Die Toten Hosen is a punk band from Düsseldorf (NRW), Germany. They are one… Read Full Bio ↴Die Toten Hosen is a punk band from Düsseldorf (NRW), Germany. They are one of very few German-language acts who have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany.

The band formed out of the ashes of punk band, ZK, founded 1978. The members of Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers" in English; "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "lifeless", "boring", or "nothing going on") are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephen George Ritchie), Andi (Andreas Meurer) and Breiti (Michael Breitkopf). Vom replaced Wölli as the drummer in 1999 (Wölli's untimely departure from the band was due to injuries caused by a car accident), who himself had replaced Trini in 1985 and is still an honorary member of the band; Trini became the band's manager.

The band has existed for over 20 years, and their songs' focus gradually shifted from funny and nonsensical to serious; the songs from their first LP were mostly about having fun, but by the end of the 1980s they were focusing more on political and social issues such as racism.

Part of the folklore surounding the band is the story that in their early days they played for free on private birthday parties or similar events. However only under the conditions that the host provided for unlimited beer supply and paid for all damages caused by the band.

The debut single "Wir sind bereit" ("We are ready") was released in 1982, and was followed by their first album, "Opel-Gang", the next year. In 1988, Die Toten Hosen released the LP "Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau". It refers to the movie A Clockwork Orange based on the book by Anthony Burgess. In 1993, Frank Castorf produced a German theater version of the book, in which Die Toten Hosen performed as actors and musicians.

Their 1000th concert was on 28th June 1997, in the Düsseldorfer Rheinstadium, and was attended by more than 60,000 fans. A Dutch girl died in the crowd; after various talks with security and police, the band decided to play soft songs until the end, in order not to panic the crowd. Later the band produced the song "Alles ist Eins" in memoriam for the Dutch girl.

Die Toten Hosen have collaborated with numerous other musicians (like Bad Religion, AC/DC, U2, Rolling Stones); they are also one of the few German punk bands popular outside of Germany (esp. in South America, Australia, eastern Europe) other notable bands being Die Ärzte and Rammstein.

As longtime fans of the their local soccer team Fortuna Düsseldorf they have been sponsoring the club from 2001 to 2003.

After their Unplugged concert in the end of 2005 they've taken a time-out. But they disclaimed rumors, that this is the end of the band.

In 2008 they released the Album "In aller Stille.

In 2012, Die Toten Hosen released their album Ballast der Republik. A special edition includes a bonus CD with cover versions of songs that influenced the band. On 26 April 2016, it was announced that former drummer Wolfgang Rohde had died of cancer.

Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen
Die Toten Hosen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wir laufen durch die Straßen, suchen alles ab
Gehen auf's größte Haus in der ganzen Stadt
Noch tausend Stufen, dann haben wir's geschafft
Kratzen am Himmel und springen vom Dach (oh, oh, oh, oh)

Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Komm, halt dich an mir fest (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Sag mir doch, wie fühlst du dich? (Oh, oh, oh, oh)

Bist du glücklich oder nicht?

Wir schießen durch die Wolken, so weit, wie's geht
An jeder Ampel ein Planet
Wir lachen all die Astronauten aus
Houston, niemand von euch hält uns auf (oh, oh, oh, oh)

Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Komm, halt dich an mir fest (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Sag mir doch, wie fühlst du dich? (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Bist du glücklich oder nicht?

Hoch wie nie, alles schön, alles bleibt
Was bedeutet schon die Zeit?
Und wir sehen auf die Welt
Und sie ist für uns zu klein
Und du weißt, du willst nie mehr zurück

Für heute reicht's, war schön mit dir
Irgendwann bleiben wir einmal für immer hier
Wir sehen uns um, ein letzter Blick
Langsam driften wir zurück (oh, oh, oh, oh)

Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Komm, halt dich an mir fest (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Sag mir jetzt, wie fühlst du dich? (Oh, oh, oh, oh)

Bist du glücklich oder nicht? (Oh, oh, oh, oh)

Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Komm, halt dich an mir fest (oh, oh, oh, oh)
Warum all die Tränen? (Oh, oh, oh, oh)
Bist du glücklich oder nicht?

Overall Meaning

The song "Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen" by Die Toten Hosen is about seizing the moment and living life to the fullest. The first verse describes two people walking through the streets, searching for adventure. They climb to the top of the tallest building in town and jump off to "scratch the sky" and fly. The chorus repeats the phrase "Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen" meaning "a good day to fly," and emphasizes the importance of holding on to each other and enjoying the moment. The second verse describes the thrill of flying through the clouds, seeing the world from a new perspective, and feeling free from the constraints of time and space. The bridge is a reflection on the idea that everything stays beautiful and time seems to stand still when you are having fun. The final chorus ends with a melancholic note, acknowledging that the day must come to an end and asking if the other person is happy or not.

Line by Line Meaning

„Äh, Ladies und Gentlemen, wie wär's mit Fliegen?“
The singer asks if anyone wants to go flying.

Wir laufen durch die Straßen, suchen alles ab
We search the streets for a tall building.

Gehen auf's größte Haus in der ganzen Stadt
We go to the biggest building in the city.

Noch tausend Stufen, dann haben wir's geschafft
We need to climb a thousand more steps.

Kratzen am Himmel und springen vom Dach
We reach the roof and fly off.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Ein guter Tag zum Fliegen
It's a great day to fly.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Komm, halt' dich an mir fest
Hold on to me.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Sag' mir jetzt, wie fühlst du dich?
How do you feel now?

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) bist du glücklich oder nicht?
Are you happy or not?

Wir schießen durch die Wolken, so weit, wie's geht
We soar through the clouds.

An jeder Ampel ein Planet
We see planets at every intersection.

Wir lachen all die Astronauten aus
We laugh at the astronauts below us.

Houston, niemand von euch hält uns auf
Houston cannot stop us.

Hoch wie nie, alles schön, alles bleibt
We feel high and happy.

Was bedeutet schon die Zeit?
Time doesn't matter.

Und wir sehen auf die Welt
We look down at the world.

Und sie ist für uns zu klein
The world seems too small for us.

Und du weißt, du willst nie mehr zurück
We never want to come back.

Für heute reicht's, war schön mit dir
Today was enough, it was nice with you.

Irgendwann bleiben wir einmal für immer hier
We will stay here forever sometime.

Wir sehen uns um, ein letzter Blick
We take one last look around.

Langsam driften wir zurück
We slowly drift back.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Sag' mir jetzt, warum weinst du jetzt?
Why are you crying now?

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) bist du glücklich oder nicht?
Are you happy or not?

„Vielen Dank Vielen Dank an euch“
Thank you, thank you all.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) (Oh-oh-oh-oh) (Oh-oh-oh-oh) „Freunde, Freunde“
Friends, friends.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) „Ist doch nicht nötig“
It's not necessary.

(Oh-oh-oh-oh) „Kann ich's nochmal haben“
Can we play it again?

(Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh) „Vielen Dank, dankesehr
Thank you very much.

Ja, äh, wir würden euch jetzt gerne ein Lied vorspielen von Hochgeschätzten Kollegen Äh, die Band heißt ,Rammstein‘ Und die haben 'n paar echte Knaller hingelegt und dieses hier, zum Beispiel, heißt ,Ohne dich‘, es geht
We are introducing a song by Rammstein called 'Ohne dich.'

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Andreas Frege, Marten Laciny, Michael Breitkopf

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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