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
Wenn es Abend wird
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Und die Nacht rückt langsam näher
Wenn die Lerche steigt und die Sonne sinkt
Ja, da wird mir dann mein kleines Herzerl schwer
Und dann kehre ich in eine Wirtschaft ein
Wo man ungestört noch sitzen kann
Und da trinke ich ein kleines Glaser Wein
Da ist der Eichlinger mit seinem BMW
Der fährt auch, wenn er besoffen ist
Er hat keine Angst um seinen Führerschein
Denn er selber ist ja hier der Polizist
Und die Frau Wirtin ist eine Witwe jetzt
Und sie führt die Wirtschaft ganz allein
Denn der Wirt ging fremd mit seiner schönsten Kuh
Und da schenkte sie ihm Zyankali ein
Sieben Jahr ist's her, dass Franzens Vater starb
Sieben Jahr sind eine lange Zeit
Und jetzt sitzt er da in seinem Jaguar
Denn der dicke Rentenscheck
Der kommt noch heut'
Und die Heidelind hat schon ihr drittes Kind
Dabei ist sie gerad' erst 17 Jahr
Und die kleinen sind alle mongoloid
Denn der Vater ist ihr lieber Herr Papa
Da ist mei' Lehrerin, der ich so dankbar bin
Weil Ich heute schreiben und lesen kann
Und in den Ferien, da fährt sie nach Schwerin
Und da zünd't sie Asylantenheime an
Und der Herr Pfarrer steht bei der Annegret
Und er lächelt stets so fromm und froh
Und vor der Kommunion steckt er den braven Buam
Eine gottgeweihte Kerze in den Po
Wenn es Abend wird drunt' am Alpensee
Und die Nacht rückt langsam näher
Wenn die Lerche steigt und ihr Lied erklingt
Ja, da wird mir dann mein kleines
Herzerl schwer
The song "Wenn es Abend wird" by Die Ärzte talks about the singer's feelings when night falls by the Alpensee lake. The lyrics depict different characters and situations that the singer encounters while having a glass of wine in a nearby tavern. The singer observes people like Eichlinger, who drives even when drunk because he believes he is above the law, and Frau Wirtin, a widow who runs the place alone after her unfaithful husband dies. The singer also notices Heidelind, who is only seventeen but already has three children with a man who is also her father, and a hypocritical teacher who sets fire to asylum centers while pretending to be grateful to her students. The song ends with the singer feeling sad because of the various unfair and unjust situations he witnessed.
The song shows the dark side of society through a set of fictional yet realistic characters. The lyrics indicate that people could be selfish, irresponsible, and cruel at times. The song also emphasizes the importance of empathy and justice in society. By highlighting the flaws of certain individuals, the song encourages people to be kind, compassionate, and morally upright, especially when no one is watching.
Overall, "Wenn es Abend wird" is a thought-provoking song that raises awareness of societal issues and moral values. It is a reminder that good and evil coexist in the world and that our actions define who we are.
Line by Line Meaning
Wenn es Abend wird drunt' am Alpensee
As the evening draws near at Alpensee
Und die Nacht rückt langsam näher
And the night slowly approaches
Wenn die Lerche steigt und die Sonne sinkt
When the lark rises and the sun sets
Ja, da wird mir dann mein kleines Herzerl schwer
Yes, then my little heart becomes heavy
Und dann kehre ich in eine Wirtschaft ein
And then I go to a tavern
Wo man ungestört noch sitzen kann
Where one can sit undisturbed
Und da trinke ich ein kleines Glaser Wein
And there I drink a small glass of wine
Und dann schau ich mir die lieben Leute an
And then I look at the dear people
Da ist der Eichlinger mit seinem BMW
There is Eichlinger with his BMW
Der fährt auch, wenn er besoffen ist
He also drives when he is drunk
Er hat keine Angst um seinen Führerschein
He is not afraid of losing his license
Denn er selber ist ja hier der Polizist
Because he himself is the policeman here
Und die Frau Wirtin ist eine Witwe jetzt
And the landlady is a widow now
Und sie führt die Wirtschaft ganz allein
And she runs the tavern all by herself
Denn der Wirt ging fremd mit seiner schönsten Kuh
Because the landlord cheated with his most beautiful cow
Und da schenkte sie ihm Zyankali ein
And she gave him cyanide
Sieben Jahr ist's her, dass Franzens Vater starb
It's been seven years since Franz's father died
Sieben Jahr sind eine lange Zeit
Seven years is a long time
Und jetzt sitzt er da in seinem Jaguar
And now he sits there in his Jaguar
Denn der dicke Rentenscheck kommt noch heut'
Because the fat pension check arrives today
Und die Heidelind hat schon ihr drittes Kind
And Heidelind already has her third child
Dabei ist sie gerad' erst 17 Jahr
Though she's only just 17 years old
Und die kleinen sind alle mongoloid
And the children are all mongoloid
Denn der Vater ist ihr lieber Herr Papa
Because the father is her dear dad
Da ist mei' Lehrerin, der ich so dankbar bin
There's my teacher, for whom I'm so thankful
Weil ich heute schreiben und lesen kann
Because I can read and write today
Und in den Ferien, da fährt sie nach Schwerin
And in the holidays, she goes to Schwerin
Und da zünd't sie Asylantenheime an
And there she sets fire to asylum homes
Und der Herr Pfarrer steht bei der Annegret
And the pastor stands by Annegret
Und er lächelt stets so fromm und froh
And he always smiles so piously and happily
Und vor der Kommunion steckt er den braven Buam
And before communion, he sticks a holy candle in the brave boy's butt
Eine gottgeweihte Kerze in den Po
A god-consecrated candle in the butt
Wenn es Abend wird drunt' am Alpensee
As the evening draws near at Alpensee
Und die Nacht rückt langsam näher
And the night slowly approaches
Wenn die Lerche steigt und ihr Lied erklingt
When the lark rises and sings its song
Ja, da wird mir dann mein kleines Herzerl schwer
Yes, then my little heart becomes heavy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAN VETTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind