Rio Reiser (January 9, 1950 - August 20, 1996), was a German rock musician … Read Full Bio ↴Rio Reiser (January 9, 1950 - August 20, 1996), was a German rock musician and singer of the famous rock group Ton Steine Scherben. He was born Ralph Möbius in Berlin and died at the age of 46 in the little German town of Fresenhagen.

Some critics say that Rio Reiser created a new image of a German folk singer; he was even called a "Schlager" artist (a genre of German folk music), and a "Volksmusik" musician (sometimes translated as "folk music", but in a literary sense it means music of the people). To other critics, Rio Reiser was simply a singer in a rock band. However, Reiser sometimes approved of being referred to a Volksmusik musician, because he thought that this would simply mean he sang music for the people.

His father was an engineer for Siemens AG, and the family moved several times because of his father's work; they lived in Berlin, Oberbayern, Nürnberg, Mannheim, and Stuttgart. Reiser was never really able to feel at home in any of these places. Many of his friends said, when they were asked in an interview which was broadcast on the TV-channel arte in 1998, that he started playing music to create a place where he felt at home.

Reiser was known by his friends as someone who had a very special mind of his own. For example he managed to persuade his mother Erika Möbius that he was allowed to stop attending school and start an apprenticeship in a studio for photography. She believed that he was an autodidact; he never learned things when he was taught by someone else. Thus he taught himself how to play cello, guitar, the piano and other instruments.

He decided to change his name from Ralph Möbius to Rio Reiser because of the autobiographical novel Anton Reiser by Karl Philipp Moritz. During his teenage years Rio Reiser was a big fan of The Beatles and later of The Rolling Stones.

After he left school, Reiser started as a singer for the rock band The Beat Kings where he met his good friend R.P.S. Lanrue. Later he ended his apprenticeship at the photographic studio and left The Beat Kings, to be able to go to Berlin. In Berlin he composed the first Beat-Opera, which wasn't successful at all.

In 1970 Reiser recorded his first single with the band Ton Steine Scherben. Their original name was actually "Was ich fand, waren Ton, Steine, Scherben". In that same year the group performed their first public concert and recorded their first full length record. Ton Steine Scherben were musically successful, though not commercially.

In 1985 Reiser and the band finally split because of financial reasons. Reiser had a large debt with the group, but his solo career went so well that he was free from debt in a short time. His first solo record-album was called König Von Deutschland ("King of Germany") which was produced by his manager Georges Glueck. Many of his friends from the Ton Steine Scherben-days didn't like the fact that Reiser was suddenly a commercially successful musician.

Rio Reiser was also politically active. He was member of the Die Grünen and later after the German reunification he joined the PDS.

Reiser's sixth and last solo record was Himmel und Hölle (Heaven and Hell). Reiser wrote and performed most of his songs entirely by himself, although he was sometimes accompanied by his long time friend R.P.S. Lanrue.

Rio Reiser died on August 20, 1996 from a circulatory collapse after internal bleedings, probably as a result of a hepatitis C infection, at his home in Fresenhagen.

Harry ist groß
Rio Reiser Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dadadadadadada...
Dadadadadadada...

Harry ist groß und Jonny ist klein,
Harry haut Jonny eine rein.
Da kommt Freddy und schlägt Harry nieder,
Harry ist groß und erhebt sich wieder.
Freddy ist stärker und tritt nochmal zu,

Harry hat endlich seine Ruh'.
Jonny sagt froh: "Fred, ich danke dir!"
Freddy sagt: "Das kost' aber Schutzgebühr."
Verdreht zur Probe mal Jonny's Hand,
ach, wär' der Johnny nur weggerannt.
Ach, wär' der Jonny nur weggerannt.

Dadadadada...
Dadadadada...

Hier kommt Ernie, der Bärenstarke,
der Erwin, der Kleine, aber der kann Karate.
Ernie gröllt: "Erwin, gib mir dein Bier!
Du schuldst mir noch eins vom letzten Mal hier."
Der Wirt weiß, wer recht hat, aber er schweigt,
weil er weiß, wer am Ende der Sieger bleibt.
Und weil er nachts nichts hört und auch nichts sagt,
geht Ernie zu Boden durch Handkantenschlag.
Er hatte zwar recht sich, aber schlecht benommen,
und hat auch vom Wirt noch 'nen Tritt bekommen,
und hat auch vom Wirt noch 'nen Tritt bekommen.

Dadadadada...

Alle Fünfe sahen sich wieder vor ein paar Tagen
und wollten sich gerade schon wieder schlagen.
Da betrat ein Engel das ärztliche Haus
und sprach: "Haltet ein, ich geb' allen einen aus."
Und als sie so saßen in trauter Runde,
vernahm man plötzlich die frohe Kunde,
daß sich alle Fünfe wirklich gern mögen,
warum sie sich jetzt nicht 'nen Joint reinzögen?
Die ganze Geschichte schlägt mir auf den Magen.
Ja, könn'se sich denn sowas nicht früher sagen?
Ja, könn'se sich denn sowas nicht früher sagen?

