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
Schlimm
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Du willst woanders noch mal von vorne anfangen
Denn so kann es für dich nicht weitergehn
Ende der Ballade, der Zug endet hier – Finito, Schluss
Du setzt mich vor die Tür
Und du willst mich vorerst nicht mehr sehn
Ich hab die Ahnung, etwas Schlimmes wird geschehn:
Die Halswirbel springen raus, die Luft, sie geht mir aus
Und nur, weil du dir unsicher bist!
Ich habs vermasselt, sagst du, es hat keinen Zweck
Für dich steckt der Karren viel zu tief im Dreck
Deine Zukunft, sagst du, lässt sich mit meiner nicht vereinen
Ich mach dich krank, sagst du, diesmal ists wirklich vorbei
Es gibt keinen gemeinsamen Weg für uns zwei
Was ist bloß los, das kannst du nicht so meinen?!
Ich geh dann mal, beim Sterben bin ich gern allein
Jetzt lieg ich hier auf den Schienen, weißt du, wie unbequem das ist?
Der Zug kommt stetig näher, über mir ein Eichelhäher
Und nur, weil du dir unsicher bist!
Jetzt lieg ich in der Wanne
Weißt du, wie unbequem das ist?
Aus meinen Adern rinnt das Blut
Das ist für den Kreislauf sicher nicht so gut
Ich liege hinter einem Auto
Auspuff im Mund, der Motor läuft
Hantier mit Kettensägen rum
Schwimm mit weißen Haien im Aquarium
Ich lieg auf einem Ameisenhaufen
Und bin mit Honig eingeschmiert
Ich trinke Gift und rauche Crack
Alles nur zu einem einzigen Zweck
Ich bin auf einem Ärzte-Konzert
Und der Tod, er winkt mir zu
Werd von den Fans zu Mus gemacht
Vom Bassisten ausgelacht
Und wer ist schuld? Wer ist schuld daran?
Wer ist schuld daran? Schuld daran bist du-huhuu!
The song Schlimm (Bad) by the German punk rock band Die Ärzte (The Doctors) describes the end of a relationship where the singer's partner decides to break up and start anew elsewhere. The singer feels an impending sense of doom and fears the worst will happen. The song's title refers to the unpleasant and uncomfortable situations the singer puts themselves in because of their partner's hesitation and indecisiveness.
The lyrics portray the singer's desperation and loss, as they contemplate the terrible things they may be forced to do just to prove their love and alleviate their pain. They feel wronged and abandoned and struggle to come to terms with the end of their relationship. The chorus "Und nur, weil du dir unsicher bist!" (And only because you are unsure!) repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the cause of the singer's pain and desperation.
The song has a fast-paced, punk-rock sound with a catchy melody and a chorus that is easy to sing along to. The lyrics are a humorous take on a dramatic situation, with ironic and absurd situations the singer imagines themselves in. The band's use of humor to portray serious themes is a trademark element of their music.
Line by Line Meaning
Du hast gesagt, du machst Schluss, dir ist die Lust vergangen
You said you wanted to break up, the desire is gone, you want to start over elsewhere, because it can't go on like this for you. It's the end of the ballad, the train stops here - finished, the end. You leave me at the door and don't want to see me for a while.
Ich hab die Ahnung, etwas Schlimmes wird geschehn
I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen, now I'm hanging here and dangling. Do you know how uncomfortable it is? My neck is breaking, I'm running out of air, and just because you're unsure!
Ich habs vermasselt, sagst du, es hat keinen Zweck
I messed up, you say it's pointless, the cart is too deep for you to pull out. You say I make you sick, this time it's really over, there's no common path for us two. What's wrong? You can't really mean it, can you?
Ich geh dann mal, beim Sterben bin ich gern allein
I'll go now, I prefer to die alone. Now I'm lying here on the tracks, do you know how uncomfortable it is? The train is coming closer, a jaybird is above me, and just because you're unsure!
Jetzt lieg ich in der Wanne
Now I'm lying in the tub, do you know how uncomfortable it is? Blood is streaming from my veins, that's certainly not good for circulation, I'm lying behind a car, the exhaust in my mouth, the motor is running, I'm fooling around with chainsaws, I'm swimming with great white sharks in an aquarium.
Ich trinke Gift und rauche Crack
I drink poison and smoke crack, all for one purpose, I'm at a Die Ärzte concert, and death is waving at me, I'm being turned into mush by the fans, laughed at by the bassist. And who's to blame? Who's to blame? You're to blame-hoo hoo!
Contributed by Lily C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lauro Holdenradio
jiiipi der schluss is echt gut!!