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
Buddy Holly's Brille
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Er hatte eine Brille und eine Gitarre
Auf der Gitarre spielte er bis zur Ekstase
Und die Brille trug er immer auf seiner Nase
Er sang wie ein Engel und war überall bekannt
Zum Schlafengehen hing er die Gitarre an die Wand
Doch seine Brille hat er niemals abgesetzt
Er war schlank und hatte Glück bei den Frauen
Er brauchte ihnen nur in die Augen zu schauen
Wenn ihn die Brille dabei einmal störte
Dann sang er solange, bis sie ihn erhörte
Er stieg in ein Flugzeug und grinste hinaus
Von oben sah die Erde überwältigend aus
Das Flugzeug stürzte ab, und die Welt war entsetzt
Wo ist Buddy Holly's Brille jetzt?
Um die verschwundene Brille entstand eine Sage
Es hieß, man könne singen, wenn man sie trage
Viele Schurken waren deshalb hinter ihr her
Doch von denen trägt die Brille garantiert keiner mehr
Es stand in seinem Testament, es war sein letzter Wille
Wenn ihr mich einst begraben müsst, dann nur mit meiner Brille
Damit ist auch dieses Rätsel endlich gelöst
Buddy Holly ist mit seiner Brille verwest
Die ganze Welt (außer Russland) hat Buddy Holly geliebt
Als er so jung gestorben ist waren viele Menschen betrübt
Und das ist ein guter Grund, sich selber umzubringen
Denn im Himmel wird Buddy wieder für uns singen
The lyrics to "Buddy Holly's Brille" by Die Ärzte tell the story of Buddy Holly, a rock and roll icon from the 1950s. The song describes his physical appearance, including his brown hair and eyes, as well as his trademark glasses and guitar. Holly was known for playing his guitar with great passion, as mentioned in the lyrics, and his glasses were a distinctive part of his look.
Despite his success as a musician, Holly was also a romantic figure, known for his charming demeanor with women. The lyrics hint at this with the line "Er brauchte ihnen nur in die Augen zu schauen" ("He only needed to look into their eyes"). However, his music was his primary love, as evidenced by the fact that he would rather hang his guitar up than go to sleep. Holly's glasses were always a part of his image and he never took them off. The song asks the question "Where is Buddy Holly’s Brille now?" which refers to the whereabouts of his iconic glasses.
The song takes a melancholy turn as it recounts the tragic death of Holly in a plane crash. After Holly's death, his glasses became a symbol of his legacy in music. Many people wanted them, but only one person was left with them: Holly himself. The song's final verse reveals that Holly's last wish was to be buried with his glasses, and therefore, the mystery of the whereabouts of his glasses is solved. The final line is a playful reference to suicide as a way to be reunited with the beloved musician in heaven.
Overall, the lyrics to "Buddy Holly's Brille" are a tribute to the legendary musician and the impact he had on rock and roll music. The song touches on Holly's personal and musical life, as well as the enduring legacy of his image and his glasses.
Line by Line Meaning
Er hatte braune Augen und auch braune Haare
Buddy Holly's physical appearance was characterized by brown eyes and brown hair.
Er hatte eine Brille und eine Gitarre
Buddy Holly was known for owning a guitar and wearing glasses.
Auf der Gitarre spielte er bis zur Ekstase
When playing his guitar, Buddy Holly would become ecstatic and deeply engrossed in the music.
Und die Brille trug er immer auf seiner Nase
Buddy Holly never took off his glasses and always wore them on his nose.
Er sang wie ein Engel und war überall bekannt
Buddy Holly was known all over for singing like an angel and having a great voice.
Zum Schlafengehen hing er die Gitarre an die Wand
Before going to sleep, Buddy Holly would hang his guitar on the wall.
Doch seine Brille hat er niemals abgesetzt
Buddy Holly never took off his glasses, even when he slept.
Wo ist Buddy Holly's Brille jetzt?
Where is Buddy Holly's glasses now?
Er war schlank und hatte Glück bei den Frauen
Buddy Holly was slim and had great luck with women.
Er brauchte ihnen nur in die Augen zu schauen
Buddy Holly only needed to look into a woman's eyes to win her over.
Wenn ihn die Brille dabei einmal störte
If his glasses ever got in the way of wooing a woman,
Dann sang er solange, bis sie ihn erhörte
Buddy Holly would sing until he got the woman's attention and interest back.
Er stieg in ein Flugzeug und grinste hinaus
Buddy Holly boarded a plane and smiled before takeoff.
Von oben sah die Erde überwältigend aus
Looking down from above, the world appeared incredibly beautiful to Buddy Holly.
Das Flugzeug stürzte ab, und die Welt war entsetzt
The world was shocked when the plane crashed and Buddy Holly passed away.
Wo ist Buddy Holly's Brille jetzt?
Where is Buddy Holly's glasses now?
Um die verschwundene Brille entstand eine Sage
A legend emerged surrounding the missing glasses.
Es hieß, man könne singen, wenn man sie trage
It was said that wearing the glasses allowed one to sing like Buddy Holly.
Viele Schurken waren deshalb hinter ihr her
Many people tried to steal the glasses for this reason.
Doch von denen trägt die Brille garantiert keiner mehr
None of those people are wearing the glasses now.
Es stand in seinem Testament, es war sein letzter Wille
Buddy Holly's will declared that he be buried wearing his glasses.
Wenn ihr mich einst begraben müsst, dann nur mit meiner Brille
He requested to be buried wearing the glasses.
Damit ist auch dieses Rätsel endlich gelöst
The mystery is finally solved.
Buddy Holly ist mit seiner Brille verwest
Buddy Holly was buried wearing his glasses.
Die ganze Welt (außer Russland) hat Buddy Holly geliebt
Buddy Holly was loved all over the world (except for Russia).
Als er so jung gestorben ist waren viele Menschen betrübt
Many people were saddened by Buddy Holly's early death.
Und das ist ein guter Grund, sich selber umzubringen
This is a good reason to consider suicide.
Denn im Himmel wird Buddy wieder für uns singen
In heaven, Buddy Holly will sing for us again.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jan Vetter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mcbillygoat !
This sounds great. Very unique sound.
David Heilmann
THX ;)
EdwardianMama
buddy ist jetzt 58 jahre tot- und seine musik wird immer noch gehört. im grunde genommen haben ihm die ärzte mit diesem lied einen gelungenen tribut gezollt, ohne dabei sich selbst aus den augen zu verlieren- finde selbst ich als ted klasse ;)
VN
Bin seit Teenagerliebe von den Texten der Ärzte fasziniert. "Buddy Holly´s Brille" ist ein absolutes Tribute voller Achtung Richtung Buddy!
Buddy Holly und Die Ärzte sind einfach nur edel!
Lara DTH
Dieses Lied hat mich sofort mit seiner Melodie angezogen ,einfach nur cool ❕😘
Janine Markert
Hammergeil dieses Lied, Dankeschön 💗💗💗😘
TurboKai
Flashbacks.. Klingt wie damals die Bandfestivals an meiner Schule... Danke!
Andreas Chlapek
Buddy Holly, der wahre king des Rock n Roll
losmo68
Das waren noch meine Ärzte... jeder braucht irgendwann Ärzte...
Bri no
Albern und melancholisch zugleich. Das mußt Du erstmal schaffen in nem Lied.