Sandy Nelson's song "Teen Beat" rose to #4 on the charts in 1959. Subsequen… Read Full Bio ↴Sandy Nelson's song "Teen Beat" rose to #4 on the charts in 1959. Subsequently he signed with the Imperial label and pounded out two more Top 40 hits, "Let There Be Drums", which went to #3 in Britain, and "Drums Are My Beat". All three were instrumentals (a feat seldom, if ever, repeated).

Sander L Nelson was born on 1 December 1938 in Santa Monica, California. He attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who together became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such well-known songs as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, 1958), "Alley-Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles, 1960), "A Thousand Stars" (Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1960) and more.

Nelson continued to record into the early 1970s.

Fraulein
Sandy Nelson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Far across the blue waters
Lives an old German's daughter
By the banks of the old river Rhine
Where I loved her and left her
But I can't forget her
'Cause I miss my pretty Fraulein

Fraulein, Fraulein

Look up toward the heavens each night
When the stars seem to shine
By the same stars above you
I swear that I love you
You are my pretty Fraulein

When my memories wander
Away over yonder
To the sweetheart that I left behind
In a moment of glory
A face comes before me
The face of my pretty Fraulein

Fraulein, Fraulein
Walk down by the river
Pretend that your hand's holding mine

By the same stars above you
I swear that I love you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Sandy Nelson’s song Fraulein are about a man who fell in love with a German girl while by the river Rhine. He had to leave her but he can’t forget her, and he misses her dearly. The chorus of the song speaks directly to the Fraulein, asking her to look up to the stars and know that he loves her, and also to walk down by the river and imagine holding hands with him. Whenever the man’s memories wander, he thinks of his pretty Fraulein, and a face comes before him, bringing back that sweet memory of their time together.

The lyrics of Fraulein have an interesting history. The song was originally written by Lawton Williams, an American country music singer, and first recorded by Bobby Helms in 1957, followed by several other artists. The song topped the country music chart for four weeks and became a popular song in the United States. However, the song also became an unlikely hit in Germany, where it was translated into German and recorded by numerous artists, including well-known singer Peter Alexander. In Germany, the song was titled Rosmarie, after the name of a character in the song lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

Far across the blue waters
I am geographically far away from my love

Lives an old German's daughter
She is from an old German family

By the banks of the old river Rhine
She resides in the banks of the almighty Rhine river

Where I loved her and left her
I once loved and left her in that place

But I can't forget her
I still miss her despite having left her

'Cause I miss my pretty Fraulein
I miss my beautiful lady love

Fraulein, Fraulein
My love, my love

Look up toward the heavens each night
Gaze at the night sky every night

When the stars seem to shine
When the stars are sparkling bright

By the same stars above you
For these stars are the same that are seen above you

I swear that I love you
I bring on oath that I am deeply in love with you