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
Mr. Sexpistols
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heute sagtest du zu mir
"Mit uns ist es aus!"
"Mit uns ist es aus!"
In der Monatskarte ein Foto von dir
Ich trage es trotz alledem immer noch bei mir,
Immer noch bei mir
Warum ich? Warum ich? Warum ich?
Glücklich werd' ich hier wohl nicht
Warum ich?
Das war für mich eine ganz schöne Lasche
Ich trug noch immer, immer Deine Tasche,
Immer Deine Tasche
Im Bus, da schrieben wir's auf eine Bank
Ich war Mr. Sexpistols, du warst Lady Punk,
Und Du warst Lady Punk
Warum ich? Warum ich? Warum ich?
Glücklich werd' ich hier wohl nicht, niemals
Warum ich?
Eine Träne rinnt mir über das Gesicht,
Doch über die Aknepickel kommt sie nicht
Diese Träne ist so hilflos wie ich,
So hilflos (So hilflos), so hilflos (So hilflos), so hilflos wie
Warum hast du mir das angetan, du dumme alte Kuh?
Mein Leben, das ist jetzt verpfuscht
Der Grund dafür bist du
Der Grund dafür bist du
Warum ich? Warum ich? Warum ich?
Glücklich werd' ich hier wohl nicht
Niemals, niemals nein
Warum ich?
The lyrics to "Mr. Sexpistols" by Die Ärzte tell the story of a person sitting alone on the bus, on their way home, after their partner informed them that the relationship is over. The singer still carries a photo of their lover with them, despite the break-up. The lyrics question why this is happening and why the singer is not happy. They reflect on past memories of when they wrote "Mr. Sexpistols" and "Lady Punk" on a bus bench together, and how they used to carry each other's bags. The singer feels helpless and sheds a tear, but it cannot even reach their acne-ridden face. They ask why their former partner did this to them, calling them a "dumb old cow" and blaming them for ruining their life.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of heartbreak, confusion, and frustration at the end of a relationship. The singer is struggling to move on, still holding onto the remnants of the past like the picture in their wallet and the memory of better times on the bus. They are left with unanswered questions, unable to understand why things ended the way they did.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich sitze ganz allein im Bus und ich fahr' nach Haus
I am alone on the bus heading home
Heute sagtest du zu mir, 'Mit uns ist es aus!'
Today you told me it's over between us
In der Monatskarte ein Foto von dir Ich trage es trotz alledem immer noch bei mir
I still carry a photo of you in my monthly ticket despite the situation
Warum ich? Warum ich? Warum ich? Glücklich werd' ich hier wohl nicht Warum ich?
Why me? Why me? Why me? I won't be happy here, why me?
Das war für mich eine ganz schöne Lasche Ich trug noch immer, immer Deine Tasche, Immer Deine Tasche
That was a big hit for me. I still carry your bag with me
Im Bus, da schrieben wir's auf eine Bank Ich war Mr. Sexpistols, du warst Lady Punk, Und Du warst Lady Punk
On the bus, we wrote on a bench that I was Mr. Sex Pistols and you were Lady Punk
Eine Träne rinnt mir über das Gesicht, Doch über die Aknepickel kommt sie nicht Diese Träne ist so hilflos wie ich, So hilflos (So hilflos), so hilflos (So hilflos), so hilflos wie
A tear runs down my face, but it can't go over my acne. This tear is as helpless as I am.
Warum hast du mir das angetan, du dumme alte Kuh? Mein Leben, das ist jetzt verpfuscht Der Grund dafür bist du Der Grund dafür bist du
Why did you do this to me, you stupid old cow? My life is now ruined and it's your fault.
Warum ich? Warum ich? Warum ich? Glücklich werd' ich hier wohl nicht Niemals, niemals nein Warum ich?
Why me? Why me? Why me? I won't be happy here, never, never. Why me?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DIRK FELSENHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind