His style is regarded as a mixture of chanson, pop and Schlager. He was famous for not only writing entertaining songs but also giving them in a deep meaning; in many cases issues of the particular time.
I've never been to New York (Ich war noch niemals in New York).
The song critisizes philistinism and the way people are not following their dreams but keeping to absolutely senseless patterns.
LYRICS
After lunch
he said,
darling,
let me go and get myself cigarettes,
she called “Take
the keys with you,
‘cause I’ll
look after our child in the meantime.”
He closed
the door, left without a word,
Into the well-lit
stairwell,
Which smelled
after polish and smugness,
And as he
was walking down the stairs it seemed to him as if this would be departure,
He could
just go away forever,
Forever.
I’ve never
been to New York, I’ve never been to Hawaii,
Never strolled
through San Francisco with torn jeans.
I’ve never
been to New York, I’ve never been free,
Why not be crazy
one time and escape all your constraints.
And as he
was out on the streets,
He realized
that he had everything with him,
His passport,
the credit card, a little bit of money,
Perhaps there’d
be a flight in the evening.
He could
call a cab or ask for a lift, simply get away somehow,
The desire
came up,
Be filled
with dreams one last time, escape the constraints,
He was
thinking about his escape, his escape….
I’ve never been to New York, I’ve never been to Hawaii,
Never strolled through San Francisco with torn jeans.
I’ve never been to New York, I’ve never been free,
Why not be crazy one time and escape all your constraints.
Then he put
the cigarettes into his pockets and went home like always,
Through the
stairwell with polish and smugness,
The wife
called “Darling, hurry up, “Wetten, dass….” starts in a second.”
She asked “Has
anything happened?” – “No, what should have happened?”
I’ve never been to New York, I’ve never been to Hawaii,
Never strolled through San Francisco with torn jeans.
I’ve never been to New York, I’ve never been free,
Why not be crazy one time and escape all your constraints.
P.S.: "Wetten Dass..." was the most succesful German show series ever and although it can hardly be described as intelligent it became part of culture in some way.
