Quarter Life Crisis

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Wir sind Helden

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A collection of English translations of Wir sind Helden lyrics can be found here.

Wir sind Helden are a new-ish German band. I think I first heard one of their songs in winter but they only released their debut album recently. And have been hyped a lot since. Quite appealing with a pop attitude, yet catchy and clever lyrics. Being a bit 'against the system', but in a cheerful and positive way. That, inevitably leads to all interviews – of which there are plenty – to quickly reach the selling-out question.

I don't like their music too much, though. They do seem to have one of those silly keyboards held like a guitar and sound a bit too much like the dreadful 1980s Neue deutsche Welle style. They are better, but still sound like it, which I dislike. Yesterday I saw an interview of Wir sind Helden's singer at Fast Forward. Mostly the two girls paid compliments to one another, assuring themselves that they are great. While this may even be true objectively, it hardly makes a good interview.

More notably, they played a couple of songs and I can't get one of the more popular ones out of my head...

Muß ich immer alles müssen, was ich kann?
Eine Hand trägt die Welt und die andre bietet Getränke an.
Ich kann mit allen zehn Füßen in zwanzig Türen
und mit dem elften in der Nase noch Ballette aufführen.
Aber wenn ich könnte wie ich wollte, würd' ich gar nichts wollen,
ich weiß aber, daß alle etwas wollen sollen.

Wir können alles schaffen,
genau wie die tollen
dressierten Affen.
(: Wir müssen nur wollen :4x)

Muß ich immer alles müssen, was ich kann?
Eine Hand in den Sternen,
die andre im Hintern des Vordermann.
Das ist das Land der begrenzten Unmöglichkeiten;
Wir können Pferde ohne Beine rückwärts reiten;
Wir können alles, was zu eng ist, mit dem Schlagbohrer weiten.
Wir können glücklich sein und trotzdem Konzerne leiten.

Wir können alles schaffen,
genau wie die tollen
dressierten Affen.
(: Wir müssen nur wollen :)

Wir sind Helden, Müssen nur wollen

For other Wir sind Helden related entries, including more lyrics and translations thereof, have a look at the Wir sind Helden overview page.

Or get their CDs.

August 22, 2003, 18:28

Tagged as lang:de, wir sind helden.

Comments

Comment by laura: User icon

can anyone translate that wir sind helden song to english? heard whilst in poland and dig it but have no idea what it means. thanks

September 19, 2003, 5:02

Comment by ssp: User icon

I’ll try to do a translation:

Do I always have to do everything I can [do]? One hand carries the world and the other one offers drinks. I can perform ballets with all ten feet in twenty doors and the eleventh in my nose. But if I could do as I wanted, I wouldn’t want anything, but I know that everyone is supposed to want something.
We can achieve anything just like the great/rabid trained monkeys. (:We only have to want:)
Do I always have to do everything I can [do]? One hand in the stars the other in the butt of the one in front of you. This is the country of limited impossibilites; We can ride horsed without legs backwards; We can widen everything that’s too tight with a percussion drill. We can be happy despite running corporations.
We can achieve anything just like the great/rabid trained monkeys. (:We only have to want:)

Right, that’s about it. Unfortunatly the text isn’t as slick this way as the original version. And yes – in places it was quite absurd before translation.

tollen can be translated as both great or, less commonly, as rabid. Both translations seem appropriate here.

September 28, 2003, 12:06

Comment by Sofi: User icon

Ive been at a concert of WIR SIND HELDEN and - it was great! Ok, it may be terrible if you dont understand the texts, but in fact they are just symphatic and natural.

October 14, 2003, 20:49

Comment by Franzi: User icon

Aurélie, kapiert das nie… Hör mir grad die CD an - gestern war ich beim Konzert in Leipzig! War super! Und ehrlich gesagt, find ich´s lustig, dass die englischen Fans auch mal Probleme mit dem Übersetzen haben!! (Nicht böse gemeint, denn schließlich: WIR KÖNNEN ALLES SCHAFFEN!!)

