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
Ruhig angehn
Die Ärzte Lyrics
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Nur nach oben geht es weiter, wer nicht fühlt, muss hören
Familie und ein Eigenheim und Cabriolet
Hier hatte ich leider keinen Reim typisch Bela B
Hektik und Stress total, mir kommen die Tränen
Hektik, lass es doch mal
Lage peilen und dann mal sehen
Stress ist schlecht, jetzt mal in echt
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Was du heut' nicht kannst besorgen das ist gut gemeint
Erledigst du dann übermorgen, merk' dir das, mein Freund
Der Stress ist schuld an all den Kriegen, wird man je verstehen?
Ich kriege bloß Thrombosen vom Liegen, kann mich mal einer drehen?
Hektik, und Stress total, was muss geschehen?
Auszeit, lass es doch mal
Ruhig angehn erst mal schön
Lage peilen und dann mal sehen
Stress ist schlecht, jetzt mal in echt
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Ruhig angehn, erst mal schön
Lage peilen, und dann mal sehen
Stress ist schlecht, jetzt mal in echt
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Hektik und Nerverei, lass mal alles stehen
Nimm dir mal frei und lass es
Ruhig angehn, erst mal schön
Lage peilen und dann mal sehen
Stress ist schlecht jetzt mal in echt
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Ruhig angehn erst mal schön
Lage peilen und dann mal sehen
Stress ist schlecht, jetzt mal in echt
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Ruhig angehn, so glaub es mir,
Dann kriegt Dein Magen kein Geschwür
Stress macht fett, und schlecht im Bett
Statt ackern geh Dich amüsieren
Ruhig angehn
Ruhig angehn
Ruhig angehn
Ruhig angehn
Ruhig angehn
Ruhig angehn
The lyrics of Die Ärzte's song "Ruhig angehn" talk about the pressure and stress that people put themselves under in their pursuit of career success, financial stability, and material possessions like a house and car. The song argues that the constant pressure and anxiety can be damaging to people's health and well-being, and that it's important to take a step back and take things easier sometimes. The chorus encourages listeners to "peilen" or assess their situation, and then take things slower and more calmly, reminding us that the world will keep turning even if we're not constantly rushing around.
The first verse touches on the pressure to constantly climb the career ladder and make more money, and the second verse acknowledges how overwhelming and emotional this can be. The chorus encourages taking a break to avoid the negative effects of stress, and the bridge muses on the absurdity of war and the physical toll of staying still for too long. The song ends with a final refrain of "ruhig angehn" or "take it easy".
Overall, the song reminds us of the importance of self-care and balance in our lives. While goals and ambition can be worthwhile pursuits, we must be mindful of our limits and take care of ourselves along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
Ab auf die Karriereleiter, Geld muss sich vermehren
Focus on climbing the career ladder and making more money
Nur nach oben geht es weiter, wer nicht fühlt, muss hören
The only way is up, and those who don't feel it will be left behind
Familie und ein Eigenheim und Cabriolet
Typical aspirations of a comfortable life
Hier hatte ich leider keinen Reim typisch Bela B
This line doesn't really fit here, it's just something Bela B. wanted to say
Hektik und Stress total, mir kommen die Tränen
Feeling overwhelmed by too much hustle and stress
Hektik, lass es doch mal
Take a break from the hustle and bustle
Ruhig angehen erst mal schön
Take it easy for now
Lage peilen und dann mal sehen
Assess the situation and go from there
Stress ist schlecht, jetzt mal in echt
Stress is not good for you, seriously
Die Welt wird sich trotzdem noch drehen
Despite everything, the world keeps turning
Was du heut' nicht kannst besorgen das ist gut gemeint
It's good to try and get things done today
Erledigst du dann übermorgen, merk' dir das, mein Freund
But if you can't, don't worry, there's always tomorrow
Der Stress ist schuld an all den Kriegen, wird man je verstehen?
Is stress the root cause of all wars? Will we ever understand?
Ich kriege bloß Thrombosen vom Liegen, kann mich mal einer drehen?
I'm getting blood clots from lying around, can someone please turn me over?
Hektik, und Stress total, was muss geschehen?
Feeling completely overwhelmed by hustle and stress, what can be done?
Auszeit, lass es doch mal
Take a break, let it all go
Ruhig angehn, so glaub es mir,
Believe me, take it easy
Dann kriegt Dein Magen kein Geschwür
You'll avoid getting stomach ulcers
Stress macht fett, und schlecht im Bett
Stress makes you fat and bad in bed
Statt ackern geh Dich amüsieren
Instead of just working, go have some fun
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Ruhig angehn
Take it easy
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind