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)
Nina for President
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero!
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
My name is Nina, ich bin ein belina,
I run for president, a new world government,
The new world's government, is a screen,
we call it green dream, we will get the planet clean,
1991 is the time, open up your mind, and listen to the rhyme,
we need some unity, in every community,
get down, here's the opportunity,
we need a leader, to speak up on the issues,
those who take offence, sorry if we dissed you
its critical, in the political arena,
the rhymes i wrote, yeah, to vote for Nina!
I say aloud, time's run out, we bleed,
the poor and hungry are in need,
they need to eat, ??? ???
food, and we are being rude,
to eat a holy cow is to eat another dude,
it will put your karma in the worst of moods,
I'm not telling lies, but this is why the rainforest... dies
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero!
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero!
You ready to join?
and dare to share?
Come on, be fair,
let me say it live, on the air,
unification is the hardest combination,
one love, one love nation...
We're never gonna see, solar peace campaign,
to fight world pollution and stop acid rain,
South Africa, to the Berlin Wall, all negativity, must fall,
So in this election, make your selection,
We need a new leader, Vote for Nina!
No more fakes, no more mistakes,
this movement is sweeter than a million cakes
People have to know, that many politicians,
are under only private superstitious missions,
I always really wanted to tell you this,
Do you really know what Religion is?
Religion is to help, one another,
to love and to share, like a good mother,
now if you are a muslim,
or a jew, a christian, a buddhist, or a hindu,
a yogi, a flower, or a lulu, your love is to god,
and he loves you... ??? ???
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero!
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero
Ok, No more torture, we're going to be free
Stop messing around with atomic EN-AR-GY
Love life, and peace, can only begin,
if you know in your heart, sun shines from within,
love all your brothers, and love all your sisters
love all the Mrs. and love all the Misters.
Don't be shy when sharing your money,
be like the bees, sharing all your honey,
test my notion, the perfect peace potion,
can be found in the wake of the green seas motion,
The long, rocking swerve, the mighty blue ocean,
if you love peace, the perfect peace potion,
then we will find it with the sweet sea creatures
the spine of a dolphin is a built in feature,
you will learn much peace with the whale as your teacher,
Good Morning MC Shaun, very nice to meet you,
You ready to join?
and dare to share?
Come on, be fair,
let me say it live, on the air,
unification is the hardest combination,
one love, one love nation...
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
All for one, one for all,
united we stand, divided we fall
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero!
Countdown...
Ten to zero,
Nina for president, vote your hero
(underlying voices)
Okay
Nina for President,
Is this ok?
Okay.
Author: Joseph D. Wilkinson.
Please, feel free to email any corrections you might have to: love.london2012@gmail.com
Also, when you see "???" then that means the words were sung to fast, or sounded too muffled to detect.
The song "Nina for President" by Nina Hagen is a rallying call for the people to vote for Nina as president, and to come together as one unified nation. Nina sings about the need for a leader who will speak up on the issues, and who will work towards creating a new world government that is focused on getting the planet clean. She highlights the importance of unity within every community, and urges listeners to open up their minds and listen to the rhyme. She speaks about the critical need for a leader who can bring people together, and emphasizes the fact that in the political arena, it is the rhymes that matter.
Throughout the song, Nina emphasizes the need for love, peace, and unity, and calls out the negativity that exists in the world. She speaks about the importance of religion as a way to help one another and to love and share like a good mother. Furthermore, she encourages people to stop messing around with atomic energy and to love life and peace. In essence, the song is a message of hope, and a call to action for people to come together and work towards creating a better world.
Line by Line Meaning
Countdown... Ten to zero, Nina for president, vote your hero!
The countdown has started, and there are only a few seconds left to vote for Nina to become the next President
All for one, one for all, united we stand, divided we fall
We must all come together with one goal in mind to stand strong and succeed together as a united force
My name is Nina, ich bin ein belina, I run for president, a new world government, The new world's government, is a screen, we call it green dream, we will get the planet clean, 1991 is the time, open up your mind, and listen to the rhyme
Nina introduces herself as a presidential candidate who will bring a new world government that is environmentally conscious and will clean up the planet. She calls it the 'Green Dream' which will be achieved by opening the minds of the people and listening to her plan
we need some unity, in every community, get down, here's the opportunity, we need a leader, to speak up on the issues, those who take offence, sorry if we dissed you its critical, in the political arena, the rhymes i wrote, yeah, to vote for Nina!
Nina calls for unity in every community and encourages people to seize the opportunity to elect a strong leader who will speak up on important issues. She apologizes to those who may have taken offence and stresses that the situation is critical in the political arena, breaking into a rhyme to encourage people to vote for her
I say aloud, time's run out, we bleed, the poor and hungry are in need, they need to eat, ??? ??? food, and we are being rude, to eat a holy cow is to eat another dude, it will put your karma in the worst of moods, I'm not telling lies, but this is why the rainforest... dies
Nina raises concerns that time is running out and people need to act fast to help the poor and hungry who are in dire need, pointing out the fact that the planet's resources are being wasted. She criticizes the practice of eating beef and how it is contributing to the destruction of the rainforests
You ready to join? and dare to share? Come on, be fair, let me say it live, on the air, unification is the hardest combination, one love, one love nation...
Nina urges people to join her movement and unite in love for one another to create a fair and just society. She reminds them that coming together as one is difficult but necessary for success
We're never gonna see, solar peace campaign, to fight world pollution and stop acid rain, South Africa, to the Berlin Wall, all negativity, must fall, So in this election, make your selection, We need a new leader, Vote for Nina!
Nina emphasizes the importance of fighting against world pollution and acid rain by launching a solar peace campaign. She cites examples such as South Africa and the fall of the Berlin Wall as proof that negativity can be overcome. She calls on people to elect her as the new leader who will bring about the change that is needed
No more fakes, no more mistakes, this movement is sweeter than a million cakes People have to know, that many politicians, are under only private superstitious missions, I always really wanted to tell you this, Do you really know what Religion is? Religion is to help, one another, to love and to share, like a good mother, now if you are a muslim, or a jew, a christian, a buddhist, or a hindu, a yogi, a flower, or a lulu, your love is to god, and he loves you... ??? ???
Nina explains that her movement is authentic and those who follow her will no longer fall prey to fake or misguided politicians. She then explores the definition of religion, emphasizing the importance of loving and sharing with one another no matter what religion one might belong to
Ok, No more torture, we're going to be free Stop messing around with atomic EN-AR-GY Love life, and peace, can only begin, if you know in your heart, sun shines from within, love all your brothers, and love all your sisters love all the Mrs. and love all the Misters. Don't be shy when sharing your money, be like the bees, sharing all your honey, test my notion, the perfect peace potion, can be found in the wake of the green seas motion, The long, rocking swerve, the mighty blue ocean, if you love peace, the perfect peace potion, then we will find it with the sweet sea creatures the spine of a dolphin is a built in feature, you will learn much peace with the whale as your teacher, Good Morning MC Shaun, very nice to meet you,
Nina calls for the end of suffering and the pursuit of freedom for all. She urges people to stop using atomic energy and instead focus on peace and love. She reminds us that true happiness comes from within and that we should love and share with one another like the bees share their honey. She believes that the perfect peace potion can be found by appreciating the beauty of the sea creatures like dolphins and whales and finding peace in their wisdom and guidance
(underlying voices) Okay Nina for President, Is this ok? Okay.
As the song comes to a close, there are underlying voices confirming that Nina is the right choice for president, and she gives her approval
Contributed by Colin V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@london9904
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