oriented albums and toured much until Gabi and Robert reunited for the album "Fünfzehn Neue DAF lieder" in 2003.

Notable is also Robert Görls contribution to Eurythmics first album In the Garden where he unmistakably plays the drums on the tracks Belinda and Caveman Head.

Gabi Delgado continued releasing music under his own name, creating the following albums: 1 (2013), X (2014), and 2 (2015).

Gabi Delgado died in March 2020, thus ending his career, but forever immortal in the music and style he created, which would inspire and spawn whole music genres in decades to come.

Alles Ist Gut
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sei still
Sei still
Bitte denk' an nichts
Sei still

Still
Bitte denk' an nichts
Mach' die Augen zu

Bitte denk an nichts
Sei still
Still

Bitte
Bitte denk' an nichts
Glaube mir
Glaube mir
Alles ist gut
Alles ist gut
Sei still

Schließe deine Augen
Denn alles ist gut
Alles ist gut

Sei still
Sei still
Bitte denk' an nichts
Mach' die Augen zu
Denn alles ist gut
Alles ist gut
Alles ist gut
Sei still
Still

Alles ist gut
Alles ist gut

Sei still
Mach' die Augen zu
Bitte
Bitte denk' an nichts
Denn alles ist gut
Alles ist gut

Alles ist gut
Alles ist gut

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft's song Alles Ist Gut can be interpreted as a meditation and affirmation. The repetition of "Sei still" (be still) and "Bitte denk' an nichts" (please think of nothing) suggests a call for inner calmness and detachment from distractions. The song encourages the listener to close their eyes and believe that "Alles ist gut" (everything is good). This can be interpreted as a message of reassurance that everything will work out in the end despite any external challenges or doubts. The repetition of the phrase "Alles ist gut" reinforces the message of positivity and hope.

The use of repetition in the song's lyrics can also be seen as a reflection of the minimalist and repetitive style of the music. The song blends electronic and industrial sounds with punk sensibilities, which was a departure from the more conventional sounds of German pop music at the time. The song's lyrics and music were part of the Neue Deutsche Welle movement, which emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a reaction to mainstream German pop music.

Line by Line Meaning

Sei still
Be quiet

Sei still
Stay silent

Bitte denk' an nichts
Please don't think about anything

Sei still
Stay quiet

Still
Be quiet

Bitte denk' an nichts
Please don't think about anything

Mach' die Augen zu
Close your eyes

Bitte denk an nichts
Please don't think about anything

Sei still
Stay quiet

Still
Be quiet

Bitte
Please

Bitte denk' an nichts
Please don't think about anything

Glaube mir
Believe me