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
Antizombie
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
hat früher immer mein Großvater erzählt.
Schon mal was von Macumba gehört oder Voodoo?
Mein Großvater war ein Priester in Trinidad.
Er pflegte zu sagen
'Wenn in der Hölle kein Platz mehr ist,
kommen die Toten auf die Erde'."
Sie fressen alle auf.
Und hast Du keine Knarre,
rate ich Dir: "Lauf!"
Sie sind nicht mehr am Leben.
Sie sind nicht tot.
Wenn ich sie seh', dann seh' ich rot.
Ziel auf den Kopf, keine Gnade.
Sie haben mit unseren lieben Toten nichts gemein.
Du hörst sie schmatzen und hohles Stöhnen.
Ich werd' sie mit 'ner Ladung Blei verwöhnen.
Sie wandern stumpf durch die Botanik.
Nur die Ruhe, bitte keine Panik!
Es muss so sein, Du musst es tun.
Und dann können Sie in Frieden ruhen.
(Ooh) Sie kommen aus der Hölle,
(Ooh) denn da gibt es viel zu viele.
(Ooh) Der Eintritt ist verboten,
(Ooh) Für die lebenden Toten.
Bist Du bereit?
Dann mach sie alle.
Dafür bleibst Du auch am Leben.
Hast Du genug Blei dabei?
Dann sag' ich Dir: "Feuer frei!"
Ob Neunmillimeter oder Maschinengewehr,
schieß doch einfach 'n paar Magazine leer!
Vorsicht sie kommen mit dem Impuls.
Fressen, um zu fressen, um zu killen.
(Ooh) Sie kommen aus der Hölle,
(Ooh) denn da gibt es viel zu viele.
(Ooh) Der Eintritt ist verboten,
(Ooh) Für die lebenden Toten.
(Ooh) Sie kommen aus der Hölle,
(Ooh) denn da gibt es viel zu viele.
(Ooh) Der Eintritt ist verboten,
(Ooh) Für die lebenden Toten.
"Ruhe bitte, Dummköpfe, Ruhe bitte
Dummköpfe, manchmal fragt man sich,
ob sich die Rettungsversuche überhaupt lohnen.
Lohnt es sich die Menschen zu retten?
So wie ich die Sache sehe,
ist die Intelligenz bereits ausgerottet
und es leben nur noch die Idioten."
The opening lyrics to Die Ärzte's song Antizombie are quite intriguing, as they reference traditional Trinidadian beliefs in Macumba and Voodoo, as well as the concept that the dead will rise and walk the earth when there is no longer room for them in Hell. The singer's grandfather was a priest in Trinidad, and he is passing down his beliefs to the singer. The rest of the song is about fighting the undead, who are not quite alive but not quite dead either, and the singer encourages the listener to shoot them all to ensure their own survival.
One interpretation of the song's lyrics is that it is a commentary on mindless consumerism and conformity in society. The zombies represent those who mindlessly consume and follow societal norms without any thought or intelligence. The repeated refrain of "Sie kommen aus der Hölle" ("They come from Hell") could be seen as a metaphor for the banality of modern life, where people become "undead" by simply going through the motions of daily life without truly living.
Overall, the song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of losing one's sense of individuality and succumbing to the mindless masses. The singer urges the listener to fight against conformity and mindless consumption, even if it means taking violent action.
Line by Line Meaning
In der Hölle ist kein Platz mehr,
According to my grandfather, hell has no more room left.
hat früher immer mein Großvater erzählt.
My grandfather used to say those words frequently.
Schon mal was von Macumba gehört oder Voodoo?
Have you heard of Macumba or Voodoo before?
Mein Großvater war ein Priester in Trinidad.
My grandfather was a priest in Trinidad.
Er pflegte zu sagen
'Wenn in der Hölle kein Platz mehr ist,
kommen die Toten auf die Erde'.
He used to say, 'When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.'
Sie essen alle auf.
They eat everything.
Sie fressen alle auf.
They devour everything.
Und hast Du keine Knarre,
rate ich Dir: "Lauf!"
If you don't have a gun, I advise you to run.
Sie sind nicht mehr am Leben.
They are no longer alive.
Sie sind nicht tot.
They are not dead.
Wenn ich sie seh', dann seh' ich rot.
I get very angry when I see them.
Ziel auf den Kopf, keine Gnade.
Aim for the head, no mercy.
Sie haben mit unseren lieben Toten nichts gemein.
They have nothing in common with our dear dead ones.
Du hörst sie schmatzen und hohles Stöhnen.
You can hear them smacking and making hollow groans.
Ich werd' sie mit 'ner Ladung Blei verwöhnen.
I'll indulge them with a load of lead bullets.
Sie wandern stumpf durch die Botanik.
They wander dully through the flora.
Nur die Ruhe, bitte keine Panik!
Just calm down, no need to panic!
Es muss so sein, Du musst es tun.
It has to be done, you must do it.
Und dann können Sie in Frieden ruhen.
Then they can rest in peace.
(Ooh) Sie kommen aus der Hölle,
(Ooh) They come from hell,
(Ooh) denn da gibt es viel zu viele.
(Ooh) Because there are too many of them.
(Ooh) Der Eintritt ist verboten,
(Ooh) Entry is forbidden,
(Ooh) Für die lebenden Toten.
(Ooh) For the living dead.
Bist Du bereit?
Are you ready?
Dann mach sie alle.
Then kill them all.
Dafür bleibst Du auch am Leben.
That way, you'll stay alive.
Hast Du genug Blei dabei?
Do you have enough lead bullets with you?
Dann sag' ich Dir: "Feuer frei!"
Then I say to you, 'Open fire!'
Ob Neunmillimeter oder Maschinengewehr,
Whether it's a nine millimeter or a machine gun,
schieß doch einfach 'n paar Magazine leer!
Just shoot a few magazines empty!
Vorsicht sie kommen mit dem Impuls.
Be careful, they come with the impulse.
Fressen, um zu fressen, um zu killen.
Eating to eat, to kill.
"Ruhe bitte, Dummköpfe, Ruhe bitte
"Calm down, idiots, please rest,
Dummköpfe, manchmal fragt man sich,
Sometimes, one wonders,
ob sich die Rettungsversuche überhaupt lohnen.
Whether rescue efforts are worth it at all.
Lohnt es sich die Menschen zu retten?
Is it worth saving people?
So wie ich die Sache sehe,
As I see it,
ist die Intelligenz bereits ausgerottet
Intelligence has already been eradicated,
und es leben nur noch die Idioten."
And only idiots are left to live.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind