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.
Over the Rainbow
Rio Reiser Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
there's a land that I have heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
Someday I wish upon a star
and wake up where the clouds are far
behind me.
The troubles melt like lemon drops
away across the chimney tops
that's were you find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,
there's a land that I have heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,
there's a land that I have heard of once in a lullaby.
Spoken:
Ich sag's nochmal auf deutsch...
Irgendwo hinter'm Regenbogen
gibt es ein Land, von dem ich gehört hab,
irgendwann mal in einem Wiegenlied.
Rio Reiser's rendition of the iconic song "Over the Rainbow" captures the universal longing for a better place beyond the confines of reality. The opening lines allude to a mythical place "somewhere over the rainbow, way up high" that can only be reached in dreams or lullabies. The lyrics suggest a place where anything is possible, where dreams come true and the sky is always blue. The use of the rainbow as a metaphor for an idyllic place beyond the constraints of human experience adds to the song's power as a symbol of hope and optimism.
The lyrics also suggest a sense of escapism that many people feel when they dream about a better life or a different reality. The song's chorus "someday I wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me" highlights the desire to escape from the harsh realities of everyday life and find solace in an idealized world. The verses that follow reinforce this sense of escaping from reality: "the troubles melt like lemon drops away across the chimney tops, that's where you find me".
Overall, Rio Reiser's version of "Over the Rainbow" captures a sense of yearning for a better place filled with hope and optimism. The lyrics communicate a message of escapism and the desire to break free from the mundane realities of life and live in a world where dreams come true.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a place beyond our reach, above the clouds and in the sky.
there's a land that I have heard of once in a lullaby.
In a dream or a lullaby, I heard of a far-off land that exists beyond our reality.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
In that distant land, the skies are blue and clear, without a worry in sight.
and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
If your imagination dares to dream, your dreams will become reality in that promised land.
Someday I wish upon a star
One day, I hope to summon the courage to ask for my deepest wish.
and wake up where the clouds are far
Then, I'll awaken in a place where the clouds are far from me.
behind me.
Leaving behind all my troubles and woes.
The troubles melt like lemon drops
All those troubles and worries melt away as easily as lemon drops in that magical land.
away across the chimney tops
Drifting away far from view, over the rooftops and beyond.
that's were you find me.
It's in that far-off land where my heart is truly at home.
Irgendwo hinter'm Regenbogen
Somewhere behind the rainbow,
gibt es ein Land, von dem ich gehört hab,
Exists a land, a place I heard of,
irgendwann mal in einem Wiegenlied.
Once, in a lullaby, I heard its whispered secrets inside my head.
Contributed by Savannah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.