The band was already established in 1994 by Rümenapp, Ude and Poschwatta, when the vocalist Sandra Nasic joined later that year. They recorded 3 demo tapes, but their career took off in 1996 after winning the Local Hero contest for unsigned bands. They used the prize money for recording their first hit "Open Your Eyes" and shot a video for that song. They also signed to GUN/Supersonic Records.
"Open Your Eyes" was released as a single (#5 GER) and was followed by their debut album Proud Like a God in 6 October 1997. The album ranked #4 and it was certified platinum in Germany. Two other singles helped the album's popularity and sales: "Rain" (#76 GER) and "Lords of the Boards" (#10 GER). "Lord of the Boards" is performed as the closing song on every Guano Apes concert.
In 1999, they issued the stand alone single "Don't You Turn Your Back on Me" (# 50 GER).
In 2 May 2000, Guano Apes released the sophomore album, Don't Give Me Names. This #1 album in Germany was certifed gold in the same country and it was promoted by four singles: "Big in Japan" (#9 GER, #5 IT), "No Speech" (#75 GER), "Living in a Lie" (#84 GER) and "Dödel Up" (#57 GER).
In 2001, the band credited as Guano Babes featuring Michael Mittermeier, issued the stand alone single "Kumba Yo!" (#3 GER).
Their third album Walking on a Thin Line was released in 3 February 2003. The album peaked #1 and it was certified gold in Germany. Guano Apes released three singles from this album: "You Can't Stop Me" (#10 GER), "Pretty in Scarlet" (#51 GER) and "Quietly" (#51 GER).
After the very long promo tour to the WOATL album, the band decided to take a rest for a while. In 2004 they issued a Best Of album titled Planet of the Apes and the single "Break the Line". The band broke up after a final tour in February 2005. A year later, their label released the compilation Lost (T)apes, which contains previously unreleased demos, originally recorded in 1994 and 1995.
Dennis Poschwatta formed the crossover band Tamoto with his friend G-Ball and released the album Clemenza. Henning Rümenapp worked for Horus Studios in Germany. Sandra Nasic released her solo album The Signal in 2007. In 2006 Dennis, Henning and Stefan formed a new group with singer Charles Simmons, called IO. IO realeased their studio album For the Masses in 2008.
In 2009 Guano Apes reformed and played some dates including Enterro da Gata (Portugal), Rock am Ring (Germany), Nova Rock (Austria), Woodstock Festival (Poland), Sofia (Bulgaria), Bucharest (Romania). In Bucharest, Sandra announced the band is working on a new studio album.
Their fourth album Bel Air was released in Spring 2011, preceded by the single "Oh What a Night".
Official site: http://www.guanoapes.org
Counting the Days
Guano Apes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you GET UP and you're running out of blast
When you picked OUT A FEATHER WRITE a word
With the debts and you set it down
But now I'm into
Like a clock...has been around
What...the town
But now
Counting the days to rearrange
Beyond the surface
We're meant to pay
Counting the days to rearrange
And you won't suffer
We're still the same
When you're...spreading from the past
Like you haven't got the running on your ways
When you're a bit loaded digging UP the dirt
and you had...
But now I'm into
...on the ground
And you're dizzy, YOU'RE AD NAUSEAM AND foul
...BLEEDING ALL DOWN
But now
Counting the days to rearrange
Beyond the surface
We're meant to pay
Counting the days to rearrange
And you won't suffer
We're still the same
I'm tired of...the lies
Say you don't wannabe and so do I
Where'S the rap and respect
Speaks to reach all the sides
Where's the goddess bless of justify
Counting the days to rearrange
Beyond the surface
We're meant to pay
Counting the days to rearrange
And you won't suffer
We're still the same
I'm tired of...the lies
Say you don't wannabe and so do I
Where'S the rap and respect
Speaks to reach all the sides
Where's the goddess bless of justify
In the first verse, the lyrics describe the feeling of being bogged down by the weight of daily life, when someone is putting on a persona or a "mask" to cope with the exhaustion. However, the song takes a turn in the chorus, by declaring that the singer is "counting the days to rearrange," meaning that they are taking small steps to improve their life beyond just the surface level. They want to escape the mundane and pay their debts, but they are determined to make a change despite the challenges involved.
The second verse describes the struggle of trying to break free from the past and its burdens but also feeling trapped like there is no way to escape getting stuck. The singer feels tired of the lies and desires more respect and understanding from others. The song ends on the same note, emphasizing the need for change and the frustration of feeling stagnant or overlooked.
Overall, "Counting the Days" is a song that emphasizes the importance of taking control of one's life and making changes to move beyond the surface and mundane tasks. It speaks to the universal struggle of feeling stuck and the desire to break free from life's burdens.
Line by Line Meaning
When you'RE down putting nothing but a mask
When you're feeling low and hiding behind a mask
And you GET UP and you're running out of blast
You try to pick yourself up, but you're running out of energy
When you picked OUT A FEATHER WRITE a word
You search for inspiration and scribble something down on a feather
With the debts and you set it down
You let out your frustrations on paper and put it down
But now I'm into
But now I'm focused
Like a clock...has been around
Like a clock that's been ticking for a long time
What...the town
What's happening in the town
...
Counting the days to rearrange
Counting the days until things change
Beyond the surface
Deeper than what's on the surface
We're meant to pay
We're supposed to pay for our actions
And you won't suffer
And you won't endure pain
We're still the same
But we're still the same people
When you're...spreading from the past
When your past starts to catch up with you
Like you haven't got the running on your ways
Like you've lost your momentum
When you're a bit loaded digging UP the dirt
When you're feeling burdened and digging up old problems
and you had...
And you thought you had it under control
...on the ground
Feeling defeated
And you're dizzy, YOU'RE AD NAUSEAM AND foul
And you're overwhelmed and feeling sick of it all
...BLEEDING ALL DOWN
Emotionally torn apart
I'm tired of...the lies
I'm tired of being lied to
Say you don't wannabe and so do I
You say you don't want to be something, and I don't either
Where'S the rap and respect
What happened to the music and respect
Speaks to reach all the sides
That speaks to everyone
Where's the goddess bless of justify
Where's the divine blessing to make things right
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ARTEMIS GOUNAKI, SANDRA NASIC, HENNING RUEMENAPP, STEFAN UDE, DENNIS POSCHWATTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind