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 weiss nicht
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Du warst so betrunken, du konntest kaum noch stehen
Aus Mitleid, hab ich dich nach Haus gebracht
Du sagtest zärtlich „Ist da noch schnapps in der pulle? Cool“
„Ist da noch Schnapps in der Pulle?“ hast du gesagt
Vielleicht war es nur ein Scherz
Amor's Pfeil durchbohrte mein Herz
Jetzt weiß ich nicht, was ich denken soll
Ich weiß nicht, ob es Liebe ist
Wenn man alle Frauen nur an einer misst
Wenn man etwas hört und es sofort vergisst
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Am nächsten Tag habe ich dich besucht
Als das Bier alle war, hast du laut geflucht
Du lagst auf dem Bett und warst ziemlich breit
Aber immerhin waren wir allein zu zweit
Ich wollte mit dir reden
Über Literatur
Und über Liebe
Aber du lachtest nur
Jetzt weiß ich nicht, was ich denken soll
Ist es wirklich Liebe oder find' ich dich nur toll?
Ich weiß nicht, ob es Liebe ist
Wenn man an eine denkt, und eine andere küsst
Wenn man nicht mehr trinkt und isst
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Wenn man beim Pinkeln ständig neben's Becken pisst
Ihr wisst ich sitzt gerne auf Friedhöfen rum
Ich buddel und buddel und such Totenköpfe, alte verrottete Särge
„Bela, 'schuldigung, eine Frage
Wollt ich dich schon die ganze Tour mal fragen
Wo verrichtest du denn da deine Notdurft?“
„Meine Notdurft, mein Lieber, verrichte ich in offene Gräber
Ach schön, das wollt ich nur mal wissen
Ich mach da ein Häufchen rein, und dieses Häufchen“
Das wird dann später zu Gitaristen, ich weiß, ich weiß
Komm Ameisenhaufen
Ich quatsch dir jetzt auch nicht mehr in die Ansage
Ich wollt's nur wissen
So, ok ok, ihr habt die Ansage eben vergessen
Denn ihr müsst jetzt ein bisschen diabolischer drauf kommen
The song "Ich weiß nicht" by Die Ärzte tells the story of a man who has just met a woman and is unsure if what he feels towards her is love or just infatuation. He met her while she was extremely drunk and he took her home out of pity. The next day, he visited her and tried to have a conversation about literature and love, but she was uninterested and unresponsive. The singer is left with confusion about the nature of his feelings.
The lyrics are a reflection of the uncertainty that often accompanies new romantic relationships. The singer is hesitant to fully commit to his feelings because he is unsure if they are genuine or just a passing phase. The use of humor and sarcasm in the song highlights the absurdity of the situation and adds a lightheartedness to the overall tone.
The song is ultimately about the complexities of falling in love and the difficulty of knowing if what one is feeling is true love or just a temporary attraction. It speaks to the universal human experience of grappling with emotions and trying to make sense of them.
Line by Line Meaning
Vor zwei Wochen hab ich dich zum ersten mal gesehen
Two weeks ago, I saw you for the first time
Du warst so betrunken, du konntest kaum noch stehen
You were so drunk that you could barely stand
Aus Mitleid, hab ich dich nach Haus gebracht
Out of pity, I took you home
Du sagtest zärtlich „Ist da noch schnapps in der pulle? Cool“
You said affectionately, "Is there still schnapps in the bottle? Cool"
„Ist da noch Schnapps in der Pulle?“ hast du gesagt
"Is there still schnapps in the bottle?" you said
Vielleicht war es nur ein Scherz
Maybe it was just a joke
Amor's Pfeil durchbohrte mein Herz
Cupid's arrow pierced my heart
Jetzt weiß ich nicht, was ich denken soll
Now I don't know what to think
Ist es wirklich Liebe oder find' ich dich nur toll?
Is it really love or do I just think you're cool?
