PvD is renowned as one of the hardest working artists, with sold-out tours that cross each continent, headline spots at every major festival, and a hugely successful recording career. With over 3 million albums sold worldwide, van Dyk travels around the world over 16 times each year to sold out performances internationally. 2007 alone has brought us PvD remixes of Depeche Mode’s “Martyr”, Britney Spears’ „Gimmy more“ and Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around.... Comes Around”.
PvD received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his original album Reflections – this marked the first time NARAS recognized this category. His original productions from Reflections have been synced into major motion pictures such as Into the Blue, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, television’s Entertainment Tonight and MTV’s Cribs, and international ad campaigns for Motorola, HBO, Land Rover, Ski Vail and most recently for Jeep. This year he won the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for Best Euro DJ.
Previously, PvD won four IDMAs in 2006: Best Global DJ, Best NuNRG/Euro Track, Best Producer and Best Mix Compilation for The Politics of Dancing 2. In addition, PvD was voted “America’s Favorite DJ” for 2004 and 2005 by BPM Magazine and was the big winner at the 2004 Dancestar Awards, taking home 3 awards: Best International DJ, Best Event and Best Music in a Commercial (Motorola). He also won the Mexican Oscar for his soundtrack in the film Zurdo in March 2004. Paul van Dyk was voted "Best Music Maker" by DJ Magazine, received the “Best International DJ Award” at the 1999 Music Awards in London, was named "Best International DJ" by Ministry of Sound Magazine, and Mixmag elected him as “Man of the Year”.
Aside from his musical activity, Paul van Dyk has always dedicated a significant part of his life to politics and social justice: from his youth, when he fled over the Berlin Wall to the West, to his children’s charity in India’s Mumbai, and his partnership scheme with the German Red Cross to help poor children in Berlin. In 2004, PvD was the only electronic artist involved in a nationwide tour with the Rock The Vote campaign, where he joined the likes of Bono, P Diddy, the Black Eyed Peas and George Clinton in campaigning for America’s youth to sign up to vote in the presidential election. In 2006 he received Berlin’s Medal of Honor (Landesverdienstorden) in recognition of his work with Ruckenwind, a charity organization he founded dedicated to helping poor children in Berlin. He joins a distinguished list of arts and political establishment figures with this honor.
Born in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany, Paul van Dyk grew up in communist East Berlin. Because his community did not have a true club culture, Paul van Dyk listened to the radio where he discovered his passion for music that extended beyond Techno music – he wanted to create a different, more unique sound. In the early 1990’s Paul van Dyk was spinning regularly at various clubs in Berlin before releasing his first album 45 RPM in 1994. But it wasn’t until the release of his second album Seven Ways which catapulted him into the Top 100, followed by the release of his hit single “For An Angel,” which began to earn him praise across the globe. By the time Paul van Dyk released Out There & Back in 2000, it became clear that the Berlin-based musician had far more to offer than his signature club sets and remixes that had already defined him as one of the most influential DJs and producers of all time. His first compilation mix CD Politics of Dancing was released in 2001, followed by Global in 2003 – a DVD which illustrates his own experiences traveling the world.
Paul van Dyk created the internet radio station VONYC.com focused on the electronic dance scene.
Paul van Dyk’s touring diary remains incredibly hectic with regular globetrotting stops at major venues across the globe from New York, London, Ibiza to India, China and Singapore. In the little time remaining between all the travel, Paul van Dyk resides in Berlin where he has his own radio show “Paul van Dyk’s VONYC Sessions” which airs weekly on Area 33 on Sirius Radio on Thursday nights at 6PM ET (and rebroadcasts Saturdays at 8PM ET and Tuesdays at Midnight ET) and Soundgarden which airs every Saturday 2pm – 4pm (EST) on Fritz radio and over the internet (www.fritz.de).
For more information, please visit www.paulvandyk.com or www.myspace.com/paulvandyk.
1991
Wir sind Wir
Paul Van Dyk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seh' ich wie die Ruinen dieser Stadt wieder zu Häusern auferstehen.
Doch bleiben viele Fenster leer, für viele gab es keine Wiederkehr.
Und über das was grad noch war spricht man heute lieber gar nicht mehr.
Doch ich frag', ich frag' mich wer wir sind
Wir sind wir,
Wir stehen hier
schließlich leben wir ja noch
Wir sind wir,
Wir stehen hier
Das kanns doch nicht gewesen sein
Keine Zeit zum traurig sein
Wir sind wir
Wir stehen hier
Wir sind wir
Auferstanden aus Ruinen dachten wir wir hätten einen Traum vollbracht.
