"Kriminaltango" or "Kriminal-Tango

Tango music

Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...

" (Criminal tango) is a traditional pop song or Schlager

Schlager

Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...

, that was released in 1959. The Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 original by Piero Trombetta only achieved a modest success, whereas the German version performed by Hazy Osterwald became a big hit in Germany

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...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

The song describes scenes from pub, that is frequented by criminals. But rather than giving serious description, it combines and paraphrases various gangster cliches. It culminates with murder caused by a shot dark and the police unable to assemble any evidence. The following text snippet acts as refrain

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

, though it is used as an introduction to various sections rather than after them.

German text	translation
Kriminaltango In der Taverne Dunkle Gestalten Und rotes Licht	criminal tango in the pub dark figures red light

Die Toten Hosen cover

"Kriminaltango" was covered by Die Toten Hosen

Die Toten Hosen

Die Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. They have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany.The band's name literally means "The Dead Pants" in English, although the phrase "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "nothing going on" or "boring"...

, featuring Kurt Raab

Kurt Raab

Kurt Raab was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with cult German film director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.-Biography:Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, Sudetenland, what is...

. It was released as a non-album single in 1984.

It is also a song performed by The Deadfly Ensemble, appearing as a bonus track on their album "An Entire Wardrobe of Doubt & Uncertainty".

Track listing

1. "Kriminaltango" (Trombetto/Feltz) − 3:32
2. "Allein vor deinem Haus" (Alone in front of your house) (von Holst, Frege/Frege, Meurer, Trimpop) − 2:26
3. "Es ist vorbei...." (It's over....) (Frege, von Holst/Frege, Meurer, Trimpop) − 3:09