October 15, 2003, 15:16

Comment by Tag: User icon

Though i liked the first (and only) Wir Sind Helden song Ive heard, I happened to see it on MTV,so, that alone kinda turned me off. I havent gone so far yet as to buy a cd so maybe im putting the horse in front of the cart,but MTV has this way of finding one hit wonder bands with one or two catchy tunes and then the rest of the cd starts making you think about just how good of a frisbee a cd can be. I think what i did like about this band was it gave me a rush of nostalgia,sorta like Smahsing Pumpkins 1979; those days with them goofy bastards,too far away…. Any other music suggestions?

          -amerikanerin living in deutschland

February 3, 2004, 13:48

Comment by ssp: User icon

While I wouldn’t rate Wir Sind Helden to be utterly brilliant, I don’t think they’re of one-hit-wonder type either.

Of course I am always full of good advice as far as music is concerned. But that’s probably a bit too broad a topic to cover here… Just check out my music section to get a few ideas.

February 3, 2004, 22:39

Comment by ian: User icon

Wow smashing pumpkins fan! I like their style… catchy songs filled with weird electornics and guitars, and some silverf* style thing. Interestingly saw them on German Viva whilst in Kosovo… hmmm they were on it for my whole 8 months more than any other song. Heroes?

May 26, 2004, 0:04

Comment by Lisa: User icon

I’ve only heared this band a few times. I first heared of them about 3 weeks ago because my german exchange partner was a fan of them and whilst she was hear she showed me some of their stuff. I didn’t like that many of their songs (I could hava killed my exchange partner as she insisted on listening to ‘guten tag’ constantly!)When i went over there last week we went to a concert which was part of the ‘Stimmen 04’ festival in a place called Lörrach. I like a song called Denkmal and i know roughly what the lyrics mean but it would be nice if you could do a better translation!Also i must admit the band were good live and sounded much better then when i just listened to their album. At the end they did a cover of New model army’s ’51st state’ which was great.

July 24, 2004, 21:27

Comment by Laura: User icon

Wir sind Helden is so great!! Even though I don’t understand anything it is still great!! I heard their music from my german friend who forcet me to listen to german music(I’m from Finnland) and it was really good. the best thing is those weird sounds from electric things.I wanted to by their album but i couldn’t find it from finnland so more german music here!!! And Denkmal is the best song there is no doubt of that!

August 24, 2004, 10:02

Comment by Sanna: User icon

Hi, Laura. I’m from Finland too and a HUGE fan of Wir sind Helden. I was few days ago in Germany and saw them live in Bonn. That was just so amazing. I love the band. They have really good sound, the lyrics are intelligent and Judith is just so cute. ;) And my favourite song must be Wenn es passiert. I totally love it. Btw, you can order the album for example from amazon.de. It’s absolutely worth buying. :)

Now I know already three Helden fans in Finland. Yippee. :)

August 27, 2004, 17:47

Comment by Christel: User icon

hey i like the website i am in a german class in america and we must do a presentation i am 12 am i am doing mmy thing on german bands please email me for some good bands and songs thank you

peace out

ps i have friends in germany we hosted plz help thanx

September 23, 2004, 23:00

Comment by Christel: User icon

heres my email

lkyfeb007@yahoo.com

thanx again for helping

September 23, 2004, 23:01

Comment by ssp: User icon

Christel,

Wir sind Helden is probably a good place to start for you. Another, very good, but less cheerful, German band are Tocotronic. You may find their lyrics a bit harder to understand as they occasionally use very uncommon words and strange grammar. They are singing nice and slowly, though, which may help.

Other bands to look for are Die Sterne, Virginia Jetzt or the very cheerful Sportfreunde Stiller. Perhaps you can just search with Google or amazon (try amazon.de if amazon.com doesn’t do the trick!) for them to get an idea and listen to some samples.

These bands all sing in German. There are many more who sing in English or do electronic stuff, but I suppose that won’t help you too much for your project. Perhaps the record label site lado.de can also help you to explore some further bands.

You may also find my German media page interesting. It lists all the stuff (music/books/films) I’ve written about. Some of it is of the bands I mentioned above.

