He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional postwar "Schlager" (hit song) in the 1950s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal and French chanson style. His compositions and arrangements attracted fans of all ages. Until his death at age 80 he continued to fill venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Career
In 1952 Udo Bolan, as he was called then, formed the Udo Bolan Quartet In Klagenfurt, Austria appearing regularly at the Café Obelisk in Klagenfurt with Englishman Johnny Richards on drums, Klaus Behmel on guitar and Bruno Geiger on Bass. The quartet played regularly at various dance and jazz venues and also broadcast on Radio Alpenland and the British Forces Radio network produced by Mike Fior.
In 1950, he won a composer contest organized by Austria's public broadcasting channel ORF with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit "Reach for the Stars", sung by Shirley Bassey.
In 1964, he represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 with the song "Warum nur, warum[/trackUdo Jürgens]?", finishing sixth. The UK participant, Matt Monro, was impressed with the melody and covered the song (with English lyrics by his manager Don Black) as "Walk Away," which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Jürgens' song "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965's contest, and on his third try he won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 in Luxembourg with "Merci, Chérie", which became an English-language hit for Vince Hill, another cover by Monro, and one of Jürgens' most recognized compositions. Jürgens' version alone sold over one million copies, and he was awarded a gold disc by Deutsche Vogue in 1966.
In the following years, he wrote the songs, like "Griechischer Wein", "Aber bitte mit Sahne", "Mit 66 Jahren", and — one of his biggest successes — "Buenos Días, Argentina", which he performed together with the Germany national football team in 1978.
In 1977, he invited The Supremes to appear as guests on his televised and recorded gala concert. The Supremes (Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Green), who were on a brief farewell tour of Europe at the time, performed two of their own hits, "You Are the Heart of Me" and "You're My Driving Wheel", as well as a duet with Jürgens' "Walk Away" in English.
In 1979, he released a disco album entitled Udo '80. It produced a hit song "Ich weiß was ich will". This song was also released as a 12 inch disco single in an extended remix for discothèques.
On 2 December 2007, the jukebox musical "Ich war noch niemals in New York" ("I've never been to New York") opened in Hamburg's Operettenhaus. It weaves songs by Jürgens into a familial storyline, similar to the treatment of ABBA songs in "Mamma Mia!", the musical it succeeded at the venue.
Since 2015, Udo Jürgens holds the worldwide-record as the artist with the longest presence in the charts ever - more than 57 years from his first entry 1958 till 2015.
Death
On 21 December 2014, Jürgens died of acute heart failure in Münsterlingen, Switzerland at the age of 80. With Austria's success at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, the first since Jürgens' success in 1966, Jürgens expressed his interest in performing in the interval of the next contest. With his death, the organisers of the 2015 contest in Vienna paid tribute to him with a tribute day on 20 May and a tribute act at the beginning of the Grand Final.
Studio albums
1965 Portrait in Musik
1966 Françoise und Udo
1967 Was ich dir sagen will
1967 Portrait in Musik II
1967 International
1967 Chansons
1968 Udo Jürgens
1968 Mein Lied für dich
1968 Udo
1969 Portrait International
1969 Udo '70
1970 Udo '71
1971 So weit die Züge geh'n
1971 Jonny & Jenny
1972 Ich bin wieder da
1973 Es ist Zeit für die Liebe
1973 International 2
1973 Jonny & Jenny - Alle Kinder dieser Welt
1973 New World of Udo Jürgens
1974 Udo heute
1974 Meine Lieder
1975 Griechischer Wein - Seine neuen Lieder
1975 Griechischer Wein
1975 Udo '75 - Ein neuer Morgen
1976 Meine Lieder 2
1977 Meine Lieder '77
1977 Lieder, die auf Reisen gehen
1978 Buenos dias, Argentina
1978 Nur ein Lächeln
1979 Die Blumen blüh'n überall gleich
1979 Udo '80
1981 Willkommen in meinem Leben
1981 Leave a Little Love
1982 Silberstreifen
1983 Traumtänzer
1984 Hautnah
1985 Treibjagd
1986 Deinetwegen
1988 Das blaue Album
1989 Ohne Maske
1990 Sempre Roma
1991 Geradeaus!
1993 Café Größenwahn
1995 Zärtlicher Chaot
1999 Ich werde da sein
2002 Es lebe das Laster
2005 Jetzt oder nie
2008 Einfach ich
2011 Der ganz normale Wahnsinn
2014 Mitten im Leben
Walk Away
Udo Jürgens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before you throw your life away
A life that I could share for just a day
We should have met some years ago
For your sake I say
Walk away, just go.
Walk away, and live
With no regret
Don't look back at me
Just try to forget
Why build a dream that cannot come true
So be strong, reach the stars now
Walk away, walk on.
If I heard your voice
I'd beg you to stay
So don't say a word
Just run, run away.
Goodbye my love
My tears will fall
Now that you've gone
I can't help but cry
But I must go on
I'm sad that I after searching so long
Knew, I loved you, but I told you
Walk away, walk on, walk on
In this song, Udo Jürgens pleads with his lover to walk away from their relationship before it's too late. He implores them to not throw their life away and to live a life full of happiness and without regrets. It seems that the main reason for this plea is that they met too late in life, and he doesn't want them to waste their remaining years on a love that cannot come true. He encourages his lover to be strong, reach for the stars, and walk away from him.
The sadness and regret in the lyrics are palpable, as Jürgens acknowledges that he loves his partner and would beg them to stay if he heard their voice. But he knows that this would only lead to more pain and heartbreak in the future. Instead, he chooses to let his love go and move on, despite the sadness and tears that will inevitably follow.
This song is a powerful reflection on the fleeting nature of love and the painful choices we sometimes have to make in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones from further hurt. It's a poignant reminder that love isn't always easy, and sometimes the best thing we can do is walk away.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk away, please go
Leave me and our relationship behind
Before you throw your life away
Don't waste your life on me, leave before it's too late
A life that I could share for just a day
I know I can't offer a lifetime but I still wish we could have spent time together
We should have met some years ago
We are incompatible and it would have been better if we had never met
For your sake I say
I want what is best for you, even if it means losing me
Walk away, just go.
Please leave me and move on with your life
Walk away, and live
You deserve a life full of happiness and fulfillment
A life that's full
A life that is rich with experiences and love
With no regret
Don't look back and dwell on the past, live in the present with no regrets
Don't look back at me
Forget about me and what we had
Just try to forget
Move on from our failed relationship and start anew
Why build a dream that cannot come true
It is foolish to hold onto something that can never be fulfilled
So be strong, reach the stars now
Be strong in moving on and reaching for your dreams
Walk away, walk on.
Leave behind the past and keep moving forward
If I heard your voice
If I could hear you speak to me once more
I'd beg you to stay
I would plead with you to stay in our relationship
So don't say a word
Don't speak, it will only make this harder
Just run, run away.
Leave without looking back, no need to explain
Goodbye my love
Farewell my love
My tears will fall
My heart is breaking and tears will be shed
Now that you've gone
In the wake of your departure
I can't help but cry
I cannot stop the tears from falling
But I must go on
I must keep moving forward
I'm sad that I after searching so long
I'm saddened that after a long search for love, it still didn't work out
Knew, I loved you, but I told you
I knew I loved you but I also knew that it was best for both of us to go seperate ways
Walk away, walk on, walk on
Leave behind the past and keep moving forward, no need to look back
Writer(s): Jurgens, Pete Bellotte, Harold Faltermeier, Black Copyright: Hollis Music Inc., WB Music Corp.
Contributed by Declan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.