Dr. Pest – Bilingual Lyrics German/English

• By: DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
• Album: Moral & Wahnsinn

Lyrics & Translation

Learning German with 'Dr. Pest' by Die Apokalyptischen Reiter offers a unique journey into the darker, more poetic side of the language. The song's narrative lyrics, delivered in a clear, almost spoken-word style, allow learners to focus on the vocabulary of emotion and complex character description. What makes this song special is its theatricality and the vivid, though unsettling, imagery it conjures, providing a memorable and unconventional way to engage with the German language.

[English]

He is tight, he is sensual

The mind - simple and childlike

Good and evil are foreign to him

He also knows no mercy

So he likes to play with subjects

Strikes deep furrows in flesh

He wields the scourge virtuously

When the thorn stirs in the lap

...

However pious the facade may be by day

When at night he stows away the grimace

Behind the pretty mask

Made of the finest skin

Then my friend he gets love

He gives himself completely to the gruesome urge

He is half devil, half child

Peels the bark from bodies

He is a priest of fantasy

And I have never seen higher skill in love

His work is truly monumental

He studies fear, sorrow, agony

In his instrument hall

...

Your pride will not yield

If a midget wants to compare himself here

Then I'll gladly take you to him

For that special pleasure

And when steel is soon in firm hands

Breaks your mind and bones

Then his heart sings tenderly for you

Because he tolerates no one beside him

...

All gods love pain!

...

[German]

Er ist stramm, er ist sinnlich

Das Gemüt - schlicht und kindlich

Gut und böse sind ihm fremd

Er auch kein Erbarmen kennt

So spielt er gern mit Untertanen

Schlägt in Fleische tiefe Bahnen

Die Geißel führt er virtuos

Wenn der Stachel rührt im Schoss

So fromm am Tag auch die Fassade

Wenn er des Nachts die Fratz' verstaut

Hinter der hübschen Maske

Aus der feinsten Haut

Dann mein Freund holt er sich Liebe

Er gibt sich ganz dem grausig Triebe

Er ist halb Teufel, ist halb Kinde

Schält von Körpern ab die Rinde

Er ist Priester der Fantasie

Und höhere Fertigkeit sah ich im Lieben nie

Sein Werk ist wahrlich monumental

Er studiert die Angst, das Leid, die Qual

In seinem Instrumentensaal

Dein Hochmut will nicht weichen

Will ein Wicht sich hier vergleichen

So führ ich dich gern hin zu ihm

Für den speziellen Lustgewinn

Und wenn bald Stahl in festen Händen

Dir Verstand und Knochen bricht

Dann zärtlich singt sein Herz für dich

Denn er duldet niemand neben sich

Alle Götter lieben Schmerz!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sinnlich /zɪnˈlɪç/ B2	adjective - sensual, related to the senses
Gemüt /ɡeˈmyːt/ C1	noun - disposition, temperament, soul
fremd /fʁɛmt/ B1	adjective - strange, foreign
Erbarmen /ɛʁˈbarmən/ B2	noun - mercy, compassion
virtuos /vɪʁtuˈoːs/ C1	adjective - virtuous, skillful
Stachel /ˈʃtaxəl/ B2	noun - stinger, thorn, spicule
Fassade /faˈsɑːd/ B2	noun - facade, front
Maske /ˈmaskə/ A2	noun - mask
Liebe /ˈliːbə/ A2	noun - love
grausig /ˈɡʁaʊzɪç/ B2	adjective - horrible, gruesome
Körper /ˈkøːpɐ/ A2	noun - body
Priester /ˈpʁiːstɐ/ B2	noun - priest
Fantasie /fantenˈtɑːziː/ C1	noun - imagination
Werk /vɛʁk/ B2	noun - work, piece
Angst /aŋst/ C1	noun - fear, anxiety

Key Grammar Structures

• Er ist stramm, er ist sinnlich

  ➔ Simple present tense (sein - to be) with adjectives

  ➔ Uses the verb "ist" (is) from "sein" (to be) to describe the subject's characteristics using adjectives. The adjective modifies the noun that it is describing.

• Gut und böse sind ihm fremd

  ➔ Predicate adjectives with dative case (ihm)

  ➔ "fremd" (foreign, strange) is a predicate adjective describing "Gut und böse" (good and evil). "ihm" (to him) is in the dative case, indicating that good and evil are foreign *to him*.

• So spielt er gern mit Untertanen

  ➔ Adverbial phrase indicating manner (gern) with verb conjugation (spielen)

  ➔ "gern" is an adverb indicating that he likes to play with his subjects. "spielt" is the conjugated form of "spielen" (to play) in the third person singular.

• Die Geißel führt er virtuos

  ➔ Subject-verb-object order with adverb

  ➔ "Die Geißel" (the whip) is the subject, "führt" (wields) is the verb, and the adverb "virtuos" (virtuously) modifies the verb.

• Wenn der Stachel rührt im Schoss

  ➔ Subordinate clause with "wenn" (when) and verb conjugation

  ➔ This is a subordinate clause introduced by "wenn" (when). The verb "rührt" (stirs) is conjugated in the third person singular. The phrase describes a condition.

• Wenn er des Nachts die Fratz' verstaut

  ➔ Subordinate clause with "wenn" (when) and accusative case (die Fratz')

  ➔ This is a subordinate clause introduced by "wenn" (when). "Die Fratz'" (the grimace) is the direct object of the verb "verstaut" (stows away), and it is in the accusative case.

• Dann zärtlich singt sein Herz für dich

  ➔ Adverb of manner (zärtlich) modifying the verb (singt) and dative prepositional phrase (für dich)

  ➔ "zärtlich" (tenderly) is an adverb describing how the heart sings. "für dich" (for you) is a prepositional phrase in the dative case, showing the recipient of the singing.