September 24, 2004, 1:19

Comment by Jennifer: User icon

I heard Denkmal by Wir sind helden when I was on a trip in Austria. I saw it on MTV because that was like the only channel had besides BBC and I really like that song a lot, I would like to see them live but I agree with the person who said it reminded them of the 1979 video by the pumpkins because I totally thought that when I was watching the video Im sure its the same one If not then thats a coincidence.

October 27, 2004, 0:22

Comment by ally: User icon

i stole their album from last years german assistant at college, and fell in love with them! I was kinda contemplating making a WSH site in english (and then maybe later a german section too) but had decided there wasn’t enough interest til i saw this! If anyone thinks it IS a good idea, please let me know!!!

November 19, 2004, 10:10

Comment by Antonio: User icon

¡Hola! I´m a Spanish guy who fell in love with the fresh, joyful music performed by Wir Sind Helden, when I watched their videos on the German MTV. It also helped me to be more open to German music in general. Last October, I visited Germany for the first time, to meet a friend, and I took advantage of my stay to visit the music store and buy a special edition of “Die reklamation”. I love the cheerful, cool way they play, and perhaps I´d like the lyrics too if I could understand them. I´d love to get in touch with another Wir Sind Helden fan, man, woman or alien, to celebrate our common good taste in music and to help me with the translations. My e-mail: romeosoto416@hotmail.com

December 7, 2004, 12:44

Comment by ISIS: User icon

If you know when I can download videos of WsH’s shows, send me a mail, please!^_^

January 3, 2005, 16:13

Comment by ricardo d’aguiar: User icon

hey there, im working with some material from wir sind helden, i wonder if you have the translation of denkmal to english… it would be really nice if you’d be so kind as to forward it to me, thanks so much,

ricardo

January 14, 2005, 16:52

Comment by ssp: User icon

Note that there are lyrics of Denkmal in German and English up now as well.

January 15, 2005, 16:54

Comment by Monsoon: User icon

I’d love to make a WSH site, i am so obsessed! Have you heard their new song? my e-mail addy is femaleofthespecies@hotmail.com.

February 15, 2005, 13:34

Comment by Chris Greenfield: User icon

Just got back from Vienna where I had the chance to see Wir Sind Helden’s latest track on one of the music channels - thought that ‘Gekommen um zu bleiben’ was great. Quite a catchy song. Could anyone please do a translation, please?

February 20, 2005, 19:59

Comment by Kelly: User icon

Hi All -

I too, just returned from a trip overseas, and now I can’t get ‘Gekommen um zu Bleiben’ out of my head. Could someone please provide a rough translation??? Thanks!

March 12, 2005, 10:30

Comment by James Robbins: User icon

a close female friend of mine ;) recently moved here from germany. one of the bands she really likes and has gotten me into is wir sind helden. i really enjoy most of their stuff, and i’ve been looking for a lot of guitar tabs lately.

March 14, 2005, 23:21

Comment by chris: User icon

i love wir sind helden! i first heard Denkmal from my Swiss friend and ive liked them ever since. I also really like Du erkennst mich nicht wieder and Heldenzeit! some of it is a little too political for me, but i love it. Sehr toll :)

March 15, 2005, 7:14

Comment by Monsoon: User icon

You say the higher they come, The more stupid they fall, So damned coming up, and still always standing tall. You say – What goes up, Must come down, I cancel the decline, without looking down.

We won’t go, but when we do, Then we’ll go in slices, Sorry but I said, We have come to stay.

Come to stay, We wont go away anymore, Come to stay, Like a pefect stain. Come to stay, We wont go away anymore. Is this fleck only in the trousers, It can’t be rubbed away anymore, Sorry, I believe We have come to stay.

We sing Thank you and Goodbye, Give us fluttering flags, And with that come to an end. Arrogance comes before a fall, Where speed is, People also wish for a bang. You confined us on the horse and ask us to ride. Sorry but I said, We have come to stay.

Come to stay, We wont go away anymore, Come to stay, Like a pefect stain. Come to stay, We wont go away anymore. Is this fleck only in the trousers, It can’t be rubbed away anymore, Sorry, I beleive We have come to stay.

Then you say “Look, the end is near, now please face your final curtian.” But we are cunning, We stay here, For the faces who are outrages. These minds sing wryly And are not easily cast out. Sorry but I said, We have come to stay.

