From 1972 to 1973, Hagen enrolled in the crash-course performance program at The Central Studio for Light Music in East Berlin. Upon graduation, she joined the band Automobil (picture), which released a well-received album in Germany, including her first hit "Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen" in 1974.
After a concert for a West German labour union in 1976 her stepfather, Wolf Biermann, was forbidden to return to the GDR. Because of their protests against it her mother, Eva-Maria Hagen and Nina were thrown out of GDR in 1977, and followed Biermann to his hometown Hamburg.
Nina subsequently met West-Berlin photographer Jim Rakete (who also produced some bands he shot the cover-photos for - like "Nena" some years later). He brought Nina together with the politically left-wing band "Lokomotive Kreuzberg" (later known as "Spliff"): thus the "Nina Hagen Band" was born.
In 1978 The Nina Hagen Band released their self-titled debut album, which included titles like "TV-Glotzer" (a cover of "White Punks on Dope" by The Tubes) and "Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo".
According to reviewer Fritz Rumler, she thrusts herself into the music, aggressively, directly, furiously, roars in the most beautiful operatic alto, then, through shrieks and squeals, precipitates herself into luminous soprano heights... she parodies, satirises, and howls on stage like a dervish.
Nina Hagen's eccentricity led to big disputes in the band and during a subsequent European tour Hagen decided to leave the band, though she was still under contract to produce a second album in 1979. This LP, Unbehagen (in addition to the obvious pun on her name, in German this also means 'discomfort' or 'unease'), was eventually produced with the band recording their tracks in Berlin and Hagen recording the vocals in Los Angeles, California. It included the single "African Reggae"/"Wir leben immer... noch" (a cover of Lene Lovich's "Lucky Number"). The headless Nina Hagen Band soon developed a successful independent musical career as Spliff.
Meanwhile, Hagen's public persona was steadily creating an increasing media uproar and she became infamous for an appearance on an Austrian talk show called Club 2, in which she performed an explicit simulation of masturbation. She also acted with Dutch sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll legend Herman Brood in the movie Cha Cha, along with Lene Lovich and various Dutch bands.
An European tour with a new band in 1980 was cancelled, she had a love affair with a 16 year old punk from Amsterdam called Noddy (www.noddyriot.co.uk) and sang a RHCP rapduet with him at the OneWorldPoetry festival at the MilkyWay and lived with him in New York and in the Bahamas.
In 1982 her first solo album NunSexMonkRock, a dissonant mix of punk, funk and opera, was a minor hit, and led to a world tour with the No Problem Orchestra.
In 1983 came the album Angstlos and a minor European tour. By this time, Hagen's public appearances were becoming even stranger; over the years they frequently included discussions of God, UFOs, her social and political beliefs, animal rights / vivisection and claims of alien sightings. The English version of Angstlos, 'Fearless', generated two major club hits in America , "Zarah" and the disco/punk/opera classic, "New York New York".
1985's 'Nina Hagen In Ekstasy' fared less well, but it did generate club hits with "Universal Radio" and a cover of "Spirit In The Sky", and it also featured her hardcore punk take on Frank Sinatra's "My Way", which had been one of her signature live tunes in previous years. Her contract with CBS over, she released the Punk Wedding EP independently in 1987, a celebration of her marriage to an 18-year old punk. It followed an independent 1986 one-off single with Lene Lovich, the anthemic "Don't Kill The Animals".
In 1989 Hagen released the album Nina Hagen which was backed up by another German tour. Now living in Paris with her daughter Cosma Shiva, in 1991 she toured Europe in support of her new album Street.
In 1992 Hagen became the host of a TV show on RTLplus. The following year she released Revolution Ballroom and two years later the German-language album Freud Euch appeared, recorded in English as Beehappy in 1996. Also in 1996, Hagen collaborated with electronic music composer Christopher Franke on "Alchemy of Love", the theme song for the Tenchi Universe movie Tenchi Muyo! in Love.
In 1998, Hagen became the host of a weekly science fiction show on the British Sci-Fi-Channel, in addition to embarking on another tour of Germany. In 1999, she released the devotional album Om Namah Shivay, which was distributed exclusively online. She also sang "Witness" on KMFDM's Adios.
Nina has a strong interest in various religions, but that is mainly driven by her urge to build a better world and her own colorful freedom within it.
In 2000, her song Schön ist die Welt became the official song of Expo 2000. The album The Return of the Mother was released in February 2001, accompanied by another German tour.
Hagen dubbed the voice of Sally in the German release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and she also did some voice work in Hot Dogs by Michael Schoemann.
Hagen has been featured on many songs by other bands, for instance Oomph!'s song Fieber, a cover of Rammstein's "Seemann" with Apocalyptica and in 2008 appeared readily on psy-trance act S.U.N. Project's X Black Album, most notably on the fully vocal track We're In Space. She also sang the song "Garota de Berlim" with Brazilian singer Supla in her early years.
Her two children are Cosma Shiva and Otis.
URLs:
BEST archive for Nina Hagen pictures and stuff (regrettably just in German), incl. very old GDR pics like a beautiful one at the age of 18 and one shot by the "Stasi" (together with her stepfather Wolf Biermann - wiki)
I'm Gonna Live The Life
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I sing about in my song
I'm going to stand for right
And always shun the wrong
If I'm in the crowd
Or if I'm alone
On the street or in my home
I'm going to live the life
Every day, everywhere
On that busy thoroughfare
Folk may watch me, some may spot me
Say I'm foolish, but I don't care
I can't sing one thing
And then live another
Be a saint by day
And a devil undercover
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to stand for right
And always shun the wrong
If I'm in the crowd
Or if I'm alone
On the street or in my home
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song, yes!
Every day, every night
I must always walk in the light
Some mistake me, underrate me
Because I want to do what's right
I can't go to church
And shout all day Sunday
Go out and get drunk
And raise's all day monday (?)
I've got to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
The song "I'm Gonna Live The Life" by Nina Hagen is a declaration of the artist's determination to live her life in accordance with the values and principles she espouses in her music. She states that she will stand for what is right and always avoid what is wrong, both in public and in private. She asserts that she cannot sing about one thing and then live another way, as this would be hypocritical. She acknowledges that some people may judge her or think she is foolish for living this way, but she does not care because she believes it is the right path to take.
The song can be interpreted as a call to action for the listener to also live their life in accordance with their values, and not to compromise or betray themselves for the sake of others' opinions. It also highlights the importance of consistency in one's words and actions, and the need to be true to oneself.
Overall, "I'm Gonna Live The Life" is a powerful and empowering song that encourages listeners to live authentically and with integrity, even in the face of opposition or criticism.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm going to live the life
I will lead my life according to my principles
I sing about in my song
I will follow the same path I sing about in my music
I'm going to stand for right
I will always choose the right path
And always shun the wrong
I will never choose to do what is wrong
If I'm in the crowd
Whichever social situation I find myself in,
Or if I'm alone
Even if no one is around to witness my actions,
On the street or in my home
Whether I'm out in public, or in the privacy of my own house,
Every day, everywhere
In every moment of my life,
On that busy thoroughfare
Even when things get hectic,
Folk may watch me, some may spot me
People may observe me and draw their own conclusions,
Say I'm foolish, but I don't care
They may think I'm naive, but I won't be deterred from my path,
I can't sing one thing
I can't preach one thing in my lyrics,
And then live another
And behave differently in reality,
Be a saint by day
Be good only when it's convenient,
And a devil undercover
Be mischievous behind closed doors,
Every day, every night
In every waking moment of my life,
I must always walk in the light
I must always do what is right, and avoid what is wrong,
Some mistake me, underrate me
Some people may misunderstand or underestimate me,
Because I want to do what's right
But I am committed to following my moral compass,
I can't go to church
I can't just pay lip service to my beliefs,
And shout all day Sunday
And then act hypocritically and against my beliefs the rest of the week,
Go out and get drunk
I can't indulge in activities that contradict my principles,
And raise's all day monday (?)
And suffer the consequences of those actions the next day,
I've got to live the life
I must make sure that my actions match my beliefs,
I sing about in my song
As that's the only way to truly lead the life I sing about in my music
Contributed by Jordyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@anibalveloso4503
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to stand for right
And always shun the wrong
If I'm in the crowd
Or if I'm alone
On the street or in my home
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
Every day, everywhere
On that busy thoroughfare
Folk may watch me, some may spot me
Say I'm foolish, but I don't care
I can't sing one thing
And then live another
Be a saint by day
And a devil undercover
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to stand for right
And always shun the wrong
If I'm in the crowd
Or if I'm alone
On the street or in my home
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song, yes!
Every day, every night
I must always walk in the light
Some mistake me, underrate me
Because I want to do what's right
I can't go to church
And shout all day Sunday
Go out and get drunk
And raise's all day monday (?)
I've got to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
I'm going to live the life
I sing about in my song
@I_Cerny
Nina is THE BEST!!! I just love her voice and how different she is from all others... She's a goddess
@fabioalbertolopezbarrrera1699
muuuaaaa
@howardhawksmovies1996
A brilliant performance of Nina covering an old Mahalia Jackson gospel song.
@BlueBell221
I only recently came across watching Nina's performances, and her style is amazing. The words in this song are great.... "not say one thing and do the other..." that deep bluesy voice reaches right in and grabs me. combined with the fun entertainment really makes it all work. some people like her make performing and entertaining look so natural.
@hagenist
There is no more powerful voice in de world!!! Bravo Nina! Flower-power! :-))
@morebirdsandroses
Yes! It's like this song was made for her voice and presence. ❤🌹
@bunnywabba
Dat Hair Cut!! Dat Leash, Dat Voice, Dat Everything!!! Nini is literally perfect!!
@salaproduzione5594
Bellissima
@nustada
Its a wig 99.9% sure.
@happyherbert1984
I'm sure she or he meant the (real) short haircut without the wigs.
The "original" Nina hair....because as a teenager she came across as a tomboy. :-)