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
Die traurige Ballade von Susi Spakowski
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Darum haben auch alle immer weggesehen,
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für Susi tun,
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für sie tun
Für die Jungs in der Schule war sie der letzte Dreck,
Bei manchen allerdings auch Mittel zum Zweck
Und für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit ließ Susi alles zu
Ihre Mutter war schon lange tot,
Und der Vater voll im Suff
Und nachts nahm Papi sich die Susi vor,
Das war billiger als der Puff,
Das war billiger als der Puff
Susi suchte Hilfe bei,
Den Lehrern und der Polizei
Aber niemand hilft dir, wenn du nur Abschaum bist
Wirklich niemand hilft dir, wenn du wie Susi bist
Und immer größer wurde der Schmerz,
Da fasste Susi sich ein Herz
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
Was Susi abends dann mit Vati tat,
Nennt man gemeinhin Kastration
Zündete ihn und dann die Schule an,
Und stürzte sich vom Balkon,
Und stürzte sich vom Balkon
Wer glaubt, dass sie jetzt in Frieden ruht,
Der kennt die Bibel nicht sehr gut
Denn für Mord da gibt's bei Christen kein Pardon,
Und in der Hölle wartete der Vati schon
The song "Die traurige Ballade von Susi Spakowski" by Die Ärzte is a tragic story of a young girl named Susi, who was not considered beautiful by others in her school. Everyone used to ignore her because of her looks. Later, it is revealed that Susi's mother died, and her alcoholic father took advantage of her every night. Susi tries to seek help from her teachers and the police, but nobody wants to help her because of her status in society as dirt. She falls into a cycle of sadness and pain, feeling helpless because nobody cares about her. Finally, driven by her pain and suffering, Susi takes revenge by castrating her father and setting fire to her school before jumping off her balcony, ending her life. The lyrics of the song portray the tragedy and sadness of Susi's life, where she is ignored and neglected by society until it's too late.
The song "Die traurige Ballade von Susi Spakowski" has several interesting facts that make it unique. First and foremost, the song is a tribute to the 1976 punk rock film, "Junge Rebellen," which is about three young punks struggling with their lives in West Berlin. Secondly, the name "Susi Spakowski" comes from an advertisement in a German magazine. The advertisement featured a woman named "Susi Spoekow" and was used as inspiration for the song. The song's cover art also features a still from "Junge Rebellen." The song was released on the album "Die Ärzte," which was the band's comeback album after their break-up in 1988. The song was written by Bela B., the drummer of the band. The song is one of the most popular and recognizable songs by Die Ärzte. The song is often played at the band's concerts and is a fan favorite. The video for the song features the band playing on a stage with different scenes from "Junge Rebellen" playing in the background. The song has been covered by several artists in different languages, including Spanish and English.
Chords: Dm - F - C - G.
(Verse)
Dm F
Susi war für 'n Mädchen wirklich nicht schön
C G
Darum haben auch alle immer weggesehen,
Dm F
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für Susi tun,
C G
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für sie tun
(Chorus)
Dm F
Für die Jungs in der Schule war sie der letzte Dreck,
C G
Bei manchen allerdings auch Mittel zum Zweck
Dm F
Und für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit ließ Susi alles zu
C G
Und für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit ließ Susi alles zu
(Verse)
Dm F
Ihre Mutter war schon lange tot,
C G
Und der Vater voll im Suff
Dm F
Und nachts nahm Papi sich die Susi vor,
C G
Das war billiger als der Puff,
C G
(Chorus)
Dm F
Susi suchte Hilfe bei,
C G
Den Lehrern und der Polizei
Dm F
Aber niemand hilft dir, wenn du nur Abschaum bist
C G
Wirklich niemand hilft dir, wenn du wie Susi bist
(Verse)
Dm F
Und immer größer wurde der Schmerz,
C G
Da fasste Susi sich ein Herz
Dm F
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
C G
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
(Chorus)
Dm F
Was Susi abends dann mit Vati tat,
C G
Nennt man gemeinhin Kastration
Dm F
Zündete ihn und dann die Schule an,
C G
Und stürzte sich vom Balkon,
C G
(Outro)
Dm F
Wer glaubt, dass sie jetzt in Frieden ruht,
C G
Der kennt die Bibel nicht sehr gut
Dm F
Denn für Mord da gibt's bei Christen kein Pardon,
C G
Und in der Hölle wartete der Vati schon.
Line by Line Meaning
Susi war für 'n Mädchen wirklich nicht schön
Susi wasn't attractive for a girl
Darum haben auch alle immer weggesehen,
That's why everyone always looked the other way
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für Susi tun,
Now it's too late, there's nothing more to do for Susi
Und jetzt ist es zu spät, jetzt kann man nichts mehr für sie tun
And now it's too late, there's nothing more to do for her
Für die Jungs in der Schule war sie der letzte Dreck,
She was the last resort for boys in school
Bei manchen allerdings auch Mittel zum Zweck
For some, she was a means to an end
Und für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit ließ Susi alles zu
And for a bit of affection, Susi allowed anything
Und für ein bisschen Zärtlichkeit ließ Susi alles zu
And for a bit of affection, Susi allowed anything
Ihre Mutter war schon lange tot,
Her mother had been dead for a long time
Und der Vater voll im Suff
And her father was always drunk
Und nachts nahm Papi sich die Susi vor,
And at night, dad attacked Susi
Das war billiger als der Puff,
It was cheaper than a brothel
Das war billiger als der Puff
It was cheaper than a brothel
Susi suchte Hilfe bei,
Susi sought help from
Den Lehrern und der Polizei
Teachers and the police
Aber niemand hilft dir, wenn du nur Abschaum bist
But no one helps if you're just scum
Wirklich niemand hilft dir, wenn du wie Susi bist
Really no one helps if you're like Susi
Und immer größer wurde der Schmerz,
And the pain grew bigger
Da fasste Susi sich ein Herz
Then Susi took courage
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
And that's how it happened
Und so kam es so wie es gekommen ist
And that's how it happened
Was Susi abends dann mit Vati tat,
What Susi did to dad in the evenings
Nennt man gemeinhin Kastration
Is commonly referred to as castration
Zündete ihn und dann die Schule an,
Set him and then the school on fire
Und stürzte sich vom Balkon,
And jumped off the balcony
Und stürzte sich vom Balkon
And jumped off the balcony
Wer glaubt, dass sie jetzt in Frieden ruht,
Whoever believes she's at peace now
Der kennt die Bibel nicht sehr gut
Doesn't know the Bible well
Denn für Mord da gibt's bei Christen kein Pardon,
Because Christians don't forgive murder
Und in der Hölle wartete der Vati schon
And in hell, dad was already waiting
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Bela B. Felsenheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind