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
Regierung
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
wer nicht arbeitet, hat Frei
Mann trifft Frau, Frau trifft Mann
sie verlieben sich und dann
halten Händchen, küssen sich
gehn' spazieren, was weiß ich
was passiert ist alles offen
sie macht ihn erstmal besoffen
schnallt ihn fest und zieht ihn aus
eh' er weiß wie ihm geschieht
malträtiert sie schon sein glied
holt den Bohrer aus dem Schrank
...halt das wir mir jetzt zu krank!
und die Regierung schaut nur zu
sie schaut tatenlos nur zu
und die Regierung schaut nur zu
sie schaut tatenlos nur zu
Stefanie steht im Wald
g'rade sieben Jahre Alt
in der Hand ein Blumenstrauß
sie sieht ganz entzückend aus
Warum steht sie hier im Wald
Na, ihr Liebhaber kommt bald
wenn er kommt dann geht es gleich
Piercing im Intimbereich
und mit einem harten Stoß
... halt was ist den heute los?
und die Regierung schaut nur zu
sie schaut tatenlos nur zu
und die Regierung ist es Schuld
nur der Regierung ihre Schuld
Wir versuchens noch einmal
tief im Meer da schwimmt ein Wal
er schwimmt hin er schwimmt her
und er langweileit sich so sehr
um ihn rum Kleinstlebewesen
keine Drogen, nix zu lesen
ab und zu mal ein paar Robben
und die kann er nicht mal poppen
er ist ziemlich iritiert
keiner da, der ihn regiert
Die Ärzte's song "Regierung" is a satirical take on the role of the government in people's lives. The opening lines paint a picture of a beautiful day in May, where those who are not working are free to enjoy the day. A man and a woman meet, fall in love, and walk around together, with no idea of what is to come. The woman gets the man drunk, takes him to her place, ties him up, and sexually abuses him. The man is taken aback and does not know what is happening. The song then shifts to a young girl standing in the forest with a bouquet of flowers. She is seven years old, but her lover is about to arrive, and they will engage in a sexual act that involves genital piercing.
The chorus highlights the inaction and apathy of the government towards these issues. The government is watching and doing nothing, while the society descends into chaos. The song ends with a third story of a bored whale swimming in the ocean, surrounded by tiny creatures, with no one to govern or regulate its existence.
"Regierung" serves as a commentary on government inaction, and its inability to affect change in society's most pressing issues. The song urges people to question their government's actions and to hold them accountable for their inaction.
Line by Line Meaning
Es ist ein schöner Tag im Mai
The day is beautiful and pleasant.
wer nicht arbeitet, hat Frei
People who don't work have free time.
Mann trifft Frau, Frau trifft Mann
A man and a woman meet each other.
sie verlieben sich und dann
They fall in love.
halten Händchen, küssen sich
They hold hands and kiss each other.
gehn' spazieren, was weiß ich
They go for a walk, who knows what else.
was passiert ist alles offen
Everything is still uncertain.
sie macht ihn erstmal besoffen
She gets him drunk first.
nimmt ihn mit zu sich nach Haus
She takes him home.
schnallt ihn fest und zieht ihn aus
She ties him up and undresses him.
eh' er weiß wie ihm geschieht
Before he knows what's happening to him.
malträtiert sie schon sein glied
She starts tormenting his genitals.
holt den Bohrer aus dem Schrank
She takes the drill out of the closet.
...halt das wir mir jetzt zu krank!
... stop, this is too sick for me!
und die Regierung schaut nur zu
And the government watches without taking action.
sie schaut tatenlos nur zu
They are inactive and just watching.
Stefanie steht im Wald
Stefanie is standing in the forest.
g'rade sieben Jahre Alt
Only seven years old.
in der Hand ein Blumenstrauß
Holding a bunch of flowers.
sie sieht ganz entzückend aus
She looks simply adorable.
Warum steht sie hier im Wald
Why is she standing here in the woods?
Na, ihr Liebhaber kommt bald
Well, her lover will come soon.
wenn er kommt dann geht es gleich
When he arrives, things will quickly escalate.
Piercing im Intimbereich
She has a genital piercing.
und mit einem harten Stoß
And with a hard push.
... halt was ist den heute los?
... wait, what is going on today?
und die Regierung ist es Schuld
And it is all the government's fault.
nur der Regierung ihre Schuld
Only the government is to blame.
Wir versuchens noch einmal
Let's try again.
tief im Meer da schwimmt ein Wal
Deep in the sea, a whale swims.
er schwimmt hin er schwimmt her
He swims back and forth.
und er langweileit sich so sehr
And he is terribly bored.
um ihn rum Kleinstlebewesen
There are tiny organisms around him.
keine Drogen, nix zu lesen
No drugs or reading material.
ab und zu mal ein paar Robben
Every once in a while, there are some seals around.
und die kann er nicht mal poppen
But he can't even have sex with them.
er ist ziemlich iritiert
He is quite irritated.
keiner da, der ihn regiert
No one is there to govern him.
Contributed by Elizabeth P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Martin Hahm
Das beste Lied auf der EP !! Farin ist einfach der genialste Typ auf diesem Planeten!!
BassBiest
Hatte heute eine Wurzelbehandlung ohne Narkose! Das ist Mutig! :p PS.: Mein Zahnarzt kann das bestätjen!
BassBiest
@Fírimar Ich hab nochmal ein Jahr gewartet mit antworten, um die Spannung aufrecht zu halten.
Fírimar
@Philipp Gräfe noice!
Philipp Gräfe
@Fírimar Antwort
Fírimar
Jap.
Im übrigen mutig auf einen 8 Jahre alten Kommentar zu antworten und gespannt sein, ob eine Antwort kommt :d
der Magier
Seid mal ehrlich von diesem lied wird man doch wirklich mutig 😂
Permafrost
Das macht hoffnung dass sie es noch nicht verlernt haben, einfach drauf loszurocken. Unglaublich intensiv.
____
Einfach geil, das man insgesamt wieder eine Mischung zwischen richtigen Rock und Fun Punk findet. :)
Emely Rainbow
die ärzte sind und bleiben halt doch einfach die bäste bänd der welt ;) geiler song :D