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
CLOWN AUS DEM HOSPIZ
Die Ärzte Lyrics
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Und Freudentränen wird es bei dir niemals geben
Es ist traurig, dass die Sonne niemals für dich scheint
Das Glück ist sicher nichts für dich, nichts für dich, mein Freund
Du bist allein, wo nimmst du deine Kraft her?
Doch tränenreich, so wirst du trotzdem durch dein Leben gehen
Deine Kunst ist tragisch außergewöhnlich gut
Voll von Liebe, echtem Leid und aufrichtiger Wut
Du bist allein, wo nimmst du deine Kraft her?
Um dich herum ist alles kalt und leer
Was man sehr schnell vergisst, wenn der Künstler glücklich ist
Verlässt ihn all sein Mut, denn nur im Dunkeln geht's ihm gut
Was man sehr schnell vergisst, wenn der Künstler glücklich ist
Nimmt man von ihm kaum noch Notiz, er ist der Clown aus dem Hospiz
Der Clown aus dem Hospiz
Der Clown aus dem Hospiz
So lebst du im Schatten selbstgewählter Agonie
Schenkst uns pure Schönheit und dunkle Fantasien
Werden wir auch deine Welt nie vollständig berühren
So lassen wir uns gern von dir durch ihre Straßen führen
Du bist allein, wo nimmst du deine Kraft her?
Um dich herum ist alles kalt und leer
Was man sehr schnell vergisst, wenn der Künstler glücklich ist
Nimmt man kaum noch Notiz von dem Clown aus dem Hospiz
Drum lasst ihn allein, bewahrt ihn stets vor'm Glücklichsein
Mit sich im ständigen Disput, denn nur im Dunkeln geht's ihm gut
Im Dunkeln geht's mir gut
Du bist allein, wo nimmst du deine Kraft her?
Du bist allein, hast bald schon keinen Saft mehr
So muss es sein
The lyrics of "Clown aus dem Hospiz" by Die Ärzte highlight the tragic and isolated life of an artist or performer. The song describes a person who will never experience carefree days or tears of joy. The sun never shines on them, and happiness seems to be out of reach. Despite their loneliness, they somehow find the strength to carry on. The artist's life is full of tears, but through their suffering, something beautiful and extraordinary emerges. Their art is described as being infused with love, genuine pain, and sincere anger.
The lyrics suggest that happiness and recognition are fleeting for an artist. When they are content, their courage disappears. The artist feels most comfortable in darkness, where their creativity thrives. The song implies that people often forget about an artist when they are happy, and their struggles are no longer perceived. In this case, the artist is portrayed as a clown residing in a hospice, a place associated with illness and death. The artist lives in the shadow of self-imposed agony, providing the world with beauty and dark fantasies. Even though people may never fully understand their world, they willingly allow the artist to guide them through its streets.
Line by Line Meaning
Du wirst niemals einen unbeschwerten Tag erleben
You will never experience a carefree day
Und Freudentränen wird es bei dir niemals geben
And tears of joy will never happen for you
Es ist traurig, dass die Sonne niemals für dich scheint
It is sad that the sun never shines for you
Das Glück ist sicher nichts für dich, nichts für dich, mein Freund
Happiness is definitely not for you, not for you, my friend
Du bist allein, wo nimmst du deine Kraft her?
You are alone, where do you get your strength from?
Doch tränenreich, so wirst du trotzdem durch dein Leben gehen
But full of tears, you will still go through your life
Und was aus deinem Leid entsteht, wird dennoch wunderschön
And what arises from your suffering will still be beautiful
Deine Kunst ist tragisch außergewöhnlich gut
Your art is tragically exceptionally good
Voll von Liebe, echtem Leid und aufrichtiger Wut
Full of love, true pain, and sincere anger
Um dich herum ist alles kalt und leer
Everything around you is cold and empty
Was man sehr schnell vergisst, wenn der Künstler glücklich ist
What one quickly forgets when the artist is happy
Verlässt ihn all sein Mut, denn nur im Dunkeln geht's ihm gut
All his courage leaves him, because he only feels good in the dark
Nimmt man von ihm kaum noch Notiz, er ist der Clown aus dem Hospiz
One hardly notices him anymore, he is the clown from the hospice
So lebst du im Schatten selbstgewählter Agonie
So you live in the shadow of self-chosen agony
Schenkst uns pure Schönheit und dunkle Fantasien
You give us pure beauty and dark fantasies
Werden wir auch deine Welt nie vollständig berühren
We will never fully touch your world
So lassen wir uns gern von dir durch ihre Straßen führen
So we gladly let you guide us through your streets
Drum lasst ihn allein, bewahrt ihn stets vor'm Glücklichsein
So leave him alone, always protect him from being happy
Im Dunkeln geht's mir gut
I feel good in the dark
Du bist allein, hast bald schon keinen Saft mehr
You are alone, soon you won't have any energy left
So muss es sein
That's how it must be
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Dirk Felsenheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind