As many of you know, I took nine years of German. In a recent effort to regain some of it, I've been watching German TV shows (or switching the audio into German), I changed the language on my phone to German (which has taken some getting used to), and I've been listening to German pop. The last has been by far the easiest to get used to. I've found a few great songs that I thought I'd share will you all.
My absolute current favorite is Je ne parle pas français by Namika. The original is here; the Beatgees remix is here; and the remix featuring Black M, a French rapper, is here. Each version is fun and upbeat. The remix with Black M is the most interesting because of the inclusion of French. The general point of the song is that the narrator can't speak French but would like the person speaking to them to continue because "alles, was du so erzählst Hört sich irgendwie nice an," which is, roughly, "everything you say somehow sounds nice." The best line comes near the end: "doch die Sprache, die wir sprechen Die verstehen nur wir zwei." I like this song because of the grammatical structure. Generally it is "but the language that we speak, only the two of us understand." Each "die" in the lines refers to "die Sprache" (the language) and becomes a pronoun. It's hard to explain in English but it makes me happy.
Liebe auf Repeat by Laurenz is another song that has quite a few remixes, but the original can be found here. It's about how relationships end and then a new one starts. I don't have any fun grammar notes for this one. I just really like it. My favorite part, if I have to choose, is the hook: "mach mich kaputt und setz mich wieder zusammen und wenn's zu Ende geht. Fang ich wieder an"--"break me apart and put me back together and at the end, I begin again."
The first song I heard when I started doing this was Leiser by LEA (here). You think it's going to be a fun pop song. Instead, you get so much more. "Leiser" means quieter. The narrator sings about how her friends say she is quieter and ask if she is happy since she started dating the other person. Two of the lines, "leiser, seit ich bei dir bin" ("quieter since I'm with you") and "Fragen, ob ich glüchlich bin" ("ask whether I'm happy"), are my favorite. They sound nice when spoken and they include "seit" and "ob" which I especially like.
Warum Nicht by Robert Redweik (here) is what I believe the kids call a Mood. It translates to "Why Not" and is about taking chances because you don't have anything to lose. This is advise that is always helpful--as my parents tell me, "the worst they can say is 'no.'" Three more notes on this song. One: in the middle of the second verse, this line happens: "Gesagt, getan, gelaufen / alle Zweifel ignoriert." In English: "said, done, ran / ignore all doubts." I think it sounds cool but also has three past tense verbs in a row, which is neat. Two: at the beginning of the third verse is "Hätte, könnte, wollte, würde Müssen wir dann erstmal sehen," which is "to have been, to be able to, to want to, to be going to do / first we must see," includes five verbs, including three modal verbs, in Subjunctive II. Three: my favorite set of lines is, "Einfach mal probieren und warum nicht was haben wir zu verlieren" ("Simply try it once and why not what do we have to lose").
Here are some others to check out!
Vielleicht by Miwata (here)-- "Maybe"
Für Immer by Max Giesinger (here)-- "Forever"
Sowieso by Mark Forster (here)-- "Anyway"
Ich trink auf dich by Mark Forster (here) -- "I drink to you"
Bauch und Kopf by Mark Forster (here) -- "Stomach and head"
Weck mich nicht auf by Kayef (here) --"Don't wake me up"
Gotham City by Antje Schomaker (here) -- Including the lines: "you aren't Batman, I'm not Gotham City, I think I'll be fine without you."
Deja Vu by Mike Singer (here)
Chöre by Mark Forster (here)-- "Choir"
Sag einfach ja by Tim Bendzko (here)-- "Just say yes"
Ich will dich vermissen by Namika (here)-- "I want to miss you"
All of my thoughts on these songs are from the grammar I learn from a few years ago and with the aid of one of my grammar books. If I got something wrong, or you have any thoughts, let me know!
