Kein Stern – Bilingual Lyrics German/English

• By: AnnenMayKantereit

Lyrics & Translation

Discover 'Kein Stern' by AnnenMayKantereit, a poignant German song that uses the simple, evocative language of football to explore themes of value and loss. By focusing on the German term 'Ascheplatz' (dirt pitch), you can connect with a shared cultural feeling about authenticity and appreciate how deeply a simple image can carry profound emotional weight in the German language.

[English]

Sometimes I find peace in life

It feels good to see the ball fly

Many go to museums

To stand in front of paintings

And others prefer to watch

When someone works magic, just like Zizou

Just like Zizou

Almost like Zizou

There is no star that shines so bright

Like the floodlights over the gravel pitch

And what it all really means to me

I only ever notice once it's gone

...

I scored an own goal

In the last match of the season

I washed the dirt from my wounds

And thought I'd had enough

But one week later

Hey coach, look what I can do

I never hated anything so much

As my seat on the bench

...

There is no star that shines so bright

Like the floodlights over the gravel pitch

And what it all really means to me

I only ever notice once it's gone

You only really know what something means

When you lose it

...

You only really know what something means

When you lose it

Many go to museums

To stand in front of paintings

And others prefer to watch

When someone works magic, just like Zizou

Just like Zizou, Zizou-zou

Just like Zizou, Zizou-zou

Just like Zizou, Zizou-zou

Just like Zizou

...

[German]

Manchmal find ich Frieden im Leben

Es tut gut den Ball fliegen zu sehen

Viele gehen in Museen

Um vor Gemälden zu stehen

Und and're schau'n lieber zu

Wenn jemand zaubert, so wie Zizou

So wie Zizou

Fast so wie Zizou

Es gibt kein'n Stern, der so leuchtet

Wie das Flutlicht überm Aschenplatz

Und was das alles mir bedeutet

Merk ich immer erst, wenn's mich verlassen hat

Ich hab das Eigentor geschossen

Im letzten Spiel der Saison

Ich hab mir den Dreck aus den Wunden gewaschen

Und ich dachte, ich hätte genug bekommen

Aber eine Woche später

Hey, Trainer, schau zu, was ich kann

Ich hab nichts so sehr gehasst

Wie den Platz auf der Bank

Es gibt kein'n Stern, der so leuchtet

Wie das Flutlicht überm Aschenplatz

Und was das alles mir bedeutet

Merk ich immer erst, wenn's mich verlassen hat

Man weiß ja erst so richtig, was etwas bedeutet

Wenn man's verliert

Man weiß ja erst so richtig, was etwas bedeutet

Wenn man's verliert

Viele gehen in Museen

Um vor Gemälden zu stehen

Und and're schau'n lieber zu

Wenn jemand zaubert, so wie Zizou

So wie Zizou, Zizou-zou

So wie Zizou, Zizou-zou

So wie Zizou, Zizou-zou

So wie Zizou

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Frieden ˈfʁiːdn̩ A2	noun - state of peace and harmony
fliegen ˈfliːɡən A1	verb - to move through the air
Gemälde ɡəˈmɛldə A2	noun - artistic work on a surface
zaubert ˈt͡saʊbɐt B1	verb - to do something impressive or magical
leuchtet ˈlɔʏxt͡sət A2	verb - to emit light
Flutlicht ˈflʊtˌlɪçt B1	noun - strong artificial light
Aschenplatz ˈaʃənˌplats B2	noun - sports field with an ash surface
bedeutet bəˈdɔɪt͡ət A2	verb - to have a specific meaning
Eigentor ˈaɪɡənˌtoːɐ̯ B1	noun - goal scored against one's own team
Saison zeˈzɔ̃ː A2	noun - period of time when something takes place
gehasst ɡəˈhast A2	verb - to hate very much
Bank bɑŋk A1	noun - substitute player area
verliert fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯t A2	verb - to lose something

Key Grammar Structures

• Manchmal find ich Frieden im Leben

  ➔ Conjugation of 'finden' in the first person singular present tense

  ➔ The verb 'finden' is conjugated as 'find' in the first person singular, which is a common colloquial contraction in German.

• Es tut gut den Ball fliegen zu sehen

  ➔ Infinitive clause with 'zu'

  ➔ The phrase 'zu sehen' is an infinitive clause introduced by 'zu', used to express the purpose or result of the action.

• Es gibt kein'n Stern, der so leuchtet

  ➔ Contraction of 'keinen' and relative pronoun 'der'

  ➔ The contraction 'kein'n' is a colloquial shortening of 'keinen', and 'der' is the relative pronoun used to introduce the relative clause.

• Merk ich immer erst, wenn's mich verlassen hat

  ➔ Contraction of 'es hat' and use of reflexive pronoun 'mich'

  ➔ The contraction 'wenn's' is a shortening of 'wenn es hat', and 'mich' is the reflexive pronoun used to refer back to the subject.

• Ich hab das Eigentor geschossen

  ➔ Perfect tense with 'haben' as auxiliary verb

  ➔ The perfect tense is formed with 'haben' as the auxiliary verb and the past participle 'geschossen', indicating a completed action in the past.

• Man weiß ja erst so richtig, was etwas bedeutet, wenn man's verliert

  ➔ Subordinate clause with 'wenn' and contraction 'man's'

  ➔ The subordinate clause 'wenn man's verliert' is introduced by 'wenn' and uses the contraction 'man's' for 'man es', referring to the subject.