Vorschlaghammer
I ♥ the band 'Wir sind Helden'. Great tunes, great lyrics, and great themes. Great music videos too. And their concert was, dare I say it, better than even Amanda Palmer's. After that concert in Kiel in April 2009, I was the walking dead: exhausted, drenched in sweat, thirsty as anything, acheing, and very very happy. I did spend almost the whole concert jumping up and down and singing along, mind.
Here's one of their earlier songs. I honestly believe this, or rather its verses, should be used as a test of the ability to pronounce German words. Happily, I found that while my German may be a little rusty, I can sing along without too much trouble^^
Lyrics (German) (so you can sing along...)
I'd post an English translation, but it doesn't make a huge amount of sense and is full of German puns. The chorus goes roughly 'let us through, let us through, we are doctors! let us through, let us through, let us through through through through! Welcome to this time, heroes are prepared, are you ready? Time for heroes, are you ready? Did someone say it's time for heroes? Welcome to this time, heroes are prepared, are you ready? Time for heroes, are you ready? We're coming to sign out the other heroes".
----
I could post lots of their videos, but for now I'd best leave it at two. From their first album, as was Heldenzeit, this is perhaps their most famous song, and the one they end concerts with - Denkmal
This one has the lyrics up on the screen, but I'll try a translation this time.
Monument
Come to the window, come here to me
Do you see over there right there behind the corrugated-iron fence
Over there in the square in front of Aldi*
they have carved our likeness into the stone
Come on to the street come over to me
All over the place flowers and garlands half-crumpled
It looks as though tonight they've already erected our monument
Without us
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
Get on your feet come over to me
It'll soon be light, and we don't have infinite time
If someone catches us here now, we'd be forever united
In concrete and bliss
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
Do you see the inscription down there with the shoes
It's written there in golden text we shall rest in eternity
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
* = Aldi is a cheap German supermarket. There are some in the UK too.
...it's an interesting song, isn't it? Judith Holofernes, the singer, lyricist and arguably the heart of Wir sind Helden (which means 'we are heroes' by the way) claims this song is about couples who don't let their love develop, who figure it to be stable and ever-unchanging, and thus are hit hard when things do change and it's not the same.
---
Anyhow, I could post more, but I'd be here a long time (mostly through the need for translation). I may do another of these posts soon, though, because I do want to share my favourite band with more people, especially those who'd not get to enjoy it as much due to the language barrier.
Here's one of their earlier songs. I honestly believe this, or rather its verses, should be used as a test of the ability to pronounce German words. Happily, I found that while my German may be a little rusty, I can sing along without too much trouble^^
Click to viewLyrics (German) (so you can sing along...)
I'd post an English translation, but it doesn't make a huge amount of sense and is full of German puns. The chorus goes roughly 'let us through, let us through, we are doctors! let us through, let us through, let us through through through through! Welcome to this time, heroes are prepared, are you ready? Time for heroes, are you ready? Did someone say it's time for heroes? Welcome to this time, heroes are prepared, are you ready? Time for heroes, are you ready? We're coming to sign out the other heroes".
----
I could post lots of their videos, but for now I'd best leave it at two. From their first album, as was Heldenzeit, this is perhaps their most famous song, and the one they end concerts with - Denkmal
This one has the lyrics up on the screen, but I'll try a translation this time.
Monument
Come to the window, come here to me
Do you see over there right there behind the corrugated-iron fence
Over there in the square in front of Aldi*
they have carved our likeness into the stone
Come on to the street come over to me
All over the place flowers and garlands half-crumpled
It looks as though tonight they've already erected our monument
Without us
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
Get on your feet come over to me
It'll soon be light, and we don't have infinite time
If someone catches us here now, we'd be forever united
In concrete and bliss
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
Do you see the inscription down there with the shoes
It's written there in golden text we shall rest in eternity
Fetch the sledgehammer!
They have built us a monument
And every complete idiot knows
That this spoils love
I will hire the worst sprayers
Of this town
They are to deface the rubble
with slogans at night
* = Aldi is a cheap German supermarket. There are some in the UK too.
...it's an interesting song, isn't it? Judith Holofernes, the singer, lyricist and arguably the heart of Wir sind Helden (which means 'we are heroes' by the way) claims this song is about couples who don't let their love develop, who figure it to be stable and ever-unchanging, and thus are hit hard when things do change and it's not the same.
---
Anyhow, I could post more, but I'd be here a long time (mostly through the need for translation). I may do another of these posts soon, though, because I do want to share my favourite band with more people, especially those who'd not get to enjoy it as much due to the language barrier.