Geschwisterliebe
Encyclopedia
"Geschwisterliebe" is a controversial song by German
punk
band Die Ärzte
from the album Die Ärzte
. It deals with incest
and was added to the German List of Media Harmful to Young People in 1987 and is still in the index.
The song follows an incident between a boy and his 14-year-old sister, where they are left alone by the parents and then engage in intercourse
; it is also implied that this will be repeated from another position. Farin Urlaub
, who wrote this song, thanks his younger half-sister ironically in the booklet of the album, "for her super sibling love".
The song features a hard-to-translate slang word, "flachlegen", which would most directly translate as "to lay flat". In the song, it is used to describe the action of making love. Urlaub has said that he used that word, because he just found it neat. The line "flachlegen" was sampled in a later song by Die Ärzte, "Omaboy" (Grandma boy, from Die Bestie in Menschengestalt
), which is about a man being attracted to elderly women; "Omaboy", however, is written and sung by Bela B.
According to Urlaub, he wrote the song at age 15, in 1979. The song however, was not released until 1986, on the self-titled album Die Ärzte. The song had been a part of their concert setlists for a long time and since "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund", a song about zoophilia
, released on Debil
, made it without being put on the index, it was decided that "Geschwisterliebe" would be released. The album was, however, indexed due to a complaint from a mother on 27 January 1987, because of this song - it was decided that this song encouraged sex
between sibling
s. This also led to Debils being indexed due to the songs "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund" (Claudia has a German shepherd) and "Schlaflied" (Lullaby, about a monster eating you gruesomely after you fall asleep).
Indexing the two songs, Die Ärzte and Debil, was a strong setback for Die Ärzte, because the indexed albums were not to be sold to minors and one retailer took the whole of the band's works from its shelves. Die Ärzte could not play the song live anymore, and one concert was limited to persons over 18 only. In 2004 the indexing of the songs was reviewed and Debil was removed from the index (which was celebrated with a re-release of the album), but "Geschwisterliebe" stayed on the index. This effect is seen on Die Ärzte's homepage, where "Geschwisterliebe" is not shown in either the tracklist of Die Ärzte or Ab 18
. Also the banned lyrics are not available, and the MP3 cannot be purchased.
Several versions of the song have been released:
Nach uns die Sintflut. The bonus single version is titled "Der Ritt auf dem Schmetterling (Instrumental)" ("The ride on the butterfly
"). The band was pushing its luck with this edition, but the live album survived.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte is a punk band from Berlin. Die Ärzte are one of the best-known German punk rock bands and have released over 20 albums. The band consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B. and bass player Rodrigo González...
from the album Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (album)
Die Ärzte is the fourth album by German punk band Die Ärzte. "Geschwisterliebe", and with it the whole album, was put in German List of Media Harmful to Young People on January 27, 1987.This was the first album recorded since Sahnie left the band...
. It deals with incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
and was added to the German List of Media Harmful to Young People in 1987 and is still in the index.
The song follows an incident between a boy and his 14-year-old sister, where they are left alone by the parents and then engage in intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
; it is also implied that this will be repeated from another position. Farin Urlaub
Farin Urlaub
Jan Ulrich Max Vetter, better known as Farin Urlaub was born on 27 October 1963 in West Berlin, Germany. He is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for the German punk rock band Die Ärzte...
, who wrote this song, thanks his younger half-sister ironically in the booklet of the album, "for her super sibling love".
The song features a hard-to-translate slang word, "flachlegen", which would most directly translate as "to lay flat". In the song, it is used to describe the action of making love. Urlaub has said that he used that word, because he just found it neat. The line "flachlegen" was sampled in a later song by Die Ärzte, "Omaboy" (Grandma boy, from Die Bestie in Menschengestalt
Die Bestie in Menschengestalt
Die Bestie in Menschengestalt is the tenth album by German Punk rock band Die Ärzte, counting Uns geht's prima... as their first album...
), which is about a man being attracted to elderly women; "Omaboy", however, is written and sung by Bela B.
Bela B.
Dirk Felsenheimer , better known under his stage name Bela B., is a German musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer and one of the singers in the German band Die Ärzte. In 2006 he released his first solo album entitled Bingo. Bela B...
According to Urlaub, he wrote the song at age 15, in 1979. The song however, was not released until 1986, on the self-titled album Die Ärzte. The song had been a part of their concert setlists for a long time and since "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund", a song about zoophilia
Zoophilia
Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
, released on Debil
Debil
Debil is the first full-length studio album by Die Ärzte, released in 1984, following the EPs Zu schön, um wahr zu sein! and Uns geht's prima.... The songs "Paul" and "Zu spät" were released as singles, without being successful initially...
, made it without being put on the index, it was decided that "Geschwisterliebe" would be released. The album was, however, indexed due to a complaint from a mother on 27 January 1987, because of this song - it was decided that this song encouraged sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
between sibling
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
s. This also led to Debils being indexed due to the songs "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund" (Claudia has a German shepherd) and "Schlaflied" (Lullaby, about a monster eating you gruesomely after you fall asleep).
Indexing the two songs, Die Ärzte and Debil, was a strong setback for Die Ärzte, because the indexed albums were not to be sold to minors and one retailer took the whole of the band's works from its shelves. Die Ärzte could not play the song live anymore, and one concert was limited to persons over 18 only. In 2004 the indexing of the songs was reviewed and Debil was removed from the index (which was celebrated with a re-release of the album), but "Geschwisterliebe" stayed on the index. This effect is seen on Die Ärzte's homepage, where "Geschwisterliebe" is not shown in either the tracklist of Die Ärzte or Ab 18
Ab 18
Ab 18 [Over 18] is the sixth album by Die Ärzte. It is an EP compilation of which three songs were put in the German List of Media Harmful to Young People. The album was indexed on December 10....
. Also the banned lyrics are not available, and the MP3 cannot be purchased.
Several versions of the song have been released:
- It was first released in a shortened version with the magazine Musikexpress/Sounds;
- The original version was released in 1986 on Die Ärzte and in 1987 on the compilation EP Ab 18. The song was recorded under live conditions and thus there is no full studio version;
- An instrumental version was released as the B-side of "Gehn wie ein ÄgypterGehn wie ein Ägypter"Gehn wie ein Ägypter" [Walking like an Egyptian] is a punk song by Die Ärzte. It was the first track and the first single from their 1987 album Ist das alles? . It was written for the music of "Walk Like an Egyptian" and it has a similar theme...
", titled "...Liebe".
Der Ritt auf dem Schmetterling (Instrumental)
It was once played live as an instrumental, but the crowd sang the lyrics (not directly encouraged by Die Ärzte). This version was released as a bonus single with early versions of the 1988 live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Nach uns die Sintflut. The bonus single version is titled "Der Ritt auf dem Schmetterling (Instrumental)" ("The ride on the butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
"). The band was pushing its luck with this edition, but the live album survived.