Herbert Grönemeyer - Männer (1984)

It may be hard to believe now, but Herbert Grönemeyer, today possibly the most successful German musician of all time, with the two top-selling CDs ever in Germany, was not an overnight success. Born in Göttingen on 12 April 1956, he grew up in Bochum in Germany’s industrial Ruhr region. His first five albums (1978-1983) were only modest successes, and Grönemeyer had to cancel planned tours. It was not until the release of his 'Bochum' album in 1984 that Grönemeyer was finally able to reach the top of the German music charts with the hit singles 'Männer' ('Men') and 'Flugzeuge im Bauch' ('Airplanes in my stomach'). Named for his hometown, 'Bochum' finally put Grönemeyer on the pop music map in German-speaking Europe. To this day, that album’s title song is Grönemeyer’s anthem at any live concert.
While he was recording his first several albums and having trouble achieving his musical breakthrough, he was also acting in films and TV series. In the English-speaking world, Grönemeyer is probably best known as the naive reporter Leutnant Werner aboard the submarine in the classic German anti-war movie 'Das Boot' (The Boat, 1981), directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who later went to Hollywood.
By 1992, Grönemeyer had reached a level of success and popularity that earned him Germany’s top entertainment honour, the Echo Award for Best National Artist. Two years later, in 1994, he received the same award again. That same year he became the first non-English-speaking artist to be invited by MTV to perform an unplugged concert.
Herbert Grönemeyer's album 'Mensch' (2002) remains the best-selling album of all time in Germany. Although he recorded his first English-language album in 1991 ('Luxus') and has produced several since then, Grönemeyer is virtually unknown outside of the German-speaking market. Despite his MTV appearance, the bulk of Grönemeyer’s work has been in German. His attempts to break into the English-language music market have never been very successful. A tour of Canada following the release of his album 'What’s All This?'(1988) failed to ignite any sparks in the US. A planned 2007 concert in New York City was cancelled, but he did give a concert in London’s Royal Albert Hall in September 2007, as part of the success of the album '12' His 2002 album 'Mensch' considered by most fans and critics to be his musical masterpiece, arose out of tragedy. During the four years prior to 'Mensch', Grönemeyer was also pretty much forgotten, even in Germany. The explanation for this is simple: 1998, by any definition was an annus horribilis for Grönemeyer. He lost both his brother Wilhelm and his wife Anna to cancer within three days of each other. The tragic double loss made Grönemeyer withdraw almost entirely from public life and recording. He took a timeout and moved to London with his son Felix and daughter Marie.
London has proved to be a creative reservoir for Grönemeyer. In the British capital he has been working with British producer Alex Silva. The result has been three of Grönemeyer’s best albums: 'Bleibt alles anders', '12' and, most notably, 'Mensch'.
For the Football World Cup games in Germany in 2006, Grönemeyer composed and recorded the official anthem 'Zeit, dass sich was dreht'.
Grönemeyer, a longtime social activist, is a board member of Deine Stimme gegen Armut (Your Voice Against Poverty).

Herbert Grönemeyer - Männer (1984)
DE#7, CH#27



Lyrics:

Männer nehmen in den Arm
Männer geben Geborgenheit,
Männer weinen heimlich,
Männer brauchen viel Zärtlichkeit und
Männer sind so verletzlich,
Männer sind auf dieser Welt einfach unersetzlich.

Männer kaufen Frauen,
Männer stehen ständig unter Strom,
Männer baggern wie blöde,
Männer lügen am Telefon,
Männer sind allzeit bereit,
Männer bestechen durch ihr Geld und ihre Lässigkeit.

Männer haben's schwer, nehmen's leicht,
außen hart und innen ganz weich,
werden als Kind schon auf Mann geeicht.
Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann?

Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann?

Männer haben Muskeln,
Männer sind furchtbar stark,
Männer können alles,
Männer kriegen 'nen Herzinfarkt und
Männer sind einsame Streiter,
müssen durch jede Wand, müssen immer weiter.

Männer haben's schwer, nehmen's leicht.
außen hart und innen ganz weich,
werden als Kind schon auf Mann geeicht.
Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann?

Männer führen Kriege,
Männer sind schon als Baby blau,
Männer rauchen Pfeife,
Männer sind furchtbar schlau,
Männer bauen Raketen,
Männer machen alles, ja ganz genau.

Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann? (2x)

Männer kriegen keine Kinder,
Männer kriegen dünnes Haar,
Männer sind auch Menschen,
Männer sind etwas sonderbar und
Männer sind so verletzlich,
Männer sind auf dieser Welt einfach unersetzlich.

Männer haben's schwer, nehmen's leicht.
außen hart und innen ganz weich,
werden als Kind schon auf Mann geeicht.
Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann?

English translation:

Men take you in their arms
Men give comfort
Men cry secretly
Men need a lot of tenderness and
Men are so vulnerable
Men are just irreplacable in this world

Men buy women
Men are always on the run
Men flirt like crazy
Men lie on the telephone
Men are ready all the time
Men captivate with their money and nonchalance

Men have a hard life, but take it easy
Hard on the outside, soft at the inside
When being a child they already are turned into men
When is a man a man?

When is a man a man?

Men have muscles
Men are so strong
Men can do everything
Men get a heart attack and
Men are lonely fighters
Have to get through every wall, always have to go on

Men have a hard life, but take it easy
Hard on the outside, soft at the inside
When being a child they already are turned into men
When is a man a man?

Men lead wars
Men are already drunk when they are yet babies
Men smoke pipe
Men are extremly clever
Men build rockets
Men do everything, yes exactly

When is a man a man?

Men get no children
Men get thin hair
Men are human beings too
Men are a bit strange and
Man are so vulnerable
Men are just irreplacable in this world