Why So Many Songs Pay Homage to Berlin

Countless songs pay homage to the city of Berlin. Songs from Germans with a special affection for the city, and from international stars who found inspiration there. Join us on a trip through Berlin and music history. Here are our 5 iconic Berlin songs.

00:00 Intro
01:30 "Koffer in Berlin" by Marlene Dietrich from 1955
05:36 "Heroes" by David Bowie from 1977
10:07 "One" by U2 from 1990
13:20 "Dickes B" by Berlin multicultural band Seed 2001
16:05 "Sky and Sand" by Berlin brothers Paul and Fritz Kalkbrenner from 2008
19:09 How does Berlin sound today?

#dwhistoryandculture #berlin

[markreeder]

just a brief explaination of what i meant by my final statement.
i was asked if berlin could be replicated elsewhere.
well no. not really.
its about music tho.
i said ukraine has the most potential, just as post war berlin had after ww2. as it‘ll have ruins for club locations and a desire to escape the drearyness of daily life. etc
of course, it’s been edited a bit so there can be the question at the end.
hope you get my drift? 😊

[Jannes-pjcd]

I’ve been last year to Berlin and what a city! I’m also a Bowie and U2 fan and I was impressed by the city and how it had inspired two of my favorite artists. I’ve got to go back someday.

[SagesseNoir]

Marlene dietrich was very popular here in the USA. And I saw the BLUE ANGEL (a German film for which i needed English subtitles) while I was a student and was very imp0ressed

[petrvaribrus]

Why was Alphaville's SUMMER IN BERLIN not mentioned???! Such a beautiful song by the German band, written before the wall came down, when it was needed most.🎖

[fabiandimaspratama]

Thanks for this insight, DW! The only song know so far about Berlin is a minor one: "Das ist Berlin".. from Liane Augustin & The Boheme Trio (sometimes this old song is erroneously associated with Marlene Dietrich). "Das ist Berlin, Berlin, die ewig junge Stadt" at the beginning of the lyrics means _Berlin the eternally young city_ still relevant until today. The repeated words of "Du mein Berlin, Berlin" in its lyrics is like a a mantra spell which illustrate the singer's is deeply fallen in love because of the magic/the charm of the city. "Genau im Mittelpunkt der Welt, Hat sie der Herrgott hingestellt" means _Berlin is the center of the world as if it was placed by God that way_ also still relevant today. "Du mein Berlin, Berlin, du Perle an der Spree" means _Berlin the pearl of the river Spree_ .. also the mention of the river Spree is significant as it flows through Berlin and serves as a symbol of the city's life.

[rumbatumblajambomambo]

I love your work. Any video you put out just makes my day. Brilliantly written, great image and editing, well told. Just perfect.

[fanyrojas]

I am not from Germany but I just have this feeling that a lot of people go there to flourish in a lot of types of art it is like the city is made for creative people❤

[Xalira]

Very interesting video, but it should have said “Berlin wasn't known for POP/ROCK music until then” - it was extremely well known in the classical music world, for sure!

[imano]

Bowie by far has set the trend and the hype about Berlin. Hansa Studio before he worked there was not this famous as it is today. No Germanin the 70s could really believe that he would sattle down in Berlin. They felt hounered, at least the intelectuals. He influenced the whole german music: "neue deutsche Welle" and "Heroes" is about the separated Berlin and about the hope the force and the spirit which can people bring together against all odds.

[erik_griswold]

Sorry you could not include Zoo Station by U2 also but I guess they only get one on the list.

[michaeljoseph]

Hildegard Knef - Berlin, dein Gesicht hat Sommersprossen

[fredriksundberg]

Why didn't you playing something with Depeche Mode and Rammstein?

[johnturley]

This video about Berlin mentions the "suitcase in Berlin, " which I didn't really associate with Marlene Dietrich...but with the Dutch singer/songwriter/musician Boudewijn de Groot. He has done no less than two songs dealing with Berlin, "Parijs, Berlijn, Madrid" from 1973, and the very touching "Berlijn" from 2004; the first-mentioned refers to "having a suitcase in Berlin". This singer, and a great many of his songs, are very well worth hearing, even if the Dutch language is somewhat less accessible to most in the world...and his two songs about Berlin are particularly listenable and ought to be more appreciated there. JAT

[pikofilms]

There is one very iconic song in Polish by the band KULT about Berlin with the phrase: "my house, my house, divided" but perhaps with an even more touching sentence from the chorus:
"My street is divided by a wall
The right side glows with neon lights
The left side is completely blank
From behind the curtain he observes both sides
It's a very sad song, but also one of the most classic new wave songs. Maybe you'll like it too? Kult. Arahia.

[queerulantin]

Ihr habt "Es gibt nur ein Berlin" von der queeren Künstlerin, Ikone und Legende Claire Waldoff vergessen

[mangasky]

If there's any chance you could reupload this, with just the Bowie section, I'd be very grateful.

[maryreid]

I'd be surprised if a few Lufthansa passengers don't also 'still have a suitcase in Berlin', based on what I have heard recently regarding baggage.

[arnodobler]

More about German music would be great.
Independent of Berlin.

[nicholasleonardbookedits-sing]

How come freewill has lost its turbulence?
it seems as if Heaven’s already reached.
But somewhere still a toddler learns to dance,
though cherubs leave the flight attendants be.
They’d hover down with olive branch’s crown-
-now flight attendants handing you a drink.
Our old enlightenment no longer found,
it seems we stopped believing in their wings.
Lets wonder what we could inherent back,
and make a hundred Venice Italies
by making art Tomorrow shouldn’t lack,
and let no wonder wreck titanicly.
So champ a renaissance of lost freewill.
There's plenty more for us to wonder still.

[rushdiahmad]

So no Scorpions and Modern Talking... OMG 😳😮