Aufklärerische Tendenzen in den Texten der Toten Hosen

Abstract

Today, the 'Toten Hosen' are one of the most popular bands in Germany. Founded in 1982, they started as a quiet tip of German Punk lovers. In their lyrics, they early began to deal with the growing hatred against foreigners. The first song of that special genre was 'Ülüsü', which told of the conflict of a (german) boy who was in love with a girl without knowing her name - after hearing it, he gave up the relationship. Later, the band arranged the message more and more unmistakable to define their point of view, for example in the song 'Fünf vor Zwölf' and in the statement that it is high time to take a clear position to the topic 'hatred against foreigners'. In 1993, a new aspect was that they clearly denounce right wing radicalism with the song 'Sascha ... ein aufrechter Deutscher', which is analyzed more closely. The song contains several aspects that are connected to a budding right wing radicalism, such as unemployment, foreigners, Jews, assaults against those who seek asylum etc. The lyrics express the foolishness of the protagonist, his criminal deeds as an active terrorist and that someone else did the same mistakes 50 years ago - but Sascha has not learnt anything from that (history) at all. Obviously the song caused some reaction, because many broadcasting stations consider the lyrics to be misleading, and the Republican Party wanted the song to be banned. The music itself offers clues for interpretation: Why did the band choose not to play their usual punk / rock style? Why did they prefer 'foolish german folkmusic stuff' for the arrangement? The analysis shows that the musical elements of the song are cleverly combined with the message of the lyrics and that the band was aware of the effect it would have. This song is only one climax in the discussion on right wing radicalism. The subject - as other songs of the 'Toten Hosen' and the social situation show - is far from being settled and done, so the song and its meaning is not and cannot be obsolete, at least as long as these problems will last.