“The Tax Song” - Schröder Satire
"Die Gerd-Show" Lampoons the German Chancellor
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When Gerhard Schröder was re-elected to a second term as German chancellor on September 22, 2002, little could he have known he would soon be lampooned by Germany's number one hit song, “Der Steuersong” (“The Tax Song.”).
But there were a few early warning signs, including a previous top-ten song at the chancellor's expense (“Ho mir ma ne Flasche Bier”) two years earlier. Running against the Bavarian conservative candidate Edmund Stoiber (CDU/CSU), Schröder and his SPD party won by a very narrow margin in one of the toughest elections in modern German history. In the process, Schröder made many promises, the two most important being: (1) not to send German troops into any “adventure” in Iraq, and (2) not to raise taxes. He has backed down a little on the first, but he broke the second just days after being elected.
Elmar Brandt's satiric Die Gerd-Show
attracts 9 million listeners per broadcast.
The hit Maxi CD cover. (Amazon.de)
German voters' anger and feelings of betrayal helped make the satiric “Tax Song” the top selling single on the German music charts in November. Sung and spoken by the popular German satirist (Satiriker) and Schröder-imitator Elmar Brandt, the lyrics of “Der Steuersong,” spoof the chancellor with these words: “Promises made yesterday can be broken today. I'll raise your taxes, I'll empty your pockets. Every one of you nerds is stashing some cash away, but I'll get it, I'll find it - no matter where it is.” (See the full German/English text of the song.)
Besides the chord it struck with irritated German voters, part of the reason for the immense popularity of “Der Steuersong” is the fact that it's based on Europe's summer smash hit, “The Ketchup Song,” by a Spanish trio with the unlikely name Las Ketchup. Brandt borrowed that catchy tune to skewer Schröder with an imitation of the chancellor's own voice: “Up with taxes; elected is elected. You can't fire me now. That's the cool thing about democracy.” He also used “Las Kanzlern” (a mix of Spanish and German) for the satiric song's subtitle.
Gerhard Schröder is not the only German
chancellor who has been the butt of satire.
The German magazine Titanic also liked to
pick on Helmut Kohl when he was in office.
Even before the song's release, Brandt had already attracted a following by imitating the chancellor, Stoiber, and other German politicians on his popular NDR-2 radio parody, “Die Gerd-Show.” (Gerd is a nickname for Gerhard.) He sees the success of his vocal parodies as a form of popular protest. In an interview, Brandt said: “People used to go into the street to demonstrate. Today they attack the media chancellor via the media. They protest by calling radio stations and requesting this song because they know how much it will bug Schröder each time it's played.” (“Früher gingen die Menschen auf die Straße, um zu demonstrieren. Heute attacktieren sie den Medienkanzler über die Medien. Sie protestieren, indem sie bei den Radiostationen anrufen und sich diesen Song wünschen, weil sie wissen, wie sehr jeder Einsatz Schröder ärgert.”)
But it's the video version of Brandt's “Steuersong” that has really raised the ire of some German politicians. They claim that the music video—showing a rubber caricature of Gerhard Schröder ripping away a hospital patient's IV bottle, or throwing the German constitution (das Grundgesetz) in the toilet—goes too far and insults the German leader. But one CSU opposition member of parliament, Peter Gauweiler, was quoted as saying, “As a politician, one should never complain about satiric portrayals, no matter how tasteless they may be.” (“Als Politiker sollte man niemals gegen satirische Darstellungen klagen, egal wie geschmacklos sie sind.”)
“The Tax Song” may test the limits of free speech in Germany, but you can make up your own mind by reading the original lyrics and an English translation on the next page. You'll also find links to Die Gerd-Show and streaming audio and video of “Der Steuersong.”
NEXT > Der Steuersong
MORE > German Song Lyrics in German and English
Im Wahlkampf vor mir liegt ein Zonenmädchen
Another German parody from "Tax Song" creator Elmar Brandt. This 2005 satire pokes fun at the two chancellor candidates Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and Angela Merkel (CDU/CSU).