Udo Jürgens

Arguably one of the best Austrian musicians ever, Udo Jürgens (1934-2014) was active as a composer and singer for nearly sixty years. More than 100 million copies of his records have been sold.

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.

Translation: Julian Trummer


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.