Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated.
Marlene enjoyed music and attended concerts. She was adept at playing the violin and piano. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Marlene had discovered the stage. Acting was to be her vocation. In 1921, Marlene applied for an acting school run by Max Reinhardt. She was accepted. She appeared in several stage productions, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines. In short, she wasn't setting the stage world on fire.
She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was So sind die Männer (The Little Napoleon) (1923) which was followed by Tragödie der Liebe (Love Tragedy) (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they didn't live together the whole time.
The remainder of her early film career was generally filled with bit roles. After being seen in the German production of Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) (1930) in 1930, Marlene was given a crack at Hollywood. Her first US film was Morocco (1930) with Gary Cooper, which was followed by Dishonored (1931). This latter movie had her cast as a street walker who is appointed a spy. The film was rather boring but was a success because of Marlene's presence. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express (1932) which proved to be immensely popular, grossing $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. The next film was Blonde Venus (1932) which turned out to be a horrible production. Her co-star was Cary Grant and once again she was cast as a prostitute.
During this period Dietrich had been typecast as a woman of low morals and she wanted different parts. Her chance came in 1939 in Destry Rides Again (1939) when she was cast as "Frenchy", a Western saloon hostess. This began a new direction for Marlene since it shed the previous typecasting. All through the 1940s, she appeared in well-produced, well-directed films such as Manpower (1942), The Spoilers (1942), The Lady Is Willing (1942) and Pittsburgh (1942).
Afterwards the roles came less frequently, perhaps one to two films every year. In 1945, Marlene didn't appear in any. She only made seven productions in the 1950's. Her last role of any substance was Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Despite the lack of theatrical roles, Marlene still made appearances on the stage. However, by 1979, she was a shell of her former self. After breaking her leg in one performance, she never made a go of it in show business again.
Spending the last 12 years of her life bed-ridden, Marlene died on May 6, 1992 in Paris, France of kidney failure at the age of 90.
Das Hobellied
Marlene Dietrich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oft um den Wert des Glücks,
Der eine heißt den andern dumm,
Am End weiß keiner nix.
Da ist der allerärmste Mann
Dem andern viel zu reich.
Das Schicksal setzt den Hobel an
Und hobelt alles gleich.
Zeigt sich der Tod einst, mit Verlaub,
Und zupft mich: Brüderl kumm!
Da stell ich mich am Anfang taub
Und schau mich gar nicht um.
Doch sagt er: Lieber Valentin!
Mach keine Umständ! Geh!
Da leg ich meinen Hobel hin
Und sag der Welt: Adje.
Da streiten sich die Leut herum
Oft um den Wert des Glücks,
Der eine heißt den andern dumm,
Am End weiß keiner nix.
Da ist der allerärmste Mann
Dem andern viel zu reich.
Das Schicksal setzt den Hobel an
Und hobelt alles gleich.
Marlene Dietrich's song "Das Hobellied" speaks about the futility of arguments over the value of happiness. The lyrics portray a situation where people fight over what happiness truly means, with one person calling the other foolish. Ultimately, no one is able to come to a conclusion on the matter. The song then goes on to describe how death appears to the singer, who ignores it at first, but eventually gives up and says goodbye to the world.
The theme of the song is existentialism, as it speaks about the human tendency to argue and debate about abstract concepts. The futility of such arguments is emphasized by the line "am End weiß keiner nix," which means "in the end, no one knows anything." The song's title, "Das Hobellied," translates to "The Planing Song," which is indicative of the theme of life as something that is constantly being smoothed out and made equal. This is exemplified by the line "Das Schicksal setzt den Hobel an und hobelt alles gleich," meaning "fate sets the planer in motion and planes everything evenly."
Line by Line Meaning
Da streiten sich die Leut herum
People argue with each other
Oft um den Wert des Glücks,
Often about the value of happiness
Der eine heißt den andern dumm,
One calls the other stupid
Am End weiß keiner nix.
At the end, no one knows anything
Da ist der allerärmste Mann
The poorest man is there
Dem andern viel zu reich.
Rich to the other
Das Schicksal setzt den Hobel an
Fate starts planing
Und hobelt alles gleich.
And planes everything equally
Zeigt sich der Tod einst, mit Verlaub,
Once the death presents itself, respectfully
Und zupft mich: Brüderl kumm!
And pulls me: come brother!
Da stell ich mich am Anfang taub
At first, I pretend to be deaf
Und schau mich gar nicht um.
And I do not look around
Doch sagt er: Lieber Valentin!
But then he says: dear Valentin!
Mach keine Umständ! Geh!
Do not fuss! Go!
Da leg ich meinen Hobel hin
Then I put down my plane
Und sag der Welt: Adje.
And bid farewell to the world
Writer(s): Helmut Rulofs, Harald Baierl, Muezka, Konradin Kreutzer, Ferdinand Raimund
Contributed by Harper L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Carochoupi
Aussi belle emplumée que dans la fourrure ;-) Je connaissais pas la chanson, vraiment belle! Merci beaucoup pour le partage :-)
Inge Mayodon
Wunderschön dieses Lied aus dem Verschwender von Ferdinand Raimund. Vielen Dank für die Übertragung und LG aus Montreal, Qc, Canada
Don Won
Oh she's so adorable! Marlene THE WONDERFUL!!
Gerald Hödl
C'est pas une chanson traditonelle, c'est une chanson composée par Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849) pour la pièce de théâtre "Der Verschwender" par l'auteur autrichien Ferdinand Raimund (1790-1836)
stephan
WONDER 🌹
LilyMarleneDietrich
@MarleneXtreme Lovely song, lovely Marlene! Thank you, Irene :-)
LilyMarleneDietrich
@cyrilconnection Marlene, 110 ans cette année, l'aventure ne fait que commencer! Merci Cyril.
Artylena
Personal Shopper is my favorite movie in the world.
Linus D N
Floriane GomezStew i liked it alot too
LilyMarleneDietrich
@Carochoupi "Vous portez des plumes et des fourrures, qui semblent appartenir à votre corps comme les fourrures des fauves et les plumes des oiseaux". Jean Cocteau. Merci beaucoup, Caro :-)