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
FEXXO CIGOL
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ein Waschlappen ist ohne Grund vom Haken gefallen
Die Umstände waren rätselhaft
Es wurde verharmlost und verschleiert
Doch nach ein paar wenigen Klicks
Hab' ich die Wahrheit dann erfahren
Wer die Schuldigen waren
Niemand ahnt was geschah
Doch ich schwöre, ich habe das schon
Irgendwie kommen sehen
Denn ein Lappen allein
Kann bald schon ein Handtuch sein
Wer weiß
Ich weiß jedoch eines bestimmt
Das darf nie mehr geschehen, oh no
Kurze Zeit danach geschah in China fast das gleiche
Nur diesmal betraf es einen Sack Reis
Auch er war einfach umgefallen
Es kamen die ewig gleichen Lügen
Doch mir muss man nichts mehr erzählen
Hier schließt sich endlich der Kreis
Denn ich weiß, was ich weiß
Und er liegt einfach da
Niemand ahnt was geschah
Doch ich schwöre, ich habe das schon
Irgendwie kommen sehen
Denn ein Reissack allein
Kann bald schon ein Sack Nudeln sein
Wer weiß
Ich weiß nur eines bestimmt
Das darf nie mehr geschehen
Ahnt ihr nicht die Gefahr?
Denn das Ende ist nah
Wenn das Raumschiff kommt, werd' ich
In der ersten Reihe stehen, oh yeah
Oh, was für schöne Geigen
Wo kommen die denn her?
Haha, ich Schussel
Natürlich aus meinem Alubommel
Guter, alter, zuverlässiger Alubommel
Ich nehme einmal Fettuccine Adrenochrom
The song "FEXXO CIGOL" by Die Ärzte highlights the concept of how small things, which are often overlooked, can have a major impact. The lyrics describe an incident in which a washcloth falls from a hook seemingly without reason, and the circumstances around it are shrouded in confusion and deception. The singer, however, has a hunch that something bigger is at play and, through some online investigating, discovers the truth about what happened and who is responsible.
Later in the song, a similar incident happens in China with a falling sack of rice, and the same cycle of lies and deception ensues. The lyrics emphasize the message that something as seemingly insignificant as a single washcloth or a sack of rice falling can have serious consequences, and it is important to be vigilant and to question what we are told by those in power.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of taking action and holding those responsible accountable, so that the same mistakes are not repeated in the future. The final lines of the song take a turn towards the absurd, with a reference to an "Alubommel" and an offhand mention of "Fettuccine Adrenochrom," leaving the listener to interpret whether this is a continuation of the song's message or a surreal abrupt ending.
Overall, "FEXXO CIGOL" addresses how small incidents can have a ripple effect and ultimately lead to significant consequences, and the importance of taking responsibility and holding those in power accountable.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich entdeckte es zuerst im Netz der Wahrheit
I discovered it first on the net of truth
Ein Waschlappen ist ohne Grund vom Haken gefallen
A washcloth has fallen off the hook for no reason
Die Umstände waren rätselhaft
The circumstances were mysterious
Es wurde verharmlost und verschleiert
It was played down and veiled
Doch nach ein paar wenigen Klicks
But after a few clicks
Hab' ich die Wahrheit dann erfahren
I finally learned the truth
Wer die Schuldigen waren
Who the guilty ones were
Und er liegt einfach da
And it just lies there
Niemand ahnt was geschah
No one suspects what happened
Doch ich schwöre, ich habe das schon
But I swear, I already foresaw it
Irgendwie kommen sehen
Somehow saw it coming
Denn ein Lappen allein
Because a cloth alone
Kann bald schon ein Handtuch sein
Could soon become a towel
Wer weiß
Who knows
Ich weiß jedoch eines bestimmt
But I know one thing for sure
Das darf nie mehr geschehen, oh no
That must never happen again, oh no
Kurze Zeit danach geschah in China fast das gleiche
A short time later, almost the same thing happened in China
Nur diesmal betraf es einen Sack Reis
Only this time, it was a bag of rice
Auch er war einfach umgefallen
It too had simply fallen over
Es kamen die ewig gleichen Lügen
The same old lies came
Doch mir muss man nichts mehr erzählen
But no one can tell me anything anymore
Hier schließt sich endlich der Kreis
Here, the circle finally closes
Denn ich weiß, was ich weiß
Because I know what I know
Und er liegt einfach da
And it just lies there
Niemand ahnt was geschah
No one suspects what happened
Doch ich schwöre, ich habe das schon
But I swear, I already foresaw it
Irgendwie kommen sehen
Somehow saw it coming
Denn ein Reissack allein
Because a bag of rice alone
Kann bald schon ein Sack Nudeln sein
Could soon become a bag of noodles
Wer weiß
Who knows
Ich weiß nur eines bestimmt
I only know one thing for sure
Das darf nie mehr geschehen
That must never happen again
Ahnt ihr nicht die Gefahr?
Do you not sense the danger?
Denn das Ende ist nah
Because the end is near
Wenn das Raumschiff kommt, werde ich
When the spaceship comes, I will
In der ersten Reihe stehen, oh yeah
Be in the front row, oh yeah
Oh, was für schöne Geigen
Oh, what beautiful violins
Wo kommen die denn her?
Where did they come from?
Haha, ich Schussel
Haha, I'm a goofball
Natürlich aus meinem Alubommel
Of course from my aluminum bag
Guter, alter, zuverlässiger Alubommel
Good, old, reliable aluminum bag
Ich nehme einmal Fettuccine Adrenochrom
I'll have Fettuccine Adrenochrome once
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Dirk Felsenheimer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind