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
Besserwisserboy
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Finger hebst und uns sagst, wo es langgeht.
Du warst immer mein Idol und ich hing an deinen Lippen, Tag für Tag.
Aber heute, heute muss es raus.")
Du weißt nicht nur alles, du weißt alles besser
Dein Verstand ist schärfer als ein Schweizer Messer, du bist
Klugscheißerman
Mit deinen Geistesblitzen kann man Kathedralen erhellen
Man braucht dir noch nicht mal eine Frage zu stellen, du bist
Klugscheißerman ("Klugscheißerman")
Wer genau war Mata Hari? Wo starb eigentlich James Dean?
Wie viel U/min hat ein Ferrari — und was zum Henker sind U/min?
Klugscheißerman — früher warst du Besserwisserboy ("Besserwisserboy")
Du bleibst dir treu (oh, wie ich mich freu)
Du kennst jede Antwort auf alle Fragen
Die Wahrheit kannst du nämlich selbst nicht ertragen
Das klingt vielleicht seltsam, doch das musste sein
Das war fast ein Zitat von Peter Hein
Klugscheißerman ("bla bla bla bla")
Klugscheißerman
Deine Worte voller Weisheit fließen aus den Tiefen deines Seins
Pausenlos in meine Ohren — ohne dich wär ich verloren
Ich wüsste nicht aus noch ein — und darum werde ich dir ewig
Dankbar sein, ich krieche vor dir auf dem Gehweg
("Ich bin dein Fan, Klugscheißerman")
Wenn ich dich etwas frage, kommen mir die Tränen
Du hast nicht eine Antwort — nein, du hast zehn!
Du weißt es, du kennst es, du kannst es verstehn
Und wenn's 'n Film darüber gibt, hast du ihn geseh'n
Und wenn's 'n Buch gibt, dann hast du es gelesen
Wenn du dich mal irrst, fress ich 'nen Besen
Wärst du 'ne Kirchentür, du hingst voller Thesen
Du bist das perfekte Lebewesen
Klugscheißerman ("bla bla bla bla")
Klugscheißerman,
verheiratet mit Rechthabewoman ("oh mein Gott")
Klugscheißerman
The song "Besserwisserboy" by Die Ärzte is a humorous take on the annoying know-it-all friend who always corrects others and thinks they know everything. The song starts by acknowledging the friend's knowledge and intelligence but quickly turns to mocking their constant need to correct others and show off their knowledge. The singer seems to have had enough of their friend's behavior and decides to call them out on it. The chorus repeats the phrase "Klugscheißerman" which translates to "know-it-all man," adding to the mockery of the friend.
The verses of the song present humorous examples of the friend's behavior, such as knowing random trivia about Mata Hari or the RPM of a Ferrari. The lyrics also point out that the friend doesn't just know everything, but they also feel the need to constantly share that knowledge with those around them. The second verse even includes a reference to a quote by musician Peter Hein, adding another layer of humor and ironic self-awareness to the song.
Despite the mocking tone of the song, there may be a sense of fondness and admiration for the friend in question, as the singer admits to being a fan and feeling lost without their constant flow of information. Overall, "Besserwisserboy" is a witty and playful take on the common annoyance of having a know-it-all friend.
Line by Line Meaning
Du weißt nicht nur alles, du weißt alles besser
You don't just know everything, you think you know everything better than others
Dein Verstand ist schärfer als ein Schweizer Messer, du bist Klugscheißerman
Your mind is sharper than a Swiss army knife, you are a know-it-all
Mit deinen Geistesblitzen kann man Kathedralen erhellen
Your brainstorms are so brilliant they can illuminate cathedrals
Man braucht dir noch nicht mal eine Frage zu stellen, du bist Klugscheißerman ('Klugscheißerman')
You don't even need to be asked a question, you're already speaking up and showing off your knowledge
Wer genau war Mata Hari? Wo starb eigentlich James Dean? Wie viel U/min hat ein Ferrari – und was zum Henker sind U/min?
You know every answer to every question, no matter how obscure or trivial
Klugscheißerman – früher warst du Besserwisserboy ('Besserwisserboy')
You used to be just a know-it-all, but now you're a full-blown smart-aleck
Du kennst jede Antwort auf alle Fragen
You know every answer to every question
Die Wahrheit kannst du nämlich selbst nicht ertragen
You can't even handle the truth yourself
Das klingt vielleicht seltsam, doch das musste sein
This might sound strange, but it had to be said
Das war fast ein Zitat von Peter Hein
That was almost a quote from Peter Hein
Deine Worte voller Weisheit fließen aus den Tiefen deines Seins
Your words of wisdom flow from the depths of your being
Pausenlos in meine Ohren – ohne dich wär ich verloren
Your voice never stops in my ears - without you I'd be lost
Ich wüsste nicht aus noch ein – und darum werde ich dir ewig Dankbar sein, ich krieche vor dir auf dem Gehweg
I wouldn't know what to do without you, and that's why I'll be forever grateful to you - I'm crawling on the sidewalk before you
Wenn ich dich etwas frage, kommen mir die Tränen
When I ask you something, I feel like crying
Du hast nicht eine Antwort – nein, du hast zehn!
You don't have just one answer, no - you have ten!
Und wenn's 'n Film darüber gibt, hast du ihn geseh'n
And if there's a movie about it, you've seen it
Und wenn's 'n Buch gibt, dann hast du es gelesen
And if there's a book about it, you've read it
Wenn du dich mal irrst, fress ich 'nen Besen
If you're ever wrong, I'll eat a broom
Wärst du 'ne Kirchentür, du hingst voller Thesen
If you were a church door, you'd be covered in theses
Du bist das perfekte Lebewesen
You are the perfect living being
verheiratet mit Rechthabewoman ('oh mein Gott')
Married to Mrs. Always-Right (oh my God)
Contributed by Ryan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.