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
ERHABEN
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doch das ist die ganz egal
Und wenn es schon allein beim Zusehen richtig wehtut
Machst du den Fehler gleich nochmal
Hartnäckig und voller Gleichmut
Scheiterst du am Leben, jeden Tag
Dein Weg führt dich nirgendwo hin
Aber das Wunderbare dabei ist
Dass du glücklich bist
Du bist so weit vom Ziel entfernt
Aus alle den Schäden nichts gelernt
Du hältst nichts von Vollkommenheit
Und wirkst trotzdem die ganze Zeit
Erhaben, erhaben, erhaben
Nennt man das noch Fatalismus
Ist es gezielte Ignoranz
Mir ist klar, dass du nichts anderes willst
Doch weiß ich nicht genau
Ob du vielleicht nicht anders kannst
Mit einer Sturheit, die wohl weltweit
Ihresgleichen sucht, gibst du niemals auf
Nichts ergibt Sinn, nichts funktioniert
Zum Untergang prädestiniert
Doch wenn ich ehrlich bin
Du wirkst trotzdem, als würdest du gewinnen
Mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht
Siehst du die Hindernisse nicht?
Rennst wieder mal gegen die Wand
Sinnlos und hirnverbrannt und doch
Erhaben, erhaben, erhaben
Du bist
Erhaben, erhaben, erhaben
Nichts funktioniert, nichts ergibt Sinn
Dein Weg führt dich nirgendwo hin
Aber das Wunderbare dabei ist
Dass du glücklich bist
Du bist so weit vom Ziel entfernt
Aus alle den Schäden nichts gelernt
Und du hast doch gesiegt
Weil erst im Scheitern, wahre Schönheit liegt
The song "Erhaben" by Die Ärzte is a celebration of human imperfection and the ability to find happiness despite failure. The lyrics describe a person who repeatedly makes mistakes and fails in life, but remains stoic and content. The singer is stubborn and resilient, refusing to give up in the face of adversity. They do not strive for perfection and seem to be content with their lot, even though they have learned nothing from their mistakes. The chorus repeats the word "Erhaben", which translates to "sublime", "exalted" or "supreme". This term can be seen as ironic, as the singer is far from perfect, but still manages to exude a sort of nobility.
The verses describe the singer's tenacity and refusal to be defeated by life's struggles. They seem to take pleasure in repeating their mistakes and seeing the pain it causes, almost as if they are testing their own limits. The line "zum Untergang prädestiniert" translates to "destined for downfall" and illustrates how the singer's behavior is self-destructive. However, the song celebrates their resilience and positive outlook in the midst of failure. The contrasting lines "du hast doch gesiegt / weil erst im Scheitern, wahre Schönheit liegt" suggest that true beauty lies in defeat and that victory is found in the struggle to overcome it.
Die Ärzte is a German punk band that has been active since 1982. They are known for their humorous and irreverent lyrics as well as their energetic live performances. "Erhaben" is from their 2012 album "auch", which was their thirteenth studio album.
Line by Line Meaning
Du machst wirklich jeden Fehler
You make every mistake imaginable
Doch das ist die ganz egal
But that doesn't matter to you at all
Und wenn es schon allein beim Zusehen richtig wehtut
And even just watching you hurts
Machst du den Fehler gleich nochmal
You make the same mistake again
Hartnäckig und voller Gleichmut
Persistent and composed
Scheiterst du am Leben, jeden Tag
You fail at life every day
Nichts funktioniert, nichts ergibt Sinn
Nothing works, nothing makes sense
Dein Weg führt dich nirgendwo hin
Your path leads nowhere
Aber das Wunderbare dabei ist
But the wonderful thing about it is
Dass du glücklich bist
You are happy
Du bist so weit vom Ziel entfernt
You are so far from your goal
Aus alle den Schäden nichts gelernt
You haven't learned anything from all the damage
Du hältst nichts von Vollkommenheit
You don't care for perfection
Und wirkst trotzdem die ganze Zeit
Yet you still seem
Erhaben, erhaben, erhaben
Sublime, sublime, sublime
Nennt man das noch Fatalismus
Is that still called fatalism
Ist es gezielte Ignoranz
Or is it targeted ignorance
Mir ist klar, dass du nichts anderes willst
I understand that you want nothing else
Doch weiß ich nicht genau
But I don't exactly know
Ob du vielleicht nicht anders kannst
Whether you could do anything differently
Mit einer Sturheit, die wohl weltweit
With a stubbornness that is probably worldwide
Ihresgleichen sucht, gibst du niemals auf
You never give up, seeking its equal
Zum Untergang prädestiniert
Destined for downfall
Doch wenn ich ehrlich bin
But if I'm honest
Du wirkst trotzdem, als würdest du gewinnen
You still seem like you're winning
Mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht
With a smile on your face
Siehst du die Hindernisse nicht?
Don't you see the obstacles?
Rennst wieder mal gegen die Wand
You run into the wall again
Sinnlos und hirnverbrannt und doch
Senseless and crazy yet
Erhaben, erhaben, erhaben
Sublime, sublime, sublime
Du bist
You are
Nichts funktioniert, nichts ergibt Sinn
Nothing works, nothing makes sense
Dein Weg führt dich nirgendwo hin
Your path leads nowhere
Aber das Wunderbare dabei ist
But the wonderful thing about it is
Dass du glücklich bist
You are happy
Du bist so weit vom Ziel entfernt
You are so far from your goal
Aus alle den Schäden nichts gelernt
You haven't learned anything from all the damage
Und du hast doch gesiegt
And yet you have won
Weil erst im Scheitern, wahre Schönheit liegt
Because true beauty lies in failure
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Farin Urlaub
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind