Intro – Bilingual Lyrics German/English

• By: AnnenMayKantereit
• Album: 12

Lyrics & Translation

Listening to this song is an excellent way to practice conversational German; the slow tempo and Henning May’s clear, deliberate enunciation make it ideal for learners looking to grasp everyday vocabulary and emotive expression in the German language.

[English]

Everything we have comes from somewhere in the past

To get everything that we have, it takes so much time

That people sing together

...

Everything we have comes from somewhere in the past

To get everything that we have, it takes so much time

The fact that so many people sing together was never a given

And on the human clock, a new era is striking

12

...

[German]

Alles, was wir haben, kommt irgendwo aus der Vergangenheit

Um das zu kriegen, was wir alles haben, braucht es so viel Zeit

Dass Menschen miteinander singen

Alles, was wir haben, kommt irgendwo aus der Vergangenheit

Um das zu kriegen, was wir alles haben, braucht es so viel Zeit

Dass viele Menschen miteinander singen, war nie 'ne Sеlbstverständlichkeit

Und auf der Mеnschenuhr schlägt eine neue Zeit

12

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Vergangenheit fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənhaɪt B2	noun - past
kriegen ˈkriːɡən A2	verb - to get / to obtain
brauchen ˈbʁaʊ̯xən A2	verb - to need
Menschen ˈmɛnʃən A1	noun - people / humans
singen ˈzɪŋən A1	verb - to sing
Selbstverständlichkeit ˈzɛlpstfɛɐ̯ˌʃtɛndliçkaɪt C1	noun - taken for granted / obviousness
Menschenuhr ˈmɛnʃənˌuːɐ̯ C2	noun - human clock (metaphorical)
schlägt ʃlɛːkt B1	verb - strikes / beats
neu nɔʏ A1	adjective - new
Zeit tsaɪt A1	noun - time

Key Grammar Structures

• Alles, was wir haben, kommt irgendwo aus der Vergangenheit

  ➔ Relative clauses (Relativsatz)

  ➔ The pronoun "was" acts as a relative pronoun for the indefinite "Alles".

• Um das zu kriegen, was wir alles haben, braucht es so viel Zeit

  ➔ Infinitive clause with "um...zu" (Finalsatz)

  ➔ The construction "um...zu" is used to express the purpose of an action.

• Dass Menschen miteinander singen

  ➔ Subordinate conjunction "dass" (Dass-Satz)

  ➔ The conjunction "dass" introduces a noun clause that acts as the subject or object.

• war nie 'ne Selbstverständlichkeit

  ➔ Colloquial abbreviation (Umgangssprache)

  ➔ The "'ne" is a common colloquial shortening of the indefinite article "eine".

• Auf der Menschenuhr schlägt eine neue Zeit

  ➔ Prepositional phrase (Lokal/Temporal)

  ➔ The preposition "auf" indicates the metaphorical location where time is striking.