Die Ärzte (pronounced DEE AIR-TS-teh, German for "The Doctors" or "The Phys… Read Full Bio ↴Die Ärzte (pronounced DEE AIR-TS-teh, German for "The Doctors" or "The Physicians") are a punk rock band from Berlin, Germany. Die Ärzte are one of the best-known German rock bands and have released over 20 albums. The band consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B. and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and sing.

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

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow
Die Ärzte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wir haben uns kennengelernt auf dem Metallkonzert
Erste Reihe vorne links
Wir bangten wie verrückt, von der Musik verzückt
Da kam vom Schicksal der Wink.

Als mein Haar sich in deinem verfingfunkte es zwischen uns,
Mein Herz, wollte zerspringen
Ich verliebte mich in dich

Da schoss mir etwas in den Sinn
Eine Angst tief in mir drin
Wirst du mich noch lieben, wenn ich mal kahl bin?

Ich spüre deinen Blick, auch wenn du sehr geschicktversuchst,
Unauffällig zu sein
Du betrachtest mein Haar, das mal so kräftig war
jetzt ist es doch eher fein.

Übersät ist das Kissen mit Haaren
Ich verlier sie im Bad, ich bin halt in den Jahren
Die Dusche ist verstopft
Und ich krieg eins nicht aus dem Sinn

Diese Angst tief in mir drin
Wirst du mich noch lieben, wenn ich mal kahl bin?

Overall Meaning

The song "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" by Die Ärzte is a story about a couple who met at a heavy metal concert and fell in love. The first verse describes how they met and connected with each other while enjoying the music. The romantic encounter happened as their hair tangled together while headbanging, causing their hearts to feel overwhelmed. However, the second verse reveals the insecurity and vulnerability of the singer, as he worried about losing his hair and wonders if his partner would still love him the same when he gets bald. He noticed that his hair is thinning and falling out, and the fear of losing his hair is consuming him. Despite his worry, he is aware that his love for his partner will remain unchanged.

This song illustrates the struggle of a person's self-image as they age and face inevitable changes that come with it. The lyricist of Die Ärzte, Farin Urlaub, famously described how he wrote the song after observing his hairstylist's distress after being diagnosed with breast cancer and losing her hair during the treatment. The song became an anthem for those who have lost their hair due to medical conditions and celebrated the ones who love them regardless of appearances. The message of the song is simple, the value of love goes beyond physical appearance, and it is something that will remain constant throughout the years.

Line by Line Meaning

Wir haben uns kennengelernt auf dem Metallkonzert
We met each other at a metal concert

Erste Reihe vorne links
We were in the front row on the left side

Wir bangten wie verrückt, von der Musik verzückt
We headbanged wildly, entranced by the music

Da kam vom Schicksal der Wink.
Then fate intervened

Als mein Haar sich in deinem verfing
When my hair got tangled in yours

funkte es zwischen uns,
A spark ignited between us

Mein Herz, wollte zerspringen
My heart was about to burst

Ich verliebte mich in dich
I fell in love with you

Da schoss mir etwas in den Sinn
Then something crossed my mind

Eine Angst tief in mir drin
A deep fear inside me

Wirst du mich noch lieben, wenn ich mal kahl bin?
Will you still love me when I'm bald?