Dadadadada...

Overall Meaning

The song "Harry ist groß" by Rio Reiser tells the story of several characters who try to prove themselves through physical violence. The first verse, for instance, introduces Harry, a big guy who bullies Jonny, a smaller boy. Freddy intervenes and beats Harry up, but Harry manages to get up again. Then, Freddy attacks Harry again, and this time Harry is knocked out. Jonny thanks Freddy, but the latter reminds him that protection comes at a cost, as he twists Jonny's arm as a demonstration. In the second verse, Ernie, a strong guy, arrives at a pub and demands beer from Erwin, who refuses to serve him. A fight starts, and although Ernie is martial-arts proficient, he still ends up getting beaten up by the bar owner.

The song's lyrics criticize and satirize the macho attitude of the characters, who are defined solely by their physical strength and violent impulses. The events described in the song illustrate how violence only breeds more violence, and that the desire for dominance is ultimately self-destructive. The chorus that repeats throughout the song underlines this message, as it conveys a sense of despair and frustration with the characters' behavior.

Overall, the song "Harry ist groß" is a poignant commentary on the futility of violence and the need for human connection and understanding. The lyrics suggest that people are capable of change, but they must first recognize the harm caused by their actions.

Line by Line Meaning

Harry ist groß und Jonny ist klein,
Harry is physically bigger and stronger than Jonny.

Harry haut Jonny eine rein.
Harry hits Jonny, demonstrating his superior physical strength.

Da kommt Freddy und schlägt Harry nieder,
Freddy arrives and beats up Harry, showing that strength isn't always enough to win fights.

Harry ist groß und erhebt sich wieder.
Despite being beaten, Harry gets back up again, showing his resilience.

Freddy ist stärker und tritt nochmal zu,
Freddy continues to attack Harry, despite having already won the fight.

Harry hat endlich seine Ruh'.
Once Harry is knocked out, he finally finds peace from the violence.

Jonny sagt froh: "Fred, ich danke dir!"
Jonny is happy that Freddy has beaten Harry.

Freddy sagt: "Das kost' aber Schutzgebühr."
Freddy brags that Jonny owes him a favor for helping him out.

Verdreht zur Probe mal Jonny's Hand,
Freddy tests his own strength by twisting Jonny's hand.

ach, wär' der Johnny nur weggerannt.
The artist wonders if Jonny could have avoided the violence if he had run away.

Hier kommt Ernie, der Bärenstarke,
Ernie is introduced as a physically strong character.

der Erwin, der Kleine, aber der kann Karate.
Erwin might be small, but he has a skill to defend himself with.

Ernie gröllt: "Erwin, gib mir dein Bier!
Ernie demands Erwin's beer.

Du schuldst mir noch eins vom letzten Mal hier."
Ernie reminds Erwin that he owes him a beer from a previous encounter.

Der Wirt weiß, wer recht hat, aber er schweigt,
The bartender knows who is right in the situation, but doesn't intervene.

weil er weiß, wer am Ende der Sieger bleibt.
The bartender assumes that the stronger man, Ernie, will eventually win.

Und weil er nachts nichts hört und auch nichts sagt,
The bartender remains passive and neutral, letting the fight play out without getting involved.

geht Ernie zu Boden durch Handkantenschlag.
Erwin uses a karate move to knock out Ernie and win the fight despite being physically weaker.

Er hatte zwar recht sich, aber schlecht benommen,
Ernie may have been in the right, but he behaved badly.

und hat auch vom Wirt noch 'nen Tritt bekommen,
As punishment for starting the fight, Ernie is kicked by the bartender.

Alle Fünfe sahen sich wieder vor ein paar Tagen
The same five characters from the previous fights meet again a few days later.

und wollten sich gerade schon wieder schlagen.
They are on the verge of fighting again.

Da betrat ein Engel das ärztliche Haus
A metaphorical angel appears and intervenes to stop the violence.

und sprach: "Haltet ein, ich geb' allen einen aus."
The angel offers to buy all of the characters a drink instead of fighting.

Und als sie so saßen in trauter Runde,
The characters sit together in peace and camaraderie.

vernahm man plötzlich die frohe Kunde,
News breaks that the characters actually like each other.

daß sich alle Fünfe wirklich gern mögen,
Despite their previous violence, the characters actually have positive feelings towards each other.

warum sie sich jetzt nicht 'nen Joint reinzögen?
The artist wonders why the characters couldn't just smoke weed together from the start instead of fighting.

Die ganze Geschichte schlägt mir auf den Magen.
The artist is disturbed by the cycle of violence and lack of communication between the characters.

Ja, könn'se sich denn sowas nicht früher sagen?
The singer questions why the characters couldn't just talk about their feelings instead of resorting to violence.

Contributed by Tyler T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS