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Der Kommissar Lyrics
Zwei, drei, vier, one, two, three, it's easy to see
But it's not that I don't care, so
'Cause I hear it all the time, but they never let you know
On the TV and the radio (Cha!)
She was young, her heart was pure, but every night his pride she got
She said sugar is sweet, she come a-rappin' to the beat
Then I knew that she was hot
She was singin'
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
You're in his eye and you'll know why
The more you live, the faster you will die
Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?
She said, "Babe, you know I miss Jill and Joe
And all my funky friends"
But my street understanding was just enough to know what she really meant
And I got to thinking while she was talking
That I know she told the story
Of those special places that she goes
When she rides with the others in the subway singin'
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
And if he talks to you and you don't know why
You say your life is gonna make you die
Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?
(Cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha)
(Cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha)
Well, we meet Jill and Joe and brother Herr with the whole cool gang and, oh
They're rappin' here, they're rappin' there, but she's climbin' on the wall
It's a clear case, Herr Kommissar
'Cause all the children know
They're all slidin' down into the valley
They're all slipping on the same snow
Hear the children
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
He's got the power and you're so weak
And your frustration will not let you speak
La, la, la, la, la, la
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
And if he talks to you, then you'll know why
The more you live, the faster you will die
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh (Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?)
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
Don't turn around, oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh
Don't turn around, oh
Song Info
Submitted by
numb On Jun 22, 2001
More After the Fire
Der Kommissar [*]
Cariba
1984-F [Instrumental]
One Rule for You [DVD]
Laser Love [DVD]
It's about cocaine. in the german original, it says: "Den Schnee auf dem wir alle talwärts fahr'n, kennt heute jedes Kind!", what means as much as: "every child knows the snow who takes us downwards" "Schnee" (=snow) is a common word for cocaine in germany. btw: I've never heard of a 'cop' show called "Der Kommissar" in germany, but anyway, Falco isn't german, he's from Austria... :P
Volksfrei: I believe it's a reference to "Slippery Slope" theory:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
Basically, one event will set in motion a chain of events which will inevitably lead to a catastrophic result. Given that "Der Kommissar" was a popular 'cop' show in Germany in the '70s, and the female character in question is acting rather strange, I think the theme is that of drug use... the 'slippery slope' being that once one starts doing risky things like abusing drugs ('the more you live...') the greater the chance that you'll end up spiralling downwards ('...the faster you will die').
I like the Falco version better as well, but this is a pretty faithful translation, I think.
it's kind of interesting how you can translate a song pretty accurately and just by leaving out or changing one or two lines completely obscure the meaning.
translation: She was young her heart was pure But every night night is bright she got (?)
original: Jah, sie war jung,/ Yeah, she was young Das Herz so rein und weiß/ Her heart so pure and white Und jede Nacht hat ihren Preis,/ And every night she had her price
translation: And I got to thinking while she was talking That I know she told the story
original: Ich überleg' bei mir, / I think about it Ihr' Nas'n spricht dafür,/ Her nose is an argument in its favor (or: her nose is demanding it)
and herforder already translated the line about the snow we're all skiing downhill on.
Oh, and in general: "Kommissar" is (among other things) a rank of police officer. "Alles klar, Herr Kommissar" is like a sarcastic/respectful "Everything ok, officer?" to a cop
given that falco also sang a song called "mom, the man with the coke is here" and died in a car crash while supposedly doped up on alcohol, cocaine and marijuana, cocaine seems a pretty safe interpretive bet.
It's actually "Every night, it's price she got"
It's actually "Every night, it's price she got"
@jalopy Thanks for the insight. I've been going down memory lane, listening a lot of 80s music I'd not heard in years, and was suddenly struck by the fact that I had no idea what this awesome song was about. My few years of German weren't enough to lead me to the coke reference. Great insight into the song.
@jalopy Thanks for the insight. I've been going down memory lane, listening a lot of 80s music I'd not heard in years, and was suddenly struck by the fact that I had no idea what this awesome song was about. My few years of German weren't enough to lead me to the coke reference. Great insight into the song.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DerKommissar(TV_series) A German cop show it was indeed!
And yeah, I pretty much figured the first or second time of listening to it that it was about coke...Funny, I didnt hear the line "That I know she told the story" as that, I heard it as "That her nose told the story" or something like that....
It actually IS "that her nose had told the story" in keeping with the literal translation from the Falco German version, about cocaine. All in all, it is a pretty faithful translation, reworked to rhyme and flow in English.
It actually IS "that her nose had told the story" in keeping with the literal translation from the Falco German version, about cocaine. All in all, it is a pretty faithful translation, reworked to rhyme and flow in English.
You are correct. The line actually is "That her nose had told the story." Whoever wrote the lyrics on this page was wrong.
You are correct. The line actually is "That her nose had told the story." Whoever wrote the lyrics on this page was wrong.
and, as we all know, der kommissar translates, loosely, to: The Kommissar
I always wondered whether After the Fire understood what the song was about. They started as a Christian rock band, even if they toned down the Jesus references in their later albums, and they still didn't look like the kind of people who'd be hanging out with the kids snorting coke and partying like Falco. Also, anyone who can say "My street understanding was just enough" with a straight face obviously has no "street understanding".
The Falco song is pretty obviously about coke. But when you take out "Hey, wanna buy some stuff man?" and translate "Ihr' Nas'n spricht dafür" to "I know she told the story" and so on, by the time you get to the part about all the children know because they're slipping on the same snow, it doesn't even come across as a reference to coke anymore. (The fact that they translated "Kind" as "children" instead of "kids" or similar doesn't help, since it makes you think of innocent little boys and girls.)
And in the chorus, instead of a guy trying to pass for sober when he's high as a kite, we get a guy who's cowering in fear for no obvious reason. Maybe the cop is a (at least metaphorical) Nazi (why else would "Der Kommissar" be in German?) and the singer's character is "urban" (all his funky friends are rapping), or maybe he's just a cartoon evil cop. Either way, the whole feeling of the dangerous outlaw thrill mingling with the thrill of coke itself is gone.
Then there's the videos. Falco's makes it even more obvious the song is about young cokeheads partying it up (he even sniffs and thumbs his nose), and trying to talk his way out of an arrest then making a run for it. ATF's looks like a 1970s Hammer attempt at intrigue in Weimar-era Berlin, and Der Kommissar appears to be a femme fatale spy or something, leaving me with even less idea of what their version of the song is supposed to be about.
The question is, were they intentionally gutting the song of it coke references in translating it, or did they just not even recognize them?
And, either way, what is their cover supposed to be about?
der kommissar is, in fact in town. it might be a good idea not to turn around. German phrase, German phrase. I heard of Spanglish, but never Germanglish.
I think it is a rather funky song. It has a nice beat, some weird lyrics, and a cool, retro-1980s sound (duh, it came out in the 1980s). I knew something was wrong with the "German" when I asked my German friend what "Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?" meant. He really had no clue.
"Alles Klar?" means basically, "Is everything clear?" Herr kommissar is a plite way of saying Sir Commissioner. This was originally a Falco song, check tha one out for lyrics that may make better sense. I'm at a loss as to what they could be talking about in this song although the "It's a clear case, Herr Kommissar cause all the children know they're all slidin' down into the valley. They're all slipping on the same snow," can't help but draw out thoughts of the village massacres of the Nazi's reign of terror. Probably not meant to be so poignant,but oh well.
I am remembering that the nonsense line you have as "every night is bright she got": Is actually every night HIS PRIDE she got.
Falco knows how to describe sex