He is the only artist to score a #1 Hit in the U.S. with a German language song, and his albums and singles have sold about 60 million copies worldwide.
Early Years
Born in Vienna, studying at the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977 which he left after one semester to pursue a career in music, he lived for a short time in West Berlin while singing in a jazz-rock band. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco," reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog, and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company. En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass player in the Austrian hard rock-punk rock band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" which he would also include on his debut solo album Einzelhaft.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar" from the 1982 album Einzelhaft. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the U.S. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British Rock band After the Fire recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number three in the United States (their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. The band - who had been together more than a decade - broke up almost immediately thereafter. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics, under the title "Deep in the Dark" on her album Branigan 2.
After a second album, Junge Roemer, failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria and Germany, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus" inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the U.S. and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. Unheard of at the time for a white performer, much less a European one, the Austrian rapper's single climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (only a few years earlier called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including the Soviet Union and Japan. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the U.S. Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the U.S. Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny" the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany and the Netherlands, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the U.S., although it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland). On the Album were "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, Ein Jahr danach)" and the song "Kamikaze Cappa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 U.S. Dance hit, though he failed to make the U.S. pop charts. He also went on "Emotional-Tour" which was a world tour where he ended up in Japan at 1987. In 1987, he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen "Body Next to Body" and the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic countries. The Album Wiener Blut was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
After "Jeanny," there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the U.S. and the UK. His 1992 U.S. comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug with the song "Titanic" won a number of awards, but failed to chart in America.
Death
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Pajero near the city of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. While it was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, this was disputed. At the time of his death, he was working on a comeback into the music world.
He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Years active: 1974 -1998
Nothin' Sweeter Than Arabia
Falco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yah
Yahlah
They say there is religion
There is a kind of taste
Get me the celebration
And I will give you the waste
No trouble at all
We need to stand-up together
Those curtains are not to fall
Arabian nights
Arabian nights
And there's no way out for me (Arabian nights)
This dream will capture me for years (Arabian nights)
Yellow night light (Arabian nights)
In a city of white (Arabian nights)
I'm stranded in the desert (Arabian nights)
I'm stranded in a fight (Arabian nights)
There's no one here who's gonna save you
There's nothin' sweeter than Arabia
Arabian nights
They say there is religion (Arabian nights)
There is a kind of taste (Arabian nights)
Get me the celebration (Arabian nights)
And I will give you the waste (Arabian nights)
There's no way out for me (Arabian nights)
This dream will capture me too far (Arabian nights)
I'm stranded in the desert (Arabian nights)
I'm stranded (Arabian nights)
En-cha-la
Arabian nights
Arabia
There's nothin' sweeter than Arabia
Falco's "Nothin' Sweeter Than Arabia" is a song that explores the beauty and mystique of Arabia. The singer emphasizes the importance of sticking together and not letting any difficulties or obstacles stand in their way. The opening lines, "They say there is religion, There is a kind of taste, Get me the celebration, and I will give you the waste," suggest that there is something unique and desirable about the Arabian culture.
The song continues to describe the allure of the Arabian nights, with lines such as "Yellow night light in a city of white" and "I'm stranded in the desert, I'm stranded in a fight." The singer seems to be both captivated by and trapped in the beauty of Arabia. However, the chorus emphasizes that there is no escape and that nothing is sweeter than the experience of Arabia.
Overall, "Nothin' Sweeter Than Arabia" is a song that celebrates the unique culture and beauty of Arabia, while also acknowledging that it can be a difficult and challenging place to navigate.
Line by Line Meaning
Yah
Chanting sound.
Yah
Chanting sound.
Yahlah
Chanting sound.
They say there is religion
There is a belief system.
There is a kind of taste
There is a unique flavor.
Get me the celebration
Bring me the party.
And I will give you the waste
After party leftovers.
There will be no danger
No need to worry.
No trouble at all
Everything will be peaceful.
We need to stand-up together
We must unite.
Those curtains are not to fall
We will persevere.
Arabian nights
The magical nights of Arabia.
Arabian nights
The magical nights of Arabia.
And there's no way out for me (Arabian nights)
I'm trapped in this dream.
This dream will capture me for years (Arabian nights)
This vision will stay with me for a long time.
Yellow night light (Arabian nights)
The warm glow of the Arabian night.
In a city of white (Arabian nights)
Amidst the white city.
I'm stranded in the desert (Arabian nights)
Lost in the sandy dunes.
I'm stranded in a fight (Arabian nights)
Trapped in an internal struggle.
There's no one here who's gonna save you
You're on your own.
There's nothin' sweeter than Arabia
Arabia is the best.
Arabian nights
The magical nights of Arabia.
They say there is religion (Arabian nights)
Religion is an important aspect of Arabian culture.
There is a kind of taste (Arabian nights)
The Arabian flavor is unique.
Get me the celebration (Arabian nights)
Let's party Arabian style.
And I will give you the waste (Arabian nights)
The leftovers of the Arabian party.
There's no way out for me (Arabian nights)
I'm stuck in this dream.
This dream will capture me too far (Arabian nights)
This dream has taken me too deep.
I'm stranded in the desert (Arabian nights)
Lost in the sandy dunes.
I'm stranded (Arabian nights)
I'm trapped.
En-cha-la
Arabian chant.
Arabian nights
The magical nights of Arabia.
Arabia
The land of Arabia.
There's nothin' sweeter than Arabia
Arabia is the best.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MATS BJOERKLUND, CURT CRESS, JOHANN HOELZEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Libor Synthesizer
on Out of the Dark
super muzika ,nádhera