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
Jag älskar Sverige!
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Und ich hör stundenlang nicht zu
Bin in Gedanken gar nicht hier,
Ich hatte wieder mal ein Rendezvous
Ach ne, das heißt ja Déjà-vu
Egal, du gehst mir auf den Geist
Und darum höre ich dir nicht zü,
Ich seh' dich an und denke meist
Wie gerne würd' ich jetzt in Schweden sein,
Weil jeder Schwede lacht und singt,
Und pausenlos das Tanzbein schwingt,
Bei 40 Grad und Sonnenschein
Ach, Schweden ist das schönste Land der Welt,
Dort, wo am Strand die Palmen stehen,
Da will ich jetzt spazieren gehen,
Weil mir mein Schweden ziemlich gut gefällt
In Schweden gehen die Uhren anders,
Und ich glaub', das liegt daran,
Dass Mangos dort und Blumen blühen, zu Schönheit noch das Vitamin
So alle zwei, drei Jahre droht,
In Schweden eine Hungersnot
Ich gebe gern, meistens Reis,
Bekomme ich jetzt den Nobelpreis?
Ach, Schweden, ruf ich, Schweden, alter Freund
In dir, da fühle ich mich wohl,
Bei Tanz, Gesang und Alkohol
Du bist so gar nicht eingezäunt
Ach, Schweden, komm und gib mir deine Hand,
Oh du beneidenswertes Land,
Wo ich damals den Punk erfand,
Du bist so anders, so entspannt
Du redest viel, du bist empört,
Du schimpfst, du schreist, du hast geweint,
Worte verhallen ungehört,
'Cause I've got Schweden on my mind
Ach, Schweden, alte Hütte, altes Pferd,
Warum hast du dich nicht vermehrt?
Auf dass die ganze Welt erfährt
Zwei Schweden wären nicht verkehrt
Kann denn nicht jedes Land wie Schweden sein?
So fröhlich und so unbeschwert
Ein Land, in das man gerne fährt
Man kommt zu zweit und geht allein
Ach, Schweden, komm und gib mir deine Hand,
Du bist so furchtbar interessant,
Ein gottverdammtes Wohlfühland,
An jeder Ecke steht ein Elefant
Schweden
Jag älskar Sverige
The Die Ärzte song "Jag älskar Sverige!" or "I love Sweden!" is a fun and lively song that primarily talks about the singer's love for Sweden. The lyrics start by talking about how the singer is not listening to someone else talking and is lost in his thoughts. He then goes on to express his desire to be in Sweden at that moment because everyone there is happy, sings, and dances all the time. The beauty of Sweden, with flowers blooming and mangoes growing, is highlighted, along with the fact that the country has won the Nobel Prize several times. The singer also desires that other countries could be as happy and carefree as Sweden, where people go alone but come back with happy memories. The song ends with the repeated line that the singer has Sweden on his mind.
The song is a catchy and humorous tribute to Sweden and its people. Through its lyrics, the song captures the carefree and relaxed nature of the country and its people. It also touches upon the fact that Sweden is a land of modernization and innovation, being the country that has won the Nobel Prize several times. The song is an upbeat and fun tribute to a country that has become a popular destination for people around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Du redest stundenlang mit mir,
You talk to me for hours on end,
Und ich hör stundenlang nicht zu
And I don't listen for hours on end,
Bin in Gedanken gar nicht hier,
I'm not really here in my thoughts,
Ich hatte wieder mal ein Rendezvous
I had another rendezvous,
Ach ne, das heißt ja Déjà-vu
Oh no, that's a déjà vu,
Egal, du gehst mir auf den Geist
Anyway, you're annoying me,
Und darum höre ich dir nicht zü,
That's why I'm not really listening to you,
Ich seh' dich an und denke meist
I look at you and mostly think
Wie gerne würd' ich jetzt in Schweden sein,
I really wish I were in Sweden right now,
Weil jeder Schwede lacht und singt,
Because every Swede laughs and sings,
Und pausenlos das Tanzbein schwingt,
And swings their legs nonstop,
Bei 40 Grad und Sonnenschein
At 40 degrees and sunshine
Ach, Schweden ist das schönste Land der Welt,
Oh, Sweden is the most beautiful country in the world,
Dort, wo am Strand die Palmen stehen,
Where the palms stand on the beach,
Da will ich jetzt spazieren gehen,
I want to go for a walk there right now,
Weil mir mein Schweden ziemlich gut gefällt
Because I really like my Sweden
In Schweden gehen die Uhren anders,
In Sweden, time goes differently,
Und ich glaub', das liegt daran,
And I think that's because
Dass Mangos dort und Blumen blühen, zu Schönheit noch das Vitamin
Mangos and flowers bloom there, adding beauty and vitamin
So alle zwei, drei Jahre droht,
Every two or three years there's the threat
In Schweden eine Hungersnot
Of a famine in Sweden
Ich gebe gern, meistens Reis,
I like to give, usually rice,
Bekomme ich jetzt den Nobelpreis?
Do I get the Nobel Prize now?
Ach, Schweden, ruf ich, Schweden, alter Freund
Oh, Sweden, I call out, Sweden, old friend
In dir, da fühle ich mich wohl,
I feel comfortable in you,
Bei Tanz, Gesang und Alkohol
With dance, song and alcohol
Du bist so gar nicht eingezäunt
You're not fenced in at all,
Ach, Schweden, komm und gib mir deine Hand,
Oh, Sweden, come and give me your hand,
Oh du beneidenswertes Land,
Oh, you enviable country,
Wo ich damals den Punk erfand,
Where I created the punk back then,
Du bist so anders, so entspannt
You're so different, so relaxed
Du redest viel, du bist empört,
You talk a lot, you're outraged,
Du schimpfst, du schreist, du hast geweint,
You curse, you shout, you've cried,
Worte verhallen ungehört,
Words go unheard,
'Cause I've got Schweden on my mind
Because I have Sweden on my mind
Ach, Schweden, alte Hütte, altes Pferd,
Oh, Sweden, old house, old horse,
Warum hast du dich nicht vermehrt?
Why didn't you reproduce?
Auf dass die ganze Welt erfährt
So that the whole world can hear
Zwei Schweden wären nicht verkehrt
Two Swedes wouldn't be wrong
Kann denn nicht jedes Land wie Schweden sein?
Can't every country be like Sweden?
So fröhlich und so unbeschwert
So happy and carefree
Ein Land, in das man gerne fährt
A country to which one likes to travel
Man kommt zu zweit und geht allein
You go there together and leave alone
Jag älskar Sverige!
I love Sweden!
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Farin Urlaub
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind