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
Elke
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ihre Stimme klang so zärtlich und so sanft in meinen Ohren
Sie schickte mir ein Foto, mein Herz blieb beinah stehen
Sie sah aus wie eine Pizza, sie war wunderschön
Ich schrieb ihr einen Liebesbrief mit Rosenduft sogar
Und 2 Wochen später waren wir ein Liebespaar
Elke, die fette Elke
Wir haben uns getroffen, allein bei ihr zuhaus'
Sie sah noch viel viel dicker als auf dem Foto aus
Ich schloss' sie in die arme, das heißt ich hab's versucht
Ich stürzte in ihr Fettgewebe wie in eine Schlucht
Sie ist ein echter Brocken, 3 Meter in Kubik
Sie sieht so aus wie Putenbrust mit Gurke in Aspik
Elke, die fette Elke
Ich war mit Elke essen, ganz schick mit Kerzenschein
Ich aß ein bisschen Tofu, sie aß ein ganzes Schwein
Elke ist so niedlich, Elke ist mein Schwarm
Im Sommer gibt sie Schatten im Winter hält sie warm
Sie hat zentnerschwere Schenkel, sie ist unendlich fett
Neulich hab ich sie bestiegen, ohne Sauerstoffgerät
Elke, die fette Elke
Elke, die fette Elke
Ich nannte sie mal Nilpferd, natürlich nur im Scherz
Doch ich brach damit ihr dickes fettes Herz
Sie ist daran gestorben, mein süßer, kleiner Schatz
Ich konnt' sie nicht begraben, auf dem Friedhof war kein Platz
Elke, die fette Elke
Elke, die fette Elke
The Die Ärzte's song Elke tells the story of the singer falling in love with a woman named Elke over the phone. He finds her voice so tender and gentle that he falls for her immediately. When she sends him a photo, he is struck by her beauty, and he writes her a love letter with a rose fragrance. They become a couple two weeks later. However, when they eventually meet at her house, he realizes that she is much bigger than he initially thought. He tries to hug her but ends up sinking into her fat, describing her as a "real chunk" and a "turkey breast with cucumber in aspic." Despite her immense size, the singer finds Elke adorable and continues to date her. Eventually, she dies from a broken heart after he teases her by calling her a "hippopotamus."
Overall, the lyrics of Elke are a satirical take on the fetishization of plus-sized women and how some people may be drawn to them because of their size. The singer's love for Elke is primarily physical, and it is easy to see how shallow his feelings are. The song's chorus, which repeatedly refers to Elke as "the fat Elke," emphasizes her size, further highlighting how important it is to the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Es fing an, als sie mich anrief, da war ich gleich verloren
It all started when she called me, I was immediately smitten with her
Ihre Stimme klang so zärtlich und so sanft in meinen Ohren
Her voice sounded gentle and sweet to my ears
Sie schickte mir ein Foto, mein Herz blieb beinah stehen
She sent me a photo that took my breath away
Sie sah aus wie eine Pizza, sie war wunderschön
She looked like a work of art, she was stunning
Ich schrieb ihr einen Liebesbrief mit Rosenduft sogar
I wrote her a love letter, even perfumed with roses
Und 2 Wochen später waren wir ein Liebespaar
And two weeks later, we became a couple
Wir haben uns getroffen, allein bei ihr zuhaus'
We met at her place, just the two of us
Sie sah noch viel viel dicker als auf dem Foto aus
She looked even bigger in person than in the photo
Ich schloss' sie in die arme, das heißt ich hab's versucht
I tried to hug her, but it was a struggle
Ich stürzte in ihr Fettgewebe wie in eine Schlucht
I sank into her fat like falling into a canyon
Sie ist ein echter Brocken, 3 Meter in Kubik
She's a real big girl, 3 cubic meters in size
Sie sieht so aus wie Putenbrust mit Gurke in Aspik
She looks like turkey breast with cucumber in aspic
Ich war mit Elke essen, ganz schick mit Kerzenschein
I took Elke out to a fancy dinner with candles
Ich aß ein bisschen Tofu, sie aß ein ganzes Schwein
I had a little tofu, she had a whole pig
Elke ist so niedlich, Elke ist mein Schwarm
Elke is so cute, she's my crush
Im Sommer gibt sie Schatten im Winter hält sie warm
In summer she provides shade, in winter she keeps me warm
Sie hat zentnerschwere Schenkel, sie ist unendlich fett
She has legs that weigh hundreds of pounds, she's infinitely fat
Neulich hab ich sie bestiegen, ohne Sauerstoffgerät
Recently I climbed on top of her, without an oxygen tank
Ich nannte sie mal Nilpferd, natürlich nur im Scherz
I used to call her hippopotamus, but only jokingly
Doch ich brach damit ihr dickes fettes Herz
But I broke her big fat heart with it
Sie ist daran gestorben, mein süßer, kleiner Schatz
She died because of it, my sweet little treasure
Ich konnt' sie nicht begraben, auf dem Friedhof war kein Platz
I couldn't bury her, there was no space in the cemetery
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jan Vetter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vvnlyy
Habs gerade zum ersten Mal gehört, da sich die Ärzte wie ich gelesen habe von dem Song distanzieren. Da habe ich gedacht, höre ich doch mal rein. Und was soll ich sagen, der Songtext hat bei mir einen heftigen Lachflash ausgelöst! 🤣 Immer schön locker bleiben Leute.
@lootjunior
Kann aber echt verstehen warum sie sich von dem song distanzieren wollen. heutzutage weiss keiner mehr was faxpapier war, voll peinlich!
@majormassenspektrometer
Dicke, schwitzen wie die Schweine, stopfen, fressen in sich rin!
@Haschowe
@@lootjunior 🧾 😅🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤘
@michaelg.6121
👍😂😂👌
@michaelg.6121
Bei mir genauso.
Kenne eigentlich kein Lied von denen, war nicht meine Wellenlänge.
Seit "Laylaverbot" kenne ich nun so das eine und andere durch die Kommentare.......... Claudia zum Beispiel, die ihn Schäferhund so gern hat 😅und Geschwisterliebe.......ist doch echt geil, so eine kostenlose Werbung.........
@Cadfael007
Ich wiege 120 kg und finde das Lied super! Ich kenne euch seit euren Anfängen und ihr wart eben immer frech, satirisch, sarkastisch, ironisch. So solltet ihr auch bleiben! Es gibt nichts, wofür ihr euch schämen müsst!
@Etzel3553
Ich 125 kg und seh es genauso.
@slowik3000
Endlisch normaale Leute äy!
@handgranate2008
sag es mal den leuten denen es so langweilig ist, dass sie irgendwas erfinden müssen oder sich von allem angesprochen fühlen, da sie entweder aufmerksamkeits geil, oder so massive langeweile haben und ihnen nichts einfällt, bin zwar keine frau aber bin bei 150kg, und kann trotzdem selbst über dicken witze/sprüche drüber lachen, geht drum ob du in deiner blase leben willst oder der realität mal ins auge sehen willst. Leider jedoch ist das heutztage noch eine seltenheit menschen zu finden die nicht so sind, jedoch ist es mir wurscht so wie die wurscht wo in der pfanne brutzelt da ich meinen humor kenne und der kann sogar bis ins sehr schwarze gehen xD