Weißhausstraße – Bilingual Lyrics German/English

• By: AnnenMayKantereit

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the evocative world of AnnenMayKantereit's "Weißhausstraße." This song offers an intimate, emotional glimpse into German youth culture and city life, set in Cologne. You will learn authentic German vocabulary related to shared secrets, winter nights ("tiefer Winter"), and nostalgia, all carried by the band's distinctive folk-rock sound and Henning May's signature raw voice. It's a perfect track for intermediate learners to experience a heartfelt piece of contemporary German songwriting.

[English]

Freezing temperatures, deep winter

Weißhausstraße, corner UNI-Center

We waited here for the men

Who are only awake when it's night

You in your red parka

Me in grey, your loyal partner

In a one-hundred-euro adventure

Do you have a light again?

We both shared it

...

The secret

...

We both shared it

...

The secret

Freezing temperatures, deep winter

Weißhausstraße, corner UNI-Center

The men are still standing there

Who are only awake when it's night

And because the secret is usually well wrapped up

Sometimes something sparkles between the shadows like a diamond

We have here

Burned our dreams

Eyes looking up

Heartbeat sinking down

We both shared it

...

The secret

...

We both shared it

...

The secret

...

I'm standing at Weißhausstraße, corner UNI-Center

In freezing temperatures in the deep winter

I get a craving for a one-hundred-euro adventure

That warm monster

...

Do you have a light again?

...

[German]

Minusgrade, tiefer Winter

Weißhausstraße, Ecke UNI-Center

Wir haben hier gewartet auf die Männer

Die nur wach sind, wenn es Nacht ist

Du in deinem roten Parka

Ich in Grau, dein treuer Partner

In einem Hundert-Euro-Abenteuer

Hast du nochmal Feuer?

Wir beide teilten es

Das Geheimnis

Wir beide teilten es

Das Geheimnis

Minusgrade, tiefer Winter

Weißhausstraße, Ecke UNI-Center

Dort stehen immer noch die Männer

Die nur wach sind, wenn es Nacht ist

Und weil das Geheimnis meistens gut verpackt ist

Funkelt manchmal etwas zwischen Schatten wie ein Diamant

Wir haben hier

Unsere Träume verbrannt

Die Augen nach oben

Der Herzschlag nach unten

Wir beide teilten es

Das Geheimnis

Wir beide teilten es

Das Geheimnis

Ich steh grad Weißhausstraße, Ecke UNI-Center

Bei Minusgraden im tiefen Winter

Ich bekomme Lust auf ein Hundert-Euro-Abenteuer

Dieses warme Ungeheuer

Hast du nochmal Feuer?

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Minusgrade Mi-nus-gra-de A2	noun - temperatures below freezing
Winter Win-ter A1	noun - the coldest season of the year
Weißhausstraße Vaiss-haus-shtra-se A2	noun - street name in Cologne
warten var-ten A1	verb - to wait for something
Männer Män-ner A1	noun - adult male persons
wach vakh A1	adjective - not sleeping, conscious
Parka Par-ka A2	noun - warm, padded jacket
grau grau A1	adjective - color between black and white
Abenteuer A-ben-teu-er A2	noun - exciting or unusual experience
Feuer Foy-er A1	noun - burnable, hot flame
Geheimnis Ge-haim-nis A2	noun - something that should not be revealed
verbrannt ver-brant B1	verb - destroyed by fire
Träume Trøy-me A2	noun - images or ideas in sleep
Herzschlag Herts-shlag B1	noun - the beating of the heart
Ungeheuer Un-ge-heu-er B2	noun - something very large or terrible

Key Grammar Structures

• Minusgrade, tiefer Winter

  ➔ Noun + Noun (Compound Noun)

  ➔ In German, nouns can be combined to form new nouns. Here, 'Minusgrade' (sub-zero temperatures) and 'tiefer Winter' (deep winter) are used together to describe the setting.

• Wir haben hier gewartet auf die Männer

  ➔ Past Perfect Tense

  ➔ The phrase uses the past perfect tense with 'haben gewartet' to indicate an action completed in the past before another past action. It emphasizes the duration of waiting.

• Du in deinem roten Parka

  ➔ Dative Case

  ➔ The dative case is used with 'deinem' to show possession. It indicates that the parka belongs to 'du' (you).

• In einem Hundert-Euro-Abenteuer

  ➔ Prepositional Phrase

  ➔ The prepositional phrase 'in einem Hundert-Euro-Abenteuer' describes the context of the action, indicating the type of adventure they are embarking on.

• Hast du nochmal Feuer?

  ➔ Modal Verb (haben) + Separable Verb (nachmachen)

  ➔ The question uses the modal verb 'hast' (have) with the separable verb 'Feuer' (fire) in its base form. Separable verbs split in sentences.

• Wir beide teilten es

  ➔ Pronoun + Verb Agreement

  ➔ The pronoun 'Wir beide' (we both) agrees with the verb 'teilten' (shared) in the plural form, indicating the subject is more than one person.

• Das Geheimnis

  ➔ Nominative Case (Subject)

  ➔ The noun 'Das Geheimnis' (the secret) is in the nominative case, acting as the subject of the sentence.

• Unsere Träume verbrannt

  ➔ Past Participle

  ➔ The past participle 'verbrannt' (burned) is used with the auxiliary verb 'haben' to form the perfect tense, indicating a completed action.