We won’t go, but when we do, Then we’ll go in slices, Sorry but I said, We have come to stay.

Come to stay, We wont go away anymore, Come to stay, Like a pefect stain. Come to stay, We wont go away anymore. Is this fleck only in the trousers, It can’t be rubbed away anymore, Sorry, I beleive We have come to stay.

v.rough translation

kbelfunkygirl@aol.com

March 18, 2005, 11:59

Comment by monsoon: User icon

plus i’d love to make a site if anyones interested. my e-mail addy is above.

March 19, 2005, 0:34

Comment by Ayse: User icon

Merhaba all!

I just got a hold of Wir Sind Helden’s “Die Reklamation” CD here in the Isolated Empire we call America from a german foreign exchange student we hosted (i luv you catharinchen!!!) I LOVE it and was wondering if any of you could tell me if their new CD is any good and/or if there are any comparable german artists out there?? Thanks!!! = D (feel free to email me if you want!)

-Ayse, USA

April 10, 2005, 8:47

Comment by ssp: User icon

Ayse, I haven’t got the new CD yet, except for the first single Gekommen um zu bleiben, which is all right.

For samples of the songs, try the iTunes Music Store (probably you’ll have to switch it to Germany at the very the start page to get the songs, but then you can’t buy them from another country) or amazon Germany.

Wir Sind Helden are quite unique, so it’s hard to recommend anything similar.

April 12, 2005, 0:31

Comment by monsoon: User icon

Hiya, you can hear the new album on their site www.wirsindhelden.de (go to music) or on the helden player http://www.labelsmusic.de/heldenplayer/. I will probably get it soon, though I think the Rekelmation is better. There are some good songs though. As for similar artists, I don’t reall think there are any, but I quite like Juli and the Fettes Brot song.

April 13, 2005, 0:59

Comment by Caro: User icon

I’m German and of course a HUGE Helden fan. Just for fun I’ve translated almost all of their songs. In English it’s quite weird but I’ve added some explanations so you should all get it. It’s a bit too much to put it all here so if anyone is interested, you can e-mail me. They are not that similar but I also really like them and they’re singing in German: the band Kettcar! Wir sind Helden also love them and constantly praise their new album “Von Spatzen und Tauben, Dächern und Händen”. btw: go to www.wom.de and search for “Nur ein Wort” which will be their new single there you can listen to some remixes (and to all of the other songs, too, of course). Kettcar is on there as well.

May 5, 2005, 18:36

Comment by Flor: User icon

Hi Caro! i`m Flor from Argentina and was looking for the translation of the song “Aurélie”, maybe you can send it to my email or add me to msn if you want: lasgitanas@hotmail.com, thank you! :) Flor

May 25, 2005, 21:06

Comment by Broeut: User icon

It’s my favourite band i got it in gremany and heard it snowboarding in france thought it sounded ace but in english it sound preety weird.

June 8, 2005, 20:31

Comment by Imports: User icon

Hey guys. I heard wir sind helden (we are heroes) in France and would like to get some of their songs. Is there anyways I can get their music in the states without paying a crazy import fee? Also, is their copyright valid in the U.S., meaning does anyone even have to pay? I’m not trying to be a cheapo but 20-30 for a cd seems a bit ridiculous to me. I’d appreciate if someone who knows would respond.

June 14, 2005, 16:37

Comment by Chet: User icon

I was visiting some friends in Germany and Austria when I heard a couple of songs from this band. However, my German speaking ability being way out of practice, I was only able to understand about half the lyrics. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the songs. Does anyone have any tips on how to obtain their albums in the United States. Thus far, I have had no success.

June 28, 2005, 0:46

Comment by Thorsten: User icon

Hi!

Where’re you guys all from? And why are you interested in Wir Sind Helden when you can’t understand the lyrics? Don’t get me wrong I was delighted to discover Wir Sind Helden having fans abroad. I just never thought they were known abroad.

By the way does anybody have an idea of where to download the new video Nur Ein Wort (which I think is one of the greatest ever made)?

OK then, greetings from Germany Thorsten

July 1, 2005, 23:02

Comment by Hilary: User icon

Hey everyone!

So I was just accidentally exposed to wir sind helden from a german major friend of mind who had just returned from germany. It’s been 5 years since I could speak/read/understand much german so I find much of it nonsencial at best…but I’m still addicted! I seriously need translations of these songs…Caro, I saw you did some translation/explanation…can I get them? I’m not sure what your e-mail is. (Maybe I’m just missing it…)

July 6, 2005, 19:21

Comment by Hilary: User icon

Oh, yah. My e-mail is danicakk@gmail.com Thanks!

July 6, 2005, 20:18

Comment by Hee Yuan: User icon

For my case, I first heard of wir sind Helden on a syndication of Deutsche Welle’s Arts 21 program in local television (I’m from Malaysia) back in 2003, in which the program shown an interview and play some video of the band. Immediately from that show, I’m hooked on the band. Although I can understand some German, I really appreciate the translation by Porst and the rest of you who posted the other translation.

For those who are looking for wir sind Helden videos, what I do is viewing it through the band’s official website at www.wirsindhelden.de , and surprisingly from the News page of the website, they provide another website www.filmlounge.de which features all of their video, including the latest Nur ein Wort.

July 7, 2005, 11:40

Comment by Satyagraha: User icon

I also don’t speak German and I love Wir Sind Helden. Why? Because that singer lifts sagging spirits with her disposition. And because their songs are CATCHY, CATCHY, CATCHY.

Face it. This is an age of dead melodies where rap “blinging” has replaced good singing, Wir Sind Helden writes excellent “HOOKS.” You know, that lost art form of creating a short melody passage that gets stuck in your head so that your cerebral DJ plays it over and over and over again.

Gekommen um zu Bleiben gets a perfect 10 on this score. Plus a few phrases of English mixed in with that rapid fire delivery at conclusion of the chorus.

I just visited Berlin for a week with my six year old son. He doesn’t speak a word of German. But one listen, plus a short lesson from a German friend about the title, and he was singing “Gekommen um zu Bleiben” over and over during our entire stay. Thankfully, he hadn’t heard this song on European M-TV before we made the journey. Otherwise, we probably would have had big problems with the German passport control when we entered the country.

I’m glad to see on this website that we are not the only ones still affected in this way by a good melodic hook. Maybe there is a future for pop music after all. Certainly, this song has a chance to be the most successful German-language pop song to transcend the German market since “99 Luft baloons” more than 20 years ago.

July 9, 2005, 19:11

Comment by Caroline: User icon

Anyone hasn the translation of ” Nur ein Wort” ?? If yes, send me please!!

July 13, 2005, 5:21

Comment by Joan: User icon

Do you know where I can get “Gebt Mir Dasich Hann Es Halten” by Wir Sind Helden? I have tried many sites but have not been able to find this song on their current albums. I heard this on Live 8 and really would like ot purchase it.

July 20, 2005, 2:10

Comment by ssp: User icon

Joan, try ‘Bist Du nicht müde’, the last track on the current (Von hier and blind) album.

July 20, 2005, 2:13

Comment by Chris: User icon

Guten, ich bin Amerikaner.

I’m going to be in Germany later on this summer and I’m in the process of learning German. I saw Wir Sind Helden at Live8 via internet and I was hooked by the song denkmal immediately. Anyway, I hope to be able to pick up a cd when I visit Berlin and Dresden this summer. Any suggsestsions would be righteous. Danke schon.

July 21, 2005, 5:09

Comment by stefan: User icon

If this band is your bag, go to allofmp3.com, they have both albums available for download cheap! Viel Glück!

July 27, 2005, 12:09

Comment by johann: User icon

I just heard this band on MTV. Need more info. Can you fill me in?

Johann

July 29, 2005, 20:57

Comment by Terry: User icon

Discovered WSH during a trip to Berlin (same as some of you, music channels were the only ones intelligible to me besides BBC and CNN). I got to see the videos for Nur Ein Wort and Gekommen um zu Bleiben.

Musically, I felt they were better than average but not really scintillating. They put out a good though not terribly exceptional type of garage pop sound. The question in my mind is: can they grow out of an already overcrowded style to something truly unique?

