Lindenberg (born May 17, 1946 in Gronau) started his musical career as a dr… Read Full Bio ↴Lindenberg (born May 17, 1946 in Gronau) started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969 Lindenberg founded his first band Free Orbit and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Michael Naura, Knut Kiesewetter). In 1970 he collaborated as a drummer with jazz-saxophonist Klaus Doldinger in Munich. In 1971, a band founded by Lindenberg, Passport put out its first album, with Lindenberg on drums. He also played drums for the theme music for the German TV series Tatort. The first LP of the Jazz rock group Emergency was released in 1971 but met with little commercial success.

The LP Lindenberg (also 1971, and sung in English, already with Steffi Stephan on bass) was likewise unsuccessful. In the following year, the fist LP in German was released: Daumen im Wind (produced by Lindenberg and Thomas Kukuck, who also produced the next five albums together), from which the single "Hoch im Norden" became a radio hit in northern Germany. The year 1973 brought a breakthrough with the album Andrea Doria and its catchy "Alles klar auf der Andrea Doria" and "Cello". Over 100,000 copies sold, and Lindenberg quickly received the largest record deal of any German-language musician up to that time. Lindenberg was earning a special place in the new German-language music of the 70s: Between internationally-oriented Krautrock and pop music, he found his niche. German-language rock had previously been confined to predominantly political message bands whose music was directed at a narrow audience.

Lindenbergs brash style, everyday subject matter ("Bei Onkel Pö…") and his feel for language were an unprecedented combination in German-language music. His pioneering work helped other artists such as Stefan Waggershausen and Marius Müller-Westernhagen get record deals of their own. In 1973 Lindenberg first went on tour with his Panikorchester (Panic Orchestra).

1976 was one of Udo Lindenberg's most productive years. Besides the LP Galaxo Gang he also published under the name Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndicat I make you feel good, a first Best of Panik Udo and the first in a series of foreign-language publications No Panic, on which Lindenberg translated his songs to English. In the same year (and on another LP: Sister King Kong) with the song "Rock ’n’ Roll Arena in Jena", Lindenberg first mentioned a Panic Orchestra tour in the GDR. In 1976, Lindenberg discovered Ulla Meinecke and produced her first two albums. She was a guest artist and co-author of the 1977 LP Panische Nächte (Panic Nights) and the 1978 Dröhnland Symphonie. On Lindenbergs Rock Revue (1978) Lindenberg and Horst Königstein "Germanized" rock classics from Little Richard to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and went on a big tour. The Nr.-1-Hit "We Gotta Get out of This Place" was also published with German lyrics.

The subsequent Dröhnland-Symphonie-Tour was staged by Peter Zadek as a big multimedia stage show with a plethora of costumed extras. The result was Lindenbergs first live album Livehaftig. In 1979, Der Detektiv was the second Rock Revue, in which more international hits such as "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John, "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "My Little Town" and "As Time Goes By" (from the film Casablanca) were "Germanized". Also 1997 was published "Belcanto - Udo Lindenberg & das Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg" which included hits like "Horizont", "Bis ans Ende der Welt" along with a song by Bertold Brecht and Udo's own interpretation of The Windmills of Your Mind - "Under the drunkard moon" ("Unterm Säufermond").

One of his most famous songs is Sonderzug nach Pankow (Special train service to Pankow), an adaptation of Chattanooga Choo Choo, released as a single on 2 February 1983. It originated from the refusal of eastern German authorities to allow Lindenberg a concert in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

On June 3, 2011, Lindenberg performed at Kampnagel unplugged. The recording was later released as an album within the MTV unplugged series. Lindenberg was the 8th German artist in that series. The album became the second No.1 album for Lindenberg declared Platin status for 200,000 sold units after two weeks. The second single from the album "Cello" (feat. Clueso) went No.4 giving Lindenberg the highest chart position in German singles charts ever reached.

Lindenberg has worked collaboratively with various local and international recording artists (Eric Burdon, Helen Schneider, David Bowie, Tom Robinson, Keith Forsey, Gianna Nannini, and Nena) on a number of projects. He currently lives in Hamburg in the Hotel Atlantic (for several years now). His somewhat hoarse voice is the result of too much liquor and cigarettes. In 1989, he survived a heart attack. In 2010, he designed two stamps, themed on his songs "Andrea Doria" and "Sonderzug nach Pankow", for the Deutsche Post.

Leinwand
Udo Lindenberg Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Du warst nur eine Leinwand.
Traurig, daß ich das sagen muß.
Nun ist der Film zu Ende,
Mitten in der Story ist plötzlich Schluß.
Ich bedaure sehr:
Der Projektor geht nicht mehr.

Du warst nur eine Leinwand

Für meine großen Phantasien.
Nun ist der Film gerissen
Und ich werde weiterziehen -
Wieder allein mit meinen radikalen Träumen

Wir haben uns leider nur selten gesehen.
Richtig kennengelernt hab' ich dich nie.
Ich hab' mir da was zusammengesponnen
In Panik-Color und Gigantophonie.

Wenn's auch schwerfällt:
Ich seh's jetzt ein,
Obwohl du der Typ bist,
Der mich umhaut wie noch nie.
Mein Superstar kannst du leider nur sein
In meinem Wunschkino unter meiner Phantastenregie -
Ich bedaure sehr:
Dieses Hollywood funktioniert nicht mehr.

Wir haben uns leider nur selten gesehen.
Richtig kennengelernt hab ich dich nie.
Ich hab mir da was zusammengesponnen
In Panik-Color und Gigantophonie.

Sowas passiert!
Ich hab' diesen ganzen Wahnsinn auf dich draufprojiziert.
Du bist keine Leinwand,
Ich muß mich korrigieren – bitte verzeih!
Es gibt nur Sterne im Weltall -

Aus irgend 'nem blöden Grund
Rasen die aneinander vorbei.

Overall Meaning

The song "Leinwand" by Udo Lindenberg is a lament to a love that was never really there. The singer metaphorically refers to the person they loved as a "Leinwand" or a canvas, on which they projected their grand fantasies and wildest dreams. The singer now realizes that their love was nothing more than a figment of their imagination, as portrayed in a movie which had an abrupt end. The projector, representing their hopes and dreams for the relationship, is broken, and there is no continuation of the storyline. The singer regrets the fact that the Hollywood-esque, grandiose image they had of their love interest was just a fantasy, and now they are left alone with their radical dreams.

The singer admits to not knowing the person well enough and having created a false image of them in their mind. They describe the relationship in terms of a film, full of "Panik-Color" and "Gigantophonie" or grandiose, exaggerated elements. The singer realizes the mistake they have made in putting too much emphasis on their idealistic version of their love. The final lines acknowledge the futility of the situation, with the realization that stars in the universe pass each other by randomly, just like the lovers in this story.

Line by Line Meaning

Du warst nur eine Leinwand.
You were just a canvas for my big fantasies, and it's sad that I have to say that.

Traurig, daß ich das sagen muß.
It's sad that I have to admit this fact.

Nun ist der Film zu Ende, Mitten in der Story ist plötzlich Schluß.
Now the movie is over, and it ended abruptly in the middle of the story.

Ich bedaure sehr: Der Projektor geht nicht mehr.
I deeply regret that the projector is broken and cannot continue the film.

Für meine großen Phantasien. Nun ist der Film gerissen Und ich werde weiterziehen - Wieder allein mit meinen radikalen Träumen
You were only a canvas for my big dreams, and now that our movie is ruined, I have to move on and go back to being alone with my radical dreams.

Wir haben uns leider nur selten gesehen. Richtig kennengelernt hab' ich dich nie. Ich hab' mir da was zusammengesponnen In Panik-Color und Gigantophonie.
Unfortunately, we only met a few times, and I never got to know you properly. I made up something about you in my head in a panic of vibrant colours and giant sound.

Wenn's auch schwerfällt: Ich seh's jetzt ein, Obwohl du der Typ bist, Der mich umhaut wie noch nie. Mein Superstar kannst du leider nur sein In meinem Wunschkino unter meiner Phantastenregie - Ich bedaure sehr: Dieses Hollywood funktioniert nicht mehr.
Although it is difficult, I now see the truth that you are not the person I made you out to be, even though you still dazzle me like no one else. But you can only be my superstar in my imaginary cinema under my own fantastical direction. I deeply regret that this Hollywood-style illusion is no longer possible.

Sowas passiert! Ich hab' diesen ganzen Wahnsinn auf dich draufprojiziert.
These things happen, and I projected all of my madness onto you.

Du bist keine Leinwand, Ich muß mich korrigieren – bitte verzeih!
You are not a canvas, and I must correct myself - please forgive me!

Es gibt nur Sterne im Weltall - Aus irgend 'nem blöden Grund Rasen die aneinander vorbei.
There are only stars in the universe, and for some stupid reason, they sometimes zoom past each other without connecting.

Contributed by Nicholas M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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