Today, I’ll introduce you to another song, one I enjoy listening to in various versions.
I first came across the song Was wollen wir trinken performed by the band Oktoberklub from the GDR. They recorded it in the year I was born, 1977. When I heard it for the first time, I was struck by its memorable melody and vocal style. At that time, I didn’t understand the German lyrics at all (I often perceive vocals in songs as a separate musical instrument, so the lyrics aren’t as important to me).
Later on, I started hearing the same melody here and there, suddenly realizing that even well-known artists were performing the same song.
I decided to dig deeper. Interestingly, it seems that just about everyone has performed it. Wikipedia alone mentions over thirty “most famous” artists who covered it, not to mention the many lesser-known versions.
While researching, I uncovered many interesting facts, some of which later turned out to be popular myths. The most intriguing one was that this song was supposedly the anthem of the fascist Luftwaffe. A compelling story, but a myth nonetheless.
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