I’m not sure they can, though their last album (or at least what I can hear of it through their website -I haven’t found their album here in the States) provides glimpses of creative possibilities. I wish they got past the Devo sound they take on every so often.

I can’t talk about the quality of the lyrics since my German is pathetic.

The two videos I saw, on the other hand, were quite creative and filled with humor. Nur Ein Wort’s hommage to Bob Dylan worked quite well (so many such hommages are self conscious and pretentious). Gekommen um zu Bleiben is truly sophisticated. Using a nearly ancient sound -Charleston- along with a “video inside the video” showing their weaknesses and asserting that “they’ve come to stay” (Gekommen um zu bleiben if my translation is correct) shows that they sure aren’t your mindless rebels.

Their whole approach is fresh and while I won’t be taking any bets for their survival, I can’t help but hope for their maturation and great success worldwide.

August 4, 2005, 6:28

Comment by Terry: User icon

Revision.

The more I listen to them, the more I like them.

I’ve been able to find various videos, interviews etc.. on the web and they are a lot more creative than I gave them credit for.

Each song I’ve heard establishes a unique Helden type of sound. One that I’ve gotten to really enjoy.

No mere pop players they.

Consider me converted.

I still wish I understood what they were saying.

August 22, 2005, 6:46

Comment by ssp: User icon

Terry, be sure to check out the page with the translated lyrics.

August 22, 2005, 10:03

Comment by Terry: User icon

Thanks.

Just finished reading them.

Kudos to Caro for doing the work. It can’t have been easy.

Lots of passion there.

I guess I’m getting too old for protest songs (as found in the first album mostly) but I can still appreciate the rebellious spirit.

The longing for connection is poignant and getting more mature.

She (the author is Judith, right? -btw is that her real name? ran a search on the name and found hundreds of biblical references to Judith killing a Babylonian general named Holofernes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Judith Holofernes is an alias) pours a lot of heart in her words.

I like what I read, very much.

August 26, 2005, 6:36

Comment by Keith: User icon

Wir Sind Helden have recently translated much (but not all) of their website in to English. Go to www.wirsindhelden.com and click on “English”. They’ve done it in French as well. This might be enlightening for those of you that are interested in the band but can’t understand German!

September 7, 2005, 13:17

Comment by Anja: User icon

hey folks,

greetings from germany. actually judith’s name has always been a big secret. it was obviously widely known that it is no her real name - at least the family name holofernes isn’t. Instead it indeed is a hint to the biblical references of Judith killing a Babylonian general named Holofernes. On http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Holofernes you can acutally get some more info - but it is in german only … Judith has also released a solo album in 1999 that is not available anymore. She is against it being sold for lot’s of money on ebay, so apparently she told the fans they should share their songs of that solo album named “kamikazefliege” … take care

September 21, 2005, 20:25

Comment by Terry: User icon

Thanks Anja.

Us folks on the other side of the Atlantic pond are a little slow on the uptake as far as German info goes. :-)

Yahoo could sort of translate the wikipedia page. I wonder what drove her choice of name other than the simple phonetic similarity to her actual name (I’m sure Freud would have fun with all that ;-) ). We’ll probably never know .. and anyway, it’s her property.

Kamikaze fliege, I think that translates as flight of the kamikaze (Japan’s Divine Wind pilots during WWII who took their name from the miracle/natural disaster -take your pick- which destroyed the Mongol fleet as it was attempting its second invasion of the island chain). When you put that against WSH’s latest album title, it’s impossible to miss the connection. What it means on the other hand .. well anyone can come up with a theory and it still won’t mean much.

Anyone found a way of getting hold of their album in the US? Luck ain’t been on my side so far.

Thanks again for the info, Anja.

P.S. I hope some of my turn of phrase don’t confuse anyone. I live below the Mason-Dixon Line and we got a speech all of our own ;-).

