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
Meine Ex
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ich hatte nicht damit gerechnet,
Darum bin ich blutverschmiert
Wer konnte ahnen, dass sie so reagiert?
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Täglich liest man in der Zeitung von spontanen Explosionen
Man blättert um und denkt im Stillen
Ich frage Sie ne, ich frag Sie
Wie konnte so etwas geschehen?
Mein Baby war mein Ein und Alles
Und entre nous Sie war auch schön
Sie hatte einen süßen Körper, so wie der eine von den Krupps
Wie hieß er noch? Dörper
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Ich hatte nicht damit gerechnet, darum bin ich blutverschmiert
Man kann sagen, ich bin ziemlich irritiert
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Ich rief sofort die Polizei an
Und sagte komm'se schnell vorbei, Mann
Meine Freundin ist passé, so wie ein China-Böller D
Sie flog mir plötzlich um die Ohren
Kein Wunder, dass ich traurig bin
Ich hab nicht nur 'ne Frau verloren
Nein, auch die Bettwäsche ist hin
Ich wollt sie gerade küssen, da gab es einen Knall
Grad eben lag sie neben mir
Jetzt liegt sie überall (Im Raum verteilt)
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Zum Glück trug ich 'nen Integralhelm, darum ist mir nichts passiert
Wer konnte ahnen, dass sie so reagiert?
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Als meine erste große Liebe ganz spontan in Flammen stand
Da habe ich noch laut gelacht
Die nächste wurde dann von Außerirdischen entführt
Ich hab mir nichts dabei gedacht
Mit Freundin Nummer 3 war es auch bald vorbei
Sie versteinerte, das fand ich ganz normal
Doch als die vierte explodierte, wurde mir dann langsam klar
Dass meine Partnerin zu sein wohl nicht ganz ungefährlich war
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
Ich hatte nicht damit gerechnet, darum bin ich blutverschmiert
Wer konnte ahnen, dass sie so explodiert?
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
The lyrics to Die Ärzte's song Meine Ex tell the story of the singer's girlfriend suddenly exploding and leaving him covered in blood. The singer is shocked and confused by the unexpected explosion, wondering how it could have happened to someone as beautiful and beloved as his girlfriend. The song pokes fun at the singer's absurd relationship history, referencing previous girlfriends who caught fire or were abducted by aliens. Despite the dark humor, the lyrics suggest a sense of danger and unease in the singer's relationships, perhaps hinting at a fear of commitment or mistrust.
The lyrics also satirize the media's coverage of inexplicable explosions, suggesting that the singer didn't take the threat seriously until it happened to him personally. The phrase "wie ein China-Böller D" implies that the explosion was caused by a firework, adding to the absurdity of the situation.
Overall, the song uses dark humor and satire to explore themes of love, danger, and mistrust, while also poking fun at the singer's past relationship experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Gestern Nacht ist meine Freundin explodiert
The singer's girlfriend exploded unexpectedly and violently last night
Ich hatte nicht damit gerechnet, darum bin ich blutverschmiert
The singer was caught off guard and is now covered in blood as a result of the explosion
Wer konnte ahnen, dass sie so reagiert?
The singer is questioning why his girlfriend reacted in such an extreme way
Täglich liest man in der Zeitung von spontanen Explosionen
The artist is acknowledging the prevalence of spontaneous explosions in the news
Man blättert um und denkt im Stillen
The artist is suggesting that people often read these stories and think to themselves in silence
Das Schicksal wird mich sicherlich verschonen
The singer is hopeful that he will not be personally affected by such an event
Ich frage Sie ne, ich frag Sie, wie konnte so etwas geschehen?
The singer is addressing an unidentified person and asking how something like this could happen
Mein Baby war mein Ein und Alles
The artist cherishes his relationship with his now deceased girlfriend
Und entre nous Sie war auch schön
The artist is stating that his girlfriend was attractive
Sie hatte einen süßen Körper, so wie der eine von den Krupps Wie hieß er noch? Dörper
The artist is comparing his girlfriend's body to that of a member of a band called Krupps
Man kann sagen, ich bin ziemlich irritiert
The singer is admitting that he is very confused and disturbed by the events of last night
Ich rief sofort die Polizei an Und sagte komm'se schnell vorbei, Mann Meine Freundin ist passé, so wie ein China-Böller
The artist immediately called the police and informed them that his girlfriend had passed away like a Chinese firecracker
Sie flog mir plötzlich um die Ohren Kein Wunder, dass ich traurig bin
The singer is saddened by the fact that his girlfriend exploded suddenly and violently
Ich hab nicht nur 'ne Frau verloren, Nein, auch die Bettwäsche ist hin
The singer has lost not only his girlfriend, but also his bedding, as a result of the explosion
Ich wollt sie gerade küssen, da gab es einen Knall Grad eben lag sie neben mir Jetzt liegt sie überall (Im Raum verteilt)
The singer was in the process of kissing his girlfriend when she suddenly exploded, resulting in her body being scattered all over the room
Zum Glück trug ich 'nen Integralhelm, darum ist mir nichts passiert
The artist is relieved that he was wearing a helmet at the time of the explosion and therefore was not harmed
Als meine erste große Liebe ganz spontan in Flammen stand Da habe ich noch laut gelacht
The artist is recalling a previous relationship where his girlfriend spontaneously burst into flames and he found it amusing at the time
Die nächste wurde dann von Außerirdischen entführt Ich hab mir nichts dabei gedacht
The singer recounts another relationship where his girlfriend was abducted by aliens, but he did not think much of it at the time
Mit Freundin Nummer 3 war es auch bald vorbei Sie versteinerte, das fand ich ganz normal
The singer's third girlfriend turned to stone, which he found to be a common occurrence in his romantic relationships
Doch als die vierte explodierte, wurde mir dann langsam klar Dass meine Partnerin zu sein wohl nicht ganz ungefährlich war
The artist is finally realizing that being in a relationship with him may not be safe or healthy for his partners
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Farin Urlaub
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind