Die Ärzte were formed in 1982 by Jan Vetter (alias Farin Urlaub), Dirk Felsenheimer (alias Bela B.) and bassist Hans Runge (alias Sahnie). Bela and Farin had previously played together in the punk band Soilent Grün; after that band broke up they decided to form a band playing fun songs, in contrast to the mostly political bands of the punk scene at that time. While deriving from that punk scene, their early music was heavily influenced by pop and rock and roll, especially The Beatles, whom Farin heard a lot as a child due to his mother playing their records.
In the first two years they mostly played in clubs of their hometown of Berlin. Their first release was a contribution to the sampler "20 schäumende Stimmungshits" (roughly, "20 exuberant mood hits"), which contained a strong alcohol theme. In 1983 they won a rock contest in Berlin; with the prize money they recorded their debut EP "Uns gehts Prima" ("We're doing great"). Finally Columbia Records signed them, and they released their first LP "Debil" in 1984 and the second one ("Im Schatten der Ärzte") a year later.
After the second record they parted ways with Sahnie due to internal problems. On the third record he was replaced by producer Miccey Meuser; later Hagen Liebig, better known as The Incredible Hagen, played bass for them during live performances until their breakup.
In 1987 the German Federal Centre for Media Harmful to Young Persons put the songs Geschwisterliebe ("Sibling Love", a song about incest, from Die Ärzte), Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund ("Claudia has a German Shepherd", about zoophilia, from "Debil") and Schlaflied ("Lullaby", about a monster coming and eating you after falling asleep, also from "Debil") on the German List of Media Harmful to Young People. This prohibited the band from performing the songs live and, more importantly, promoting the two albums, and shops from openly displaying the records in their shelves. After several trials against shops that still openly sold the records a lot of shops removed Die Ärzte completely from their stock. The result was a drop in record sales and big financial problems for the band. In response they released the compilation "Ab 18" ("Adults Only") with all their songs on the index and some other old and new tasteless songs, and the greatest hits album "Ist das alles?"("Is this everything?" but also can be translated as "Is this the end?"). The album and the new singles were fairly successful, partly because of growing media interest due to the previous censorship.
The following album "Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit" ("That is not the whole truth") was even more successful, climbing into the top 10 in the German album charts. They decided to go out on a high note in 1988, breaking up after doing one last tour and recording a live double album that became their first number one in the album charts.
Neither Farin's new band King Køng nor Bela's Depp Jones were really successful, so in 1993 they decided to do a reunion. As bass player they invited Rodrigo Gonzales, who was guitarist in Depp Jones and a friend of Bela. Their comeback single was Schrei nach Liebe ("Cry for Love"), their first ever political song, that they published as a statement against what was perceived as growing racism and right wing extremist violence in Germany at that time.
The album was more diverse than ever, with ballads, punk, rock and traditional German sounds. Both album and single became big hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The follow-up "Planet Punk" was also very successful.
In 1996 they wanted to make an EP just about hair, but they wrote too many songs for an EP and made the Album "Le Frisur" ("The Hairdo") instead. It was slightly less successful than its predecessors. Apart from their own tours they also supported Kiss in that year, a dream come true for Bela and Rod.
1998 was perhaps the most successful year of their career, the single "Männer sind Schweine" ("Men are Pigs") being their first Number 1 single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the album 13 also being Number 1 in Germany and Switzerland. After a lot of promotion and touring in that year they decided to take a break, deciding also to never play again "Männer sind Schweine" at a concert due to the too great success this song had. They did not like the upcoming unwanted and rather unoriginal remakes by other bands as e.g. "Frauen sind Schweine" ("Women are pigs") and also did not like to see their song played at mass tourist beach parties at places like Mallorca/Spain.
In 2000 they came back with another very successful album, "Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer!", and two top 10 singles. As the third single from the album they released the 30-second-song "Yoko Ono", which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the shortest single ever released - another example of their sense of humour. On their tour in 2001 they sold the limited Album "5, 6, 7, 8 Bullenstaat" consisting of short punk songs that were written and recorded while recording the full length album published a year before, and some cover songs published in 1994 on a tour only EP.
After that they again took a break: Bela did some acting, Farin recorded his first solo album (Endlich Urlaub!). In late 2002 they did an MTV Unplugged in a school auditorium together with the school band. After that they made a new double album Geräusch that was released in 2003. On the next tour a Live DVD was recorded and published one year later.
On 2 November 2007, Die Ärzte released their latest album, Jazz ist anders ("Jazz is nothing like this", literally "Jazz is different").
In August 2011 the band announced that they are working on a new album which is set to be released in 2012 with a tour called "Das Ende ist noch nicht vorbei" ("The end is not over yet") following in the summer 2012.
The official homepage for Die Ärzte is www.bademeister.com
ANASTASIA
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mit Haarausfall und Mundgeruch, verschwitzt im Anzug
Ich finde, dass es gar nicht so wild ist
Aber Kollegen nennen mich den Iltis
Ich sag' das nur, damit jeder hier im Bild ist
Ich bin noch neu auf dieser Dating-App
Früher haben wir Frauen analog abgeschleppt
Ich bin doch kein Depp
Eine hat mich auf Tinder nach rechts geschoben
Ich hoffe, dass ihr klar ist, ich lieg' oben
Und hinterher will sie sich sowieso verloben
Anastasia
Das erste Date in einer Bar
Ich war schon zwei Stunden vorher da
Weil ich aufgeregt war
Zwei Stunden voller Emotionen
Ob wir wohl zusammen wohnen?
