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

Ich bin reich
Die Ärzte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mein Swimmingpool,
Reicht von Casablanca bis nach Istanbul
Das ist ein Mordsmodul
Und mein Schloss besteht aus purem Gold,
Und ist gigantisch groß
Da ist schwer was los
Von morgens sechs bis nachts um vier,
Stehen die Mädels vor meiner Tür

Ich bin reich
Ich bin reich (So furchtbar reich)
Ich bin reich
Whoahah, ich bin reich
Ich bin reich (So furchtbar reich)
Ich bin reich

Ganz nebenbei, bin ich sozusagen,
Ziemlich arbeitsscheu
Ich habe trotzdem Geld wie Heu
Denn meine Dienerschaft,
Ernährt sich nur von Weißbrot mit Orangensaft
Das find' ich fabelhaft
Ich habe so verdammt viel Geld
Ich kauf' mir bald den Rest der Welt

Ich bin reich
Ich bin reich (So furchtbar reich)
Ich bin reich (So furchtbar reich)
Yahoo, ich bin reich
Yabbadabbaduh, ich bin reich (So furchtbar reich)
Juhuh, ich bin reich

Wenn ich mich mal langweil' und nicht weiß wohin,
Zähle ich mein Geld und freue mich wie reich ich bin
Wär' ich plötzlich arm, wie eine Kirchenmaus,
Das wäre halb so wild, denn ich seh' fantastisch aus

Ich bin schön, Ich bin reich
Ich bin reich, Ich bin schön
Ich bin schön, Ich bin reich
Ich bin reich, Ich bin schön

Ich bin reich, Ich bin schön (So wunderschön)
Ich bin reich, Ich bin wunderschön
Ich bin reich, (So furchtbar reich)
Ich bin schön (So schrecklich schön)
Ich bin superreich
Ich bin wunder-wunder-wunder-wunderschön

Ich bin klug, so klug (So furchtbar klug)
Ohoho, bin ich klug
Ich bin fast so klug, wie ich schön bin

Und ich bin groß und blond und blauäugig,
Na ja, ein bisschen blau (So dunkelblau)

Und ich bin stark,
Bärenstark (So bärenstark),
Und groß (So furchtbar groß),
Und reich und schön,
Ach, schön ich bin Adonis

Und ich bin sexy,
Oioioi wild,
Ganz, ganz wild

Ich bin heiß
Ich bin ziemlich erregend (So erregend)
Und ich habe eine kleine Gemeinsamkeit mit John Holmes,
(So furchtbar lang), na ja

Ich bin Professor
Ich bin Burt Reynolds (So widerlich)
Ich bin Dracula und Casanova
Ich bin Superman und Batman und Spinne,
Und Hulk, aber schöner,
Hach, und grüner sowieso

Ich bin grün und rot
Ich bin Freischwimmer
Ich bin Präsident (Präsident)
Ich bin König und Kaiser
Ich bin Gott, ja Gott, haha (Halleluja)

Und überhaupt Jesus,
Hach, Maria, Joseph

Overall Meaning

The Die Ärzte's song, "Ich bin reich", is a satirical piece about an incredibly wealthy and lazy person who is being ridiculed for his perceptions of wealth and power. The lyrics mention extravagant possessions like a pool that stretches from Casablanca to Istanbul and a castle made of pure gold. The wealthy protagonist is so rich that he claims to be able to buy the rest of the world soon, however, he admits that he is incredibly lazy and barely works. Despite his wealth and leisure, he also goes on to say that he is beautiful, intelligent, strong, and sexually desirable. The song mocks the rich person's priorities and values, while also making a statement about the oppressive nature of individual wealth and power.

The lyrics of "Ich bin reich" fit into the broader tradition of German satire, poking fun at the absurdities of individual excess and the illusions of grandeur that come with it. This song is a commentary on the social inequalities of post-Wall Germany when material wealth was distributed unevenly. Die Ärzte released "Ich bin reich" in 1993, and it was the first single from their album "Die Bestie in Menschengestalt."

Line by Line Meaning

Mein Swimmingpool, reicht von Casablanca bis nach Istanbul. Das ist ein Mordsmodul
I have a huge, fancy swimming pool that covers a vast distance, which is quite impressive.

Und mein Schloss besteht aus purem Gold, und ist gigantisch groß. Da ist schwer was los
My castle is made of pure gold and is incredibly large, attracting a lot of attention and activity.

Von morgens sechs bis nachts um vier, stehen die Mädels vor meiner Tür
Women are constantly flocking to my door from early morning until late at night.

Ganz nebenbei, bin ich sozusagen, Ziemlich arbeitsscheu. Ich habe trotzdem Geld wie Heu
I'm not really into working, but I still have an incredible amount of money.

Denn meine Dienerschaft, ernährt sich nur von Weißbrot mit Orangensaft. Das find' ich fabelhaft
My servants survive solely on white bread and orange juice, which I find amusing.

Ich habe so verdammt viel Geld, ich kauf' mir bald den Rest der Welt
I have so much money that I could soon buy the entire world.

Wenn ich mich mal langweil' und nicht weiß wohin, zähle ich mein Geld und freue mich wie reich ich bin. Wär' ich plötzlich arm, wie eine Kirchenmaus, das wäre halb so wild, denn ich seh' fantastisch aus
Whenever I'm bored and have nowhere to go, I count my money and revel in how wealthy I am. If I were suddenly poor, it would be okay because I still look fantastic.

Ich bin schön, Ich bin reich
I am both beautiful and wealthy.

Ich bin klug, so klug (So furchtbar klug). Ohoho, bin ich klug. Ich bin fast so klug, wie ich schön bin
I am also very intelligent, perhaps even as smart as I am beautiful.

Und ich bin groß und blond und blauäugig, Na ja, ein bisschen blau (So dunkelblau). Und ich bin stark, Bärenstark (So bärenstark), Und groß (So furchtbar groß), Und reich und schön, Ach, schön ich bin Adonis
I am tall, blond, blue-eyed, and incredibly strong, as well as being exceptionally wealthy and attractive. In fact, I am like Adonis himself.

Und ich bin sexy, Oioioi wild, Ganz, ganz wild. Ich bin heiß, Ich bin ziemlich erregend (So erregend)
I am incredibly sexy and wild, driving people crazy with my irresistible charm.

Und ich habe eine kleine Gemeinsamkeit mit John Holmes, (So furchtbar lang), na ja
I share a certain physical similarity with John Holmes, namely our great length.

Ich bin Professor, Ich bin Burt Reynolds (So widerlich), Ich bin Dracula und Casanova
I am also a professor, as well as other famous figures such as Burt Reynolds, Dracula, and Casanova.

Ich bin Superman und Batman und Spinne, und Hulk, aber schöner, Hach, und grüner sowieso
I am like a combination of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and the Hulk, but even better looking and with a charming green hue.

Ich bin grün und rot, Ich bin Freischwimmer, Ich bin Präsident (Präsident), Ich bin König und Kaiser
I am also associated with different colors and titles, such as being a freestyle swimmer, a president, a king, and an emperor.

Ich bin Gott, ja Gott, haha (Halleluja). Und überhaupt Jesus, Hach, Maria, Joseph
Finally, I even consider myself to be a god, much like Jesus himself. Praise be to me!

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DIRK FELSENHEIMER, JAN VETTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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