Song: “Was wallen wir trinken” / “Sieben Tage lang”

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.

In fact, the song was originally written in Breton by two farmer brothers from France—Jean-Bernard and Jean-Marie Prima—in 1929. Translated from Breton, it was called “The Cider Song.” The lyrics are simple, perfect for any tavern gathering. The song lived on quietly in Brittany until 1970, when it was performed by Breton musician Alan Stivell. Then, in 1976, the Dutch band Bots wrote their own lyrics for the same melody under the title Zeven dagen lang (“Seven Days Long”). And from there, things took off! In 1977, as I already mentioned, Oktoberklub released a German version called Was wollen wir trinken, where the Dutch lyrics were not only translated into German but also given a political twist. The song then spread worldwide. Among the most popular German versions (at least for Russian-speaking audiences) are two different lyrics: the political text by Oktoberklub and a translation of the original Dutch song by Bots themselves, released four years later in 1980. This version is known by either the German title Sieben Tage lang or, confusingly, Was wollen wir trinken, like the Oktoberklub song. But if you don’t understand German and are just listening to the tune, it doesn’t really matter.

Among the well-known artists who have covered this song are Blackmore’s Night (in 2003 under the title All for One) and Scooter (in 1998 as How Much is the Fish?). There’s even a version by the Belarusian band “Molot” (in 2010 with their own lyrics and the title Вперёд, товарищ!, that means Forward, Comrade!).

Personally, I love the rock-oriented adaptations. For example, by the German band Geyers or the German folk-rock band dArtagnan. I’m including a live version from the latter below.