His name Farin Urlaub is a pun on the German expression "Fahr in Urlaub!", which means "Go on vacation!", to refer to his love of traveling. He is also a pescetarian, a teetotaler, a non-smoker and a pacifist. He speaks seven languages: German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, and a supporter of Greenpeace and Amnesty International (amongst others). For the last few years he has been living in a village near Hamburg, where he has his own recording studio.
In 1980 he joined Bela B.'s band Soilent Grün as guitarist. When the band broke up in 1982, Urlaub, Bela B. and Hans Runge (better known as Sahnie) formed Die Ärzte, one of the most successful German pop punk rock bands of the 1980s. In 1988, at the height of their popularity, Die Ärzte disbanded.
Urlaub then formed King Køng, which remained unsuccessful, even for an indie band. Die Ärzte reunited in 1993 and have had continued success ever since. Urlaub still writes most songs for Die Ärzte which has the consequence that not all of them can be used for the band.
Therefore, in 2001, Urlaub started his solo career with the album Endlich Urlaub! ("Vacation at last!", which can also be read as pun on his name, as in "Urlaub at last!"). Am Ende der Sonne ("At the end of the Sun") was released in 2005, followed by the release of the live album Livealbum of Death in 2006. This live album was released under the name of Farin Urlaub's live band Farin Urlaub Racing Team. However, Urlaub announced that subsequent studio releases will also be made under the name Farin Urlaub Racing Team.
And so their latest studio album Die Wahrheit übers Lügen ("The truth about lying") was released in 2008, followed by a live album/video Lass es wie einen Unfall aussehen ("Make it look like an accident") in 2010. The video material was intended to become a live DVD, but was then released as a free download on the artist's website www.farin-urlaub.de, due to difficulties during the live sound recording (which led to the name).
Sumisu
Farin Urlaub Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Unsere Hemden waren schwarz
Wir standen ständig auf dem Schulhof in der Ecke und wir tauschten
Tief enttäuschte Blicke aus
Und immer wenn wir traurig waren
Und traurig waren wir ziemlich oft
Gingen wir zu dir nach Hause
Unsere Nächte waren einsam
Unsere Herzen waren schwer
Es gab niemanden, der uns verstehen konnte oder wollte
Und so kamen wir uns näher
Und immer wenn wir traurig waren
Und traurig waren wir ziemlich oft
Nahm ich dich in meine Arme
Und dann hörten wir die Smiths
Manchmal auch The Cure oder New Order
Aber größtenteils die Smiths
The lyrics of Farin Urlaub's song Sumisu speak about two people who find solace in their shared love for music during a difficult time in their lives. The use of dark imagery in the first verse, "unsere Tage waren dunkel, unsere Hemden waren schwarz" ("our days were dark, our shirts were black"), implies that the two are going through a period of sorrow or depression. They spend their days on the schoolyard, exchanging disappointed looks, perhaps feeling alienated from their peers. But when they are sad, they find comfort in each other's company and in the music of The Smiths, which is depicted as a way to transcend their sadness.
The second verse describes how the two people grow closer as they share their loneliness and vulnerability. The line "unsere Nächte waren einsam, unsere Herzen waren schwer" ("our nights were lonely, our hearts were heavy") paints a picture of their isolation and emotional pain. They feel misunderstood by others and cannot find anyone who can relate to what they are going through. But in each other's arms, they find a sense of belonging and an escape in music. The chorus, "immer wenn wir traurig waren, nahm ich dich in meine Arme, und dann hörten wir die Smiths" ("whenever we were sad, I took you in my arms, and then we listened to The Smiths"), is a beautiful and poignant expression of how music can bring people together and provide a sense of shared experience and healing.
Overall, Sumisu is a touching song about the power of music to connect people and help them through difficult times. The use of The Smiths as a symbol for this connection underscores the importance of finding common ground and shared experiences as a way to cope with life's hardships.
Line by Line Meaning
Unsere Tage waren dunkel
Our days were bleak and gloomy
Unsere Hemden waren schwarz
Our shirts were black
Wir standen ständig auf dem Schulhof in der Ecke und wir tauschten
Tief enttäuschte Blicke aus
We constantly stood in the corner of the schoolyard and exchanged deeply disappointed looks
Und immer wenn wir traurig waren
Und traurig waren wir ziemlich oft
Gingen wir zu dir nach Hause
Und da hörten wir die Smiths
And whenever we were sad, which was quite often, we went to your house and listened to The Smiths
Unsere Nächte waren einsam
Our nights were lonely
Unsere Herzen waren schwer
Our hearts were heavy
Es gab niemanden, der uns verstehen konnte oder wollte
Und so kamen wir uns näher
There was no one who could or wanted to understand us, so we became closer
Und immer wenn wir traurig waren
Und traurig waren wir ziemlich oft
Nahm ich dich in meine Arme
Und dann hörten wir die Smiths
And whenever we were sad, which was quite often, I held you in my arms and then we listened to The Smiths
Manchmal auch The Cure oder New Order
Aber größtenteils die Smiths
Sometimes we also listened to The Cure or New Order, but mostly it was The Smiths
Contributed by Matthew T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Frank Wirtz
Sowohl musikalisch als auch optisch ist dieses Video ein Hochgenuss. Es zeigt die ganze ironische Bandbreite des Schaffens eines genialen Musikers. Der Look von Max Schreck aus Nosferatu harmoniert ganz wunderbar mit dem Text der die Gefühlslage einer ganzen Generation beschreibt. Herr Urlaub, dies ist ihr Meisterwerk ! Ganz phantastische Arbeit ! Absolut liebenswert !
IamYour BiggestFan
Danke dir Farin. Durch diesen Song hab ich erst Bands wie "The Smiths", "New Order" oder "The Cure" kennen gelernt...damals als diese Bands populär waren, war ich nämlich noch gar nicht auf der Welt. Danke dass Du sie mir näher gebracht hast.
The Real Skywalker
🤦🏼♂️ Traurig...!
nihil obstat
bei mir wars andersrum haha
Sargitzki Andrea
Ich liebe den Song, seit ich ihn das erste Mal gehört habe, da ich in meiner Jugend auch großer Smiths-Fan war. Und dann seh ich Jahre später auch das Video.
Eine Hommage an Morrissey/the Smiths. Chapeau. Jetzt liebe ich auch das Video :)
schattentaenzerin
Ich liebe dieses Video und den Song. Schade, dass ihn so wenige kennen. Aber umso mehr freu ich mich, immer wieder zurück zu kommen
The Real Skywalker
Hi! 😄 Ja, das ist schon ultrageil.
The Real Skywalker
🖤
Kai Uwe Graf
Also ich bin seid 24 Jahren totaler Ärzte Fan !Das Farin racing team Edeckte ich durch bloßen zufall,und ich muß sagen absolute BOMBE finde die Band total genial ! Aber DIE ÄRTZE sind und bleiben die beste band der welt !ROCK ALL OVER FRB!
Black Rebell
Wie kann man 24 Jahre Ärzte Fan sein und Farin bisher nicht solo kennen/gekannt haben?