40 Jahre zogen wir an einem Strang, aus Asche ham wir Gold gemacht.
Jetzt ist mal wieder alles anders
und was vorher war ist heute nichts mehr wert
Jetzt könn' wir haben was wir woll'n
aber wollten wir nicht eigentlich viel mehr ?
Und ich frag'
ich frag' mich wo wir stehen
Wir sind wir,
Wir stehen hier,
wieder eins in einem Land,
superreich und abgebrannt
Wir sind wir
wir stehen hier
so schnell kriegt man uns nicht klein
Alle keine Zeit zum bitter sein
Wir sind wir
wir stehen hier
Wir sind wir
Wir sind wir,
Aufgeteilt, besiegt und doch
schließlich gibt es uns ja immernoch
Wir sind wir
und wir werdens überstehen
denn das Leben muss ja weiter gehen
Wir sind wir
das ist doch nur ein schlechter Lauf
so schnell geben wir doch jetzt nicht auf
The lyrics to Paul van Dyk's song Wir sind wir talk about the aftermath of a city's ruin and how it has slowly been rebuilt. However, as much as there has been progress, there are still windows that remain empty and a significant number of people who did not return. The lyrics focus on the question "who are we?" and the statement "we are us." The song talks about how the people have come together to stand tall despite the challenges they have faced, including division and defeat.
The song reflects on the 40 years of progress that the people of the city tried hard to make. They had a dream to make a city out of ashes, and they believed they succeeded in it. But everything kept changing, and what was once of value has no worth now. Although they can now have whatever they want, they realize that this isn't what they truly wanted. As the lyrics progress, the artist questions where they stand now and the reason for their existence.
Wir sind wir is a song laden with layers of political and social connotations. The song talks about how the people of the city have risen together despite their differences and hardships. It reflects on the changes that have occurred in society and how they have affected the values that people once held. The message conveyed is of hope that they will continue to forge ahead and overcome all obstacles.
Line by Line Meaning
Tag um Tag, Jahr um Jahr, wenn ich durch diese Straßen geh'
Every day, every year, as I walk these streets,
Seh' ich wie die Ruinen dieser Stadt wieder zu Häusern auferstehen.
I see the ruins of this city rebuilt into homes again,
Doch bleiben viele Fenster leer, für viele gab es keine Wiederkehr
Yet many windows remain empty, many did not return,
Und über das was grad noch war spricht man heute lieber gar nicht mehr.
And today, we'd rather not speak of what was just before.
Doch ich frag', ich frag' mich wer wir sind
But I ask, I ask myself who we are,
Wir sind wir,
We are we,
Wir stehen hier
We stand here,
Aufgeteil, besiegt und doch schließlich leben wir ja noch
Divided, defeated, yet ultimately we still live,
Wir sind wir,
We are we,
Das kanns doch nicht gewesen sein
Surely that cannot be all there is,
Keine Zeit zum traurig sein
No time to be sad,
Wir sind wir
We are we,
Auferstanden aus Ruinen dachten wir wir hätten einen Traum vollbracht.
Rising from rubble, we thought we had achieved a dream.
40 Jahre zogen wir an einem Strang, aus Asche ham wir Gold gemacht.
For 40 years, we pulled together to turn ashes to gold.
Jetzt ist mal wieder alles anders und was vorher war ist heute nichts mehr wert
Now everything is different again, and what was valuable before is worth nothing today,
Jetzt könn' wir haben was wir woll'n aber wollten wir nicht eigentlich viel mehr ?
Now we can have what we want, but wasn't there more we wanted?
Und ich frag' ich frag' mich wo wir stehen
And I ask, I ask myself where we stand,
wieder eins in einem Land, superreich und abgebrannt
united again in a country, super-rich and broke,
so schnell kriegt man uns nicht klein
We won't be brought down easily,
Alle keine Zeit zum bitter sein
We all have no time to be bitter,
Wir sind wir,
We are we,
Wir stehen hier
We stand here,
Wir sind wir, Aufgeteilt, besiegt und doch schließlich gibt es uns ja immernoch
We are we, divided, defeated, yet ultimately we still exist,
Wir sind wir und wir werdens überstehen denn das Leben muss ja weiter gehen
We are we, and we will overcome because life must go on,
das ist doch nur ein schlechter Lauf so schnell geben wir doch jetzt nicht auf
This is just a bad stretch, we won't give up so easily,
Contributed by Olivia T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.