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
Dir
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ich weiß, was ich am allerliebsten spiel
Ich weiß, wann ich mich total verlier
Das machst du mit mir
Ich weiß, wann Schönheit animalisch ist
Als wenn ein Engel einen Teufel küsst
Wo das Dunkel strahlt im hellsten Licht
Es ist jetzt und hier, wenn ich vor Hitze frier
Wenn ich zitter vor Gier und doch triumphier
Das machst du mit mir, und ich liebe dich dafür
Es ist die Lauer vor dem Überfall
Es ist das Kribbeln wirklich überall
Eine bessere Droge gibt es nicht
Und das weiß ich durch dich
Es ist jetzt und hier, wenn ich vor Hitze frier
Wenn ich zitter vor Gier und doch triumphier
Das machst du mit mir, ich danke dir dafür
Nachts, wenn unsere Liebe salzig schmeckt
Das Raubtier seine Krallen ausstreckt
Alle Wege nur in eine Richtung führn
Will ich dich für immer spürn
Es ist jetzt und hier, wenn ich vor Hitze frier
Wenn ich zitter vor Gier und doch triumphier
Das machst du mit mir, denn ick liebe dir
The song "Dir" by Die Ärzte is a love ballad that describes the euphoric feeling of being in love and the intense physical sensations that come with it. The singer starts by saying that they know where they feel most comfortable and what they love to do most, but they also know when they can become completely lost in the moment, and it's all because of the person they love. They go on to describe the animalistic beauty of their partner and how they bring light to even the darkest moments. The singer admits that they feel a mix of heat and excitement which can make them tremble but also succeed. It's all because of this person, and the singer thanks them for it.
The chorus repeats the sentiment that it is because of this person that the singer feels so alive, and there is no better drug than the feeling of being with them. They describe that the feeling is always in the moment, like a waiting period before an attack, where the suspense and anticipation are building with every second, and then the moment of triumph or release comes. They end the song by describing how, at night, when their love tastes salty and their partner's animalistic tendencies come out, they feel like they want to hold onto them forever.
Overall, "Dir" is a song about the intense physical and emotional sensations that come with being in love with someone, and how that person can make everything in life feel like it's worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich weiß, wo ich mich am wohlsten fühl
I know where I feel most comfortable
Ich weiß, was ich am allerliebsten spiel
I know what I love to play the most
Ich weiß, wann ich mich total verlier
I know when I totally lose myself
Das machst du mit mir
You make that happen with me
Ich weiß, wann Schönheit animalisch ist
I know when beauty is animalistic
Als wenn ein Engel einen Teufel küsst
As if an angel is kissing a devil
Wo das Dunkel strahlt im hellsten Licht
Where darkness shines in the brightest light
Und das weiß ich durch dich
And I know that because of you
Es ist jetzt und hier, wenn ich vor Hitze frier
It's here and now, when I'm freezing from the heat
Wenn ich zitter vor Gier und doch triumphier
When I tremble with desire and yet triumph
Das machst du mit mir, und ich liebe dich dafür
You make that happen with me, and I love you for it
Es ist die Lauer vor dem Überfall
It's the anticipation before the attack
Es ist das Kribbeln wirklich überall
It's the tingling sensation everywhere
Eine bessere Droge gibt es nicht
There's no better drug
Und das weiß ich durch dich
And I know that because of you
Nachts, wenn unsere Liebe salzig schmeckt
At night, when our love tastes salty
Das Raubtier seine Krallen ausstreckt
When the predator extends its claws
Alle Wege nur in eine Richtung führn
All roads lead in one direction
Will ich dich für immer spürn
I want to feel you forever
Das machst du mit mir, ich danke dir dafür
You make that happen with me, I thank you for it
Es ist jetzt und hier, wenn ich vor Hitze frier
It's here and now, when I'm freezing from the heat
Wenn ich zitter vor Gier und doch triumphier
When I tremble with desire and yet triumph
Das machst du mit mir, denn ick liebe dir
You make that happen with me, because I love you
Contributed by Isaiah T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.