September 22, 2005, 6:48

Comment by Anja: User icon

Hey Terry, and everyone else :D) Kamikazefliege would be translated into kamikaze fly - as in an animal. on song on the album is called kamikazefliege as well and goes like this:

kamikazefliege möcht ich sein
für kamikazefliegen ist noch der himmel zu klein
und ich weiß, du lässt mich nicht allein
darum sollt du mein kamikaze-copilot sein

which would be translated into something like:

kamikaze fly I’d like to be
for kamikaze flying the sky is to small
and I know, you won’t let me alone
this is why you ought to be my kamikaze co-pilot …..

hope u r all well …
anja

September 25, 2005, 8:58

Comment by meininki: User icon

Wir sind Helden have now recorded their song “Von hier an blind” in French, Japanese and English! You can watch the video(s) here: http://www.mtv.de/wirsindhelden/

September 25, 2005, 14:35

Comment by Terry: User icon

Meiniki,thanks for the link.

It was fun to hear them in a language I could understand. The English version was not as “edgy” as the German (from what I understood of the translation Caro provided). It also makes less sense. For kicks and giggles, I tried the French version and .. well it’s Japanese. Guess they don’t have the French down yet.

Agna, the Kamikazefliege is a type of fly? I didn’t know that. Learn something every day, I say .. just didn’t think t’would be about flies. :-)

It begs the question, y’know, what did that type of fly do to be named kamikaze? I don’t remember any type of fly to be suicidal. Maybe it attacked the scientists? Sure would have liked to see that. Us rebs have a soft spot for the underdog. ;-)

I like the pun (word game) she plays in the lyrics you provided. Can’t tell how it plays without the rest of the song but it could be promising.

Thanks again guys, I’m getting much more of a sense of how that band is through your info.

September 26, 2005, 7:24

Comment by meininki: User icon

Terry, Yes, I noticed that too about the French version. It does work, if you choose the low bandwith one, but I couldn’t really understand much as the quality was so bad.

September 26, 2005, 11:19

Comment by Terry: User icon

Meiniki, you’re being nice. The quality was about level with fresh cow droppings without the warmth.

I don’t understand French anyway, it’s just that rock music always sounds weird to me in that language and I got curious. Hell, even Japanese works better than French for that type of music and it shows in the vids.

September 27, 2005, 0:53

Comment by Stefania: User icon

HI! I’ve been in frankfurt for 4 months always listening to the wir sind helden, and now that i’m back to italy, i’m not gonna stop following them! i like their music and their songs as i can understand what their singing, and i’m happy that they’re singing in their mothertongue… it’s the bast way to fully explain your mind!

October 3, 2005, 11:59

Comment by Tony: User icon

I heard this song at this beginning of this year when i was seeing a girl in Munich. It came on the radio when we were just chilling out in her room. I had to have it.

We’ve since stopped seeing each other, which I now regret, but this song reminds me of my constant travel from the UK to Munich, and of the girl I should really still be with.

I listen to the album at least once a week.

hmm, keep up the good work!

October 21, 2005, 2:04

Comment by tomj: User icon

I think I’ve found both albums easily, I’ll know if all the songs work by tonight. Shoot me an email if you want to know how to find them.

November 22, 2005, 18:04

Comment by Feli-Chan: User icon

Hi @ all!

I’m from Germany and I can try to translate songs from “Wir sind Helden” for you in english.

Just tell me which ones and I will stark to work on it!

November 26, 2005, 2:15

Comment by jonathan: User icon

Hey all,

just found this site. Was in Munich for a year, asked a student friend to recommend a band and the Helden were it, all she mentioned. I’ve been listening to both albums often for over a year and they haven’t gotten tired to my ears, good solid band.

Some of the English translations out there are great for figuring out what the heck the songs are about, but I’ve wanted to try my own hand at writing something the band could theoretically actually sing. Obviously the record company has their own translators, so no ambitions, but it’s kind of fun. Judith uses a lot of German word-play that could never be translated but I’m trying to substitute English wordplay from time to time to keep the spirit of the original.

Here’s one for fun. Let me know what y’all think. It’s the one they released the English video of. I like my version better, but maybe that’s just ego. Maybe when I complete a workable translation of Heldenzeit I can justify an ego-trip.