Ich weiß nicht, ob es Liebe ist
Wenn man alle Frauen nur an einer misst
Wenn man etwas hört und es sofort vergisst
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
I don't know if it's love
If you measure all women against one
If you hear something and forget it immediately
I don't know if that's love
Am nächsten Tag habe ich dich besucht
The next day I visited you
Als das Bier alle war, hast du laut geflucht
When the beer was all gone, you cursed loudly
Du lagst auf dem Bett und warst ziemlich breit
You were lying on the bed and were pretty wasted
Aber immerhin waren wir allein zu zweit
But at least we were alone together
Ich wollte mit dir reden
Über Literatur
Und über Liebe
Aber du lachtest nur
I wanted to talk to you
About literature
And about love
But you just laughed
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Wenn man an eine denkt, und eine andere küsst
Wenn man nicht mehr trinkt und isst
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
I don't know if that's love
If you think of one and kiss another
If you stop drinking and eating
I don't know if that's love
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Ich weiß nicht, ob das Liebe ist
Wenn man beim Pinkeln ständig neben's Becken pisst
I don't know if that's love
I don't know if that's love
If you constantly pee next to the toilet bowl
Ihr wisst ich sitzt gerne auf Friedhöfen rum
Ich buddel und buddel und such Totenköpfe, alte verrottete Särge
You know I like to hang out in cemeteries
I dig and dig and look for skulls, old rotten coffins
„Bela, 'schuldigung, eine Frage
Wollt ich dich schon die ganze Tour mal fragen
Wo verrichtest du denn da deine Notdurft?“
„Meine Notdurft, mein Lieber, verrichte ich in offene Gräber
Ach schön, das wollt ich nur mal wissen
Ich mach da ein Häufchen rein, und dieses Häufchen“
Das wird dann später zu Gitaristen, ich weiß, ich weiß
Komm Ameisenhaufen
Ich quatsch dir jetzt auch nicht mehr in die Ansage
Ich wollt's nur wissen
So, ok ok, ihr habt die Ansage eben vergessen
Denn ihr müsst jetzt ein bisschen diabolischer drauf kommen
"Bela, sorry, a question
I wanted to ask you the whole tour
Where do you relieve yourself?"
"I relieve myself in open graves, my dear"
"Oh okay, I just wanted to know"
"I put a little pile in there, and that pile"
"Later becomes guitarists, I know, I know"
"Come on, ant hill"
"I won't talk your ear off anymore"
"I just wanted to know"
"So, okay okay, you just forgot the announcement"
"Because now you have to come across a little more diabolical"
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAN VETTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tom Kuhl
Dieses Lied habe ich als Teenager so gefeiert, wie auch das gesamte Album. Herrliche Zeit :-) Alles liebe an alle DÄ Fans
M. Schn.
Erinnert mich nicht nur an meine Teenager Zeit.... nein, ein Junge aus meiner Klasse wollte es immer bei mir hören und ich habe es nicht gerafft 😅. Party ging vor 😹
max hanzen
Ich weiß definitv das es Liebe ist, innige, ewige Männerliebe! Es wird Zeit Euch wieder LIVE zu hören, bis dahin durchbort Amors Pfeil noch immer mein Herz.
Mog Moogle
They were great at that time!! Awesome song!!
Moönchild
indeed
Stephan Münz
Die Jüngeren hier werden es nicht nachvollziehen, aber es tut mehr weh dies Lied jetzt zu hören als damals vor unfaßbaren 35 Jahren. Da kommen viele Erinnerung hoch...
M. Schn.
Mir tut es tatsächlich nicht weh, bin wohl in Deinen Alter... es war eine schöne Zeit. Hatte gute Freunde und daran zehre ich 😇
Rita Horvath
.
A M A S T E R P I E C E ❗
♡
YTC SHÆR7
Pinkle seit über 30 Jahren nebens Becken! Es muss wohl Liebe sein, was ich für euch empfinde.^^
Vielen Dank ! ;)
Black Bomber
Ich weiß nicht ob das Liebe ist,
ich weiß nicht ob das Liebe ist...
wenn man beim pinkeln..
ständig neben's Becken pisst...oouuooh
Diese letzte Strophe fehlt da oben. Wir wollen hier mal nicht rumfreveln, das ist schließlich die beste Strophe aus dem Song :D ;)