Singing Is Good for You, According to German Scientists. Do Americans sing less than people of other countries? With the exception of Karaoke, I can't think of places where I encounter everyday Americans singing in everyday situations. Guys, especially, seem to avoid singing. Does our culture hold negative stereotypes of people who sing in their everyday lives? We could learn a lot from the Germans.
When I first read the title of the article, I thought of German beer drinking songs. Some of my dad's records from the sixties had sleeves (the thin paper cover--not the cardboard jacket) covered with advertisements for other records. On a sleeve for a Ray Charles record or a Benny Goodman record, there would be some beer drinking song records advertised. Last year, after once again having gone through some of those records, I was inspired to buy some of these albums. I got on Amazon.com and searched for German Beer Drinking Songs. There were many to choose from. Being a bit particular at times, I had to go and read reviews from all of the listed albums. I compared them, weighing what other customers thought against the appearance of the album covers (big-breasted St. Pauli Girl type covers scored big with me). Eventually, even though I had originally thought to buy one album, I settled on three CDs which, by my extensive review reading, sounded like God's gift to German beer drinkers--and it only cost me about $25.00.
Needless to say, it was a bizarre moment in my life. My mind was wrapped around a strange fantasy. Without thinking it through, I had this notion that my friends and I would get together, drink beer, cue up some German beer drinking songs, and sing away into oblivion. I saw us holding huge mugs of beer that we would swing in wide u-shapes as we would belt out the "Bier her" song or "Ein Prosit." That kind of drunken happiness had been absent in my life at the time (maybe since high school, even). Usually my friends and I would just get drunk and sit there. Surely some beer drinking songs would wake us up, I thought. We would start dancing like the dudes in some Bollywood movie or something, alive with the spice of life.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Dude, Americans sing like crazed National Socialists at Octoberfests! If you haven't gone it will be your nirvana - you can sing your secret car songs with hundreds of drunken idiots at the very top of your lungs. I once was tossed by dwarves at an Octoberfest. those little guys were strong and loud! Touche! (and omelette du fromage). Only about 7 months to go!
BTW, what's an "occasional "ü," ?
2 - Jonathan
Up here in canada we sing all the time in bars, It's really fun and quite hilarious.
Often it will be stupid pop songs or whatever is playing in the bar.. once the whisky song by the doors came on in a bar I was at.. and the place like erupted.. it was really great.
3 - Dirtgrain
Oops. The "ü" was supposed to be a "u" with an umlaut (for non-German speakers, imagine saying, "goo," while getting a proctology exam--that is the particular vowel sound). I was negligent on that one, but I wasn't drunk--I promise.
Oktoberfest? Canada? Is there a Strange Brew connection?
The Travel Channel needs to get in on this. How about a show on the best places to get drunk and sing in North America? I'm thinking road trip.
4 - JR
My dad said Americans used to sing more than they do now. He grew up around NYC in the '40s and '50s, and he remembers grown men singing as they walked down the street.
5 - Eric Olsen
DG, there are Oktoberfests (I think "k" is correct) in every city in the United States between September and the end of October - you know, what is now the Halloween season. Teh one we used to go to was in Alpine Village in Torrance, SoCal. High-larious and insane. That's where the little people got me: there were about five and I made a drunken joke about dwarf tossing and they tossed me. I deserved it - only at Oktoberfest!
6 - David
My friend used to like playing this stuff while watching porn movies. It fits!
7 - Ms. Tek
Omg.... LOL!!! I need to try that!
8 - Charlie
I am trying to find the lyric (and music if possible) to a German beer-drinking song called "Rose-Marie" not sure of the spelling.
Can you help?
Charlie
9 - Eric Olsen
Oktoberfest is rolling around again - they stat eariler and earlier - any of them going yet?
Charlie, try any of the lyrics sites for this
10 - max
Anyone know where we can get printed lyrics to German beer drinking songs?
11 - godoggo
Google Trinklieder
No, I don't speak German. Took it a long time ago.
12 - Deeter
What happens when you mix reggae and polka together??
Special preview of REGGAE POLKA - "We Be German" by DEETER & The Wurst Boys A celebration song for OKTOBERFESTs and GERMANFESTs worldwide--
"Where... Everybody Gets To Be German!" visit reggaepolka.com Download your free copy today! HAVE FUN!
Your feedback is Always welcome!
Deeter
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
13 - tom
I've just been looking on the web for rare beer drinking songs, the German ones. Such tracks are "Trink, Trink, Bruderlein Trink" and "im tiefen Keller" (beer keller) You can find loads and loads of them on youtube, but I'm specifically looking for some that are just sang by an unknown group, like in a beer garden somewhere from Germany or something. I can only find a record containing the music that I'm looking for... not a CD. I'm also into the antiques that are associated with germany, such as the steiners and decorated mugs, ornements etc.. that are traditional with singing along with this music, and having fun. :)