Und hoffentlich hat sie Brüste wie Melonen
Sie kam herein und war wunderschön
Hat mich zum ersten Mal live gesehen
Und wollte gleich gehen
Mein Profilbild ist Justin Bieber
Denn mir sind jüngere Mädchen lieber
Falls dich das abschreckt
Hey, meine inneren Werte sind korrekt
Anastasia
Liebe ist, was wir draus machen
Anastasia
Ich bin ab heute immer für dich da
Hör' bitte auf mich auszulachen
Ich finde, dass wir gut zusammenpassen
Ich werd' dich nie mehr aus den Augen lassen
Dich ständig anfassen
Du musstest nur mir in die Eier treten
Ich wollte nur kurz deine Brüste kneten
Und vor dem Altar deiner Jungfräulichkeit beten
Anastasia
Ich bin hier, doch du bist nicht mehr da
Anastasia
Ich weiß, du warst so kalt wie Eis und ganz wunderbar
Anastasia
Mein Selbstbewusstsein ist grad' in Gefahr
Meine nächste Frau wird wieder aufblasbar
The song ANASTASIA by Die Ärzte is a satirical take on modern-day dating culture and the use of dating apps. In the lyrics, the singer introduces himself, stating that he is a typical guy with flaws like hair loss and bad breath, but considers it not a big deal. He then goes on to talk about his experience with dating apps, explaining that he used to approach women the old-fashioned way, but now he is trying his luck on digital platforms. The chorus introduces the character of Anastasia, a woman he met on Tinder and wants to have a relationship with.
The first verse of the song is revealing of the character's mindset and how he sees himself. In his attempt to be honest, he admits his shortcomings and imperfections, but seems to be comfortable with them. However, he acknowledges that his colleagues mock him for it, implying that his self-acceptance is not common among men. The second verse describes the singer's first date with Anastasia in a humorous and ironic way. He over-prepares for the occasion, frets over the possibility of living together, and hopes that she has "melons-like breasts." His profile picture on the app is Justin Bieber, a pop star known for having a younger fan base, suggesting that he prefers dating younger women.
The chorus mentions Anastasia again, framing her as the object of the singer's affection. However, the last verse takes a dark turn, as he expresses his frustration with her behavior and how it disrupted his expectations. He talks about touching her without consent, and how he feels betrayed by her rejecting his advances. The song ends with him admitting his self-esteem is low and jokingly stating that he'll be dating inflatable dolls from now on.
Overall, the lyrics of ANASTASIA convey a disdain for superficiality and cheap thrills regarding dating, highlighting the objectification and entitlement that can happen in online interactions. The satirical tone and exaggerated scenarios are meant to poke fun at the absurdities and contradictions of modern dating culture.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich bin 'n Kerl wie aus'm Bilderbuch
Mit Haarausfall und Mundgeruch, verschwitzt im Anzug
Ich finde, dass es gar nicht so wild ist
Aber Kollegen nennen mich den Iltis
Ich sag' das nur, damit jeder hier im Bild ist
I'm a guy straight out of a stereotype
With balding head and bad breath, sweating in a suit
I don't think it's a big deal
But my colleagues call me the weasel
I'm just saying it so everyone knows
Ich bin noch neu auf dieser Dating-App
Früher haben wir Frauen analog abgeschleppt
Ich bin doch kein Depp
I'm new to this dating app
Before, we used to pick up women in person
But I'm not stupid
Eine hat mich auf Tinder nach rechts geschoben
Ich hoffe, dass ihr klar ist, ich lieg' oben
Und hinterher will sie sich sowieso verloben
Anastasia
One girl swiped right on me on Tinder
I hope she knows I'm in charge
And afterwards she'll want to get engaged
Anastasia
Das erste Date in einer Bar
Ich war schon zwei Stunden vorher da
Weil ich aufgeregt war
Zwei Stunden voller Emotionen
Ob wir wohl zusammen wohnen?
Und hoffentlich hat sie Brüste wie Melonen
Sie kam herein und war wunderschön
Hat mich zum ersten Mal live gesehen
Und wollte gleich gehen
Mein Profilbild ist Justin Bieber
Denn mir sind jüngere Mädchen lieber
Falls dich das abschreckt
Hey, meine inneren Werte sind korrekt
The first date at a bar
I was there two hours early
Because I was nervous
Two hours full of emotions
Will we live together?
And hopefully she has breasts like melons
She walked in and was beautiful
Saw me in person for the first time
And wanted to leave right away
My profile picture is Justin Bieber
Because I prefer younger girls
If that scares you
Hey, my inner qualities are correct
Anastasia
Liebe ist, was wir draus machen
Anastasia
Ich bin ab heute immer für dich da
Hör' bitte auf mich auszulachen
Anastasia
Love is what we make of it
Anastasia
From now on, I'm always here for you
Please stop laughing at me
Ich finde, dass wir gut zusammenpassen
Ich werd' dich nie mehr aus den Augen lassen
Dich ständig anfassen
Du musstest nur mir in die Eier treten
Ich wollte nur kurz deine Brüste kneten
Und vor dem Altar deiner Jungfräulichkeit beten
Anastasia
I think we're a good match
I'll never let you out of my sight
Touching you constantly
You just had to kick me in the balls
I just wanted to squeeze your breasts
And pray at the altar of your virginity
Anastasia
Anastasia
Ich bin hier, doch du bist nicht mehr da
Anastasia
Ich weiß, du warst so kalt wie Eis und ganz wunderbar
Anastasia
Mein Selbstbewusstsein ist grad' in Gefahr
Meine nächste Frau wird wieder aufblasbar
Anastasia
I'm here, but you're not here anymore
Anastasia
I know you were as cold as ice and wonderful
Anastasia
My self-confidence is in danger
My next woman will be inflatable again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Farin Urlaub
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind