Junge

Junge (boy) is a song by Die Ärzte. It's the sixth track and the first single from their 2007 album Jazz ist anders. It debuted on the radio on 31 August 2007.

The song is about teens experiencing only ignorantly superficial criticism and rejection and being held responsible for everything, including the effects thereof. They are compared to inacceptable role models ("guck dir den Dieter an"), are expected to copy their parents values ("der hat sogar ein Auto") and to beg ("wenn du ihn darum bittest") for jobs. They are rejected for their own taste in looks ("wie du wieder aussiehst / Löcher in der Hose" etc.) and music ("und ständig dieser Lärm"). The criticism is exaggerated and based on prejudice ("Nie kommst du nach Hause / So viel schlechter Umgang", "Ihr nehmt doch alle Drogen"), superficial and injust ("Elektrische Gitarren / und immer diese Texte / Das will doch keiner hör'n" – These lines refer to Junge itself.). The parents' prime concerns are their reputation ("Was soll'n die Nachbarn sagen?"), wealth ("eine eigene Praxis", "Was soll das Finanzamt sagen?"), and they themselves ("Denk an deine Eltern"). This underlying selfishness leaves a hypocritical taste to any interest shown ("Wäre das nichts für dich?") and to any trace of truth in their criticism. The parents do not realise their (and societies) original responsibility for the situation ("du warst so ein süßes Kind") and that their (re)action does not help but causes and worsens it.

A Chinese language version of "Junge" was released on the compilation Poptastic Conversation China on August 1, 2008.[1]

The video

The video for the single is very graphic and depicts various violent attacks by zombies to town members, while the band Die Ärzte looks on helplessly from the top of a broadcast van and sings about teens ruining their lives. The band use a variety of makeshift weapons, such as a guitar, binoculars and a beer can, before a crossbow is produced from out of nowhere in a section that resembles a scene from the 2004 British film Shaun of the Dead. The zombies are finally overwhelming and Farin gets eaten at the end. It was directed by Norbert Heitker.

The opening scene, where a bleeding zombie kid is walking down the street, is a parody of the opening scene of the film Arlington Road.

There is also a censored version of the single, which is meant to be funny. The zombies' faces are covered with funny faces (mostly of the band members). The dripping blood in the beginning is blue. Some attack scenes are slightly covered and the worst of the attack scenes are covered by tags with funny messages like "I wouldn't show this scene to my children either!", "Entertainment has to become more family-friendly!", "This scene is unacceptable. I want to apologise for this!", "Luckily, the video is over now!", "Funny noises ... Are they also on the single?". In the end, the following message is displayed: "The Hot Zombie Action Association monitored the zombie action. No zombies were harmed in the making of this film."

Track listing

1. "Junge" (Urlaub) – 3:08
2. "Das schönste Lied der Welt" (Felsenheimer) – 2:36
3. "Tut mir leid" (Felsenheimer) – 3:27
4. "Junge" (Video ohne Altersbeschränkung) (Video without an age restriction) – 3:37

B-sides

• "Das schönste Lied der Welt" (The most beautiful song in the world) is about overcoming sadness and depression by writing the most beautiful song in the world.
• "Tut mir leid" (I'm sorry) is about the consequences of being drunk.

Charts

Year-end charts