Go Blindly On (Von hier an blind)

Between my trials In the space between two miles There was nothing left to say No more pain to complain of But I got out of the car And just broke down in tears I said I don’t know any more I was never here

Me and my ride With the butterflies inside And the road I had to take We tried to make up but then Just two days ago The car broke down in tears It said I don’t know any more, I was never here

I don’t know anymore I don’t know where we’ve gone I don’t know anymore Go blindly on Go blindly on Go blindly…

Me and my belly And my head feeling like hell, well we were dragged on by my feet Which only would repeat Saying: Admit you’re beaten And break down finally But I said I don’t know anymore I was never here

I don’t know anymore…

Not half a mile away before the golden gate The bells were ringing and a choir sang elated Then there was silence and nothing more to hear In the stillness came a buzzing in my ears And I I don’t know anymore…

M: M. Tavassol, J.Holofernes, J.-M. Tourette T: Holofernes

transl. by Jonathan Couser

November 28, 2005, 19:44

Comment by Barbara Bedski: User icon

I saw wir sind helden on mtv in europe and loved their sound. what other german bands do you think i would like?

November 29, 2005, 23:57

Comment by Jonathan: User icon

Thanks for the translation, I like it!

One shortish dissent: I don’t see a need, in American English, to translate von hier an blind in any way but literally. The meaning comes through just dandy.

Von hier an blind -from here on blind.

Yeah, “from here on blindly” is more accurate, but it doesn’t sound as good, least to my ears. Just say it to yourself with a small pause between ‘on’ and ‘blind’ and you get the meaning real quick. After all the song’s message’s supposed to be about being blind to the future; or leastwise part of the message is that.

I ain’t no translator, guys,I just like my stuff simple. :)

December 2, 2005, 21:12

Comment by Terry: User icon

Sorry guys, that wasn’t Jonathan up above, just me.

Brain fade :(

December 2, 2005, 21:16

Comment by imelda marcos: User icon

I love the helden too! we are all like many twins! has anyone tried to translate “Denkmal” to English? I would love to view it. my direct translation has not worked excellently, which I am sad of.

March 21, 2006, 0:40

Comment by ssp: User icon

Imelda, great that you are enjoying Wir sind Helden as well!

And you’re lucky for the translation. We even have two distinct translations of Denkmal here. One done by myself and one by Caro who actually contributed translations for every single Wir sind Helden song. So be sure to check those out as well in case you have difficulties with some of their other lyrics.

March 21, 2006, 1:30

Comment by meininki: User icon

Just thought I’d let you know.. You can watch a stream of Wir sind Helden’s Amsterdam concert on Fabchannel.

April 30, 2006, 12:26

Comment by paula: User icon

hey, im paula from argentina. i discovered wir sind helden a few days ago because of a german friend thats studiyng with me at school. its a really great band, i love their music, really original. i dont understand anything :s, but its super anyway. i’ll start studying german, for sure!

August 2, 2006, 5:02

Comment by ssp: User icon

Paula, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the Wir sind Helden in English page. You’ll find translations for pretty much any Wir sind Helden lyrics there.

August 2, 2006, 14:12

Comment by Erik: User icon

Hi, I see this is a helpful site for those who like to listening to german between wir sind helden and other artists but…. me myself I’m into xaiver naidoo,curse,samy deluxe,kool savas,bintia. Joy denalae,valezka,casandra steen,afrob

Who would know to get this first part translated from this Curse song………….. “denk an mich” which in english means…… “think about me”

wenn du traurig bist weil die frau die du liebst dich verlässt und weg ist denk an mich wen du flennst und du verzweifelt denn davon sprech ich. denk an mich wenn dir schlecht ist weil deutscher rap nicht mehr fresh ist. Jeder klon kann jetzt flown, aber keiner kommt rum mit message. denk an mich wenn der alltag hektik, lehre heftig ist, maloche stressig, doch freitag nacht alles bestens ist

January 24, 2008, 0:48

Comment by Michael: User icon

When you’re sad because the woman you love leaves you and is gone, think of me. When you’re crying and are confused about what I’m saying, think of me. When you’re sad because German rap isn’t fresh anymore. Every clone can flow (not sure about this verb… [never heard before in German]), but nobody can see the message, think of me. When day-to-day life is hectic, work is tough, toiling away is stressful, but Friday night is the best…

March 16, 2008, 23:43

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