Neue Wellen – Bilingual Lyrics German/English

• By: DIE NERVEN
• Album: Fake

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the raw energy of German music with DIE NERVEN's "Neue Wellen." This track, with its Post-Punk atmosphere and German lyrics, offers a compelling entry point to explore themes of modern disillusionment and sonic exploration in contemporary German rock.

[English]

Pure lies,

new waves

New scars,

same spots

Pure lies,

wrong word

Wrong questions,

same place

Over and over

way too much

New paths,

same game

Over and over

way too much

New corpses,

same game

Game, game, game

Anything goes that pleases

Everything pleases

Anything goes that pleases

Over and over, new waves

[German]

Reine Lügen,

neue Wellen

Neue Narben,

selbe Stellen

Reine Lügen,

falsches Wort

Falsche Fragen,

selber Ort

Immer wieder

viel zu viel

Neue Weichen,

selbes Spiel

Immer wieder

viel zu viel

Neue Leichen,

selbes Spiel

Spiel, Spiel, Spiel

Erlaubt ist, was gefällt

Alles gefällt

Erlaubt ist, was gefällt

Immer wieder neue Wellen

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Welle /ˈvɛlə/ A2	noun - wave
Narbe /ˈnaʁbə/ B1	noun - scar
Lüge /ˈlyːɡə/ A2	noun - lie
falsch /falsch/ A2	adjective - false
Frage /ˈfraːɡə/ A1	noun - question
Ort /ɔrt/ A1	noun - place
Weiche /ˈvaɪçə/ B2	noun - switch (railway)
Leiche /ˈlaɪçə/ B1	noun - corpse
Spiel /ʃpiːl/ A1	noun - game
erlauben /ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯bən/ A2	verb - to allow
gefallen /ɡəˈfɛːlən/ B1	verb - to please
stellen /ˈʃtɛlən/ A2	verb - to place
selbe /ˈzɛlbə/ A2	adjective - same
immer /ˈɪmɐ/ A1	adverb - always
wieder /ˈviːdɐ/ A1	adverb - again

Key Grammar Structures

• [translate:Reine Lügen]

  ➔ Adjective-noun agreement (Reine + Lügen)

  ➔ The adjective "Reine" agrees in gender, number, and case with the plural noun "Lügen" (feminine plural).

• [translate:Neue Narben, selbe Stellen]

  ➔ Adjective endings with weak declension

  ➔ Both "Neue" and "selbe" use weak declension endings because they follow a definite or understood determiner in plural nominative form.

• [translate:Falsche Fragen, selber Ort]

  ➔ Contrast in adjective forms (strong vs weak declension)

  ➔ The adjective "Falsche" follows plural nouns and takes a strong ending, while "selber" (same) acts as an uninflected form, emphasizing identity rather than agreement.

• [translate:Immer wieder]

  ➔ Adverbial phrase (time/frequency)

  ➔ "Immer wieder" literally means “again and again” and expresses repetition or persistence of action.

• [translate:Viel zu viel]

  ➔ Degree modifier with "zu" + adjective/adverb

  ➔ "Zu" means “too” and indicates excessiveness; "viel zu viel" intensifies this, meaning “way too much.”

• [translate:Neue Weichen, selbes Spiel]

  ➔ Nominal sentence fragments without verb (elliptical structure)

  ➔ This line omits verbs for poetic effect, typical in German lyrics; the meaning depends on juxtaposition—“new tracks, same game.”

• [translate:Erlaubt ist, was gefällt]

  ➔ Inversion with predicate fronting

  ➔ The predicate "Erlaubt" (allowed) stands before the verb "ist" for emphasis, common in poetic or archaic German.

• [translate:Alles gefällt]

  ➔ Impersonal construction with dative verb “gefallen”

  ➔ In German, "gefallen" means “to please” and takes a dative subject logically; here it’s used impersonally as a poetic expression meaning “everything pleases.”