Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn uses music to poke fun at their own shortcomings
As someone originally from the United States, a country infamous for its lack of öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel (public transportation), I appreciate the relative ease with which one can travel throughout Germany and most of Europe mit der Zug (with the train). However, it doesn’t take long to realize that Germans’ own view of Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway company, isn’t an especially high one, and it’s common to hear complaints regarding frequent Verspätungen (delays), Zugausfälle (cancelled trains), and Reparaturen und Wartung (repairs and maintenance).
It turns out that Deutsche Bahn is not without a sense of humor when it comes to their own status as an institution that Germans love to hate. This past fall, the DB joined forces with Komikerin und Schauspielerin (comedian and actress) Anke Engelke to poke fun at their various shortcomings via Der Bahn Song:
Wir sagen: “Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn”
We say: “Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn”
Wir sagen: “Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn”
We say: “Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn”
Ob Sturm, ob Eis, ob Baum, ob Tier, ob Fahrgastrechteformular
Whether storm, ice, tree, animal, or passenger rights form
Im Hintergrund wird repariert, und wir sind weiter für euch da
Repairs are being made in the background, and we are still here for you
Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn
Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn
And lest you think that Deutsche Bahn’s problems are new ones, you may want to check out yet another song dedicated to the railway system, 2012’s “Deutsche Bahn” by German a capella group Wise Guys. The song’s music video even suggests that Deutsche Bahn’s characteristic “DB” logo actually stands for “Daheim Bleiben” – stay home.
Speaking of traveling, Sprachmelodie will be paused next week as I am traveling with my family (by car), but I look forward to sharing new music when I’m back!
What have been your experiences with the Deutsche Bahn, or with public transportation in Europe or the United States?
Liebe Grüße,
Jessica
P.S. – If you enjoyed this post, please consider clicking “like” and/or sharing it with someone else who may be interested in German music, language, and culture! And comment or reply to share your own German music recommendations with me! Ganz lieben Dank!
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Check out Sprachmelodie's Spotify and Youtube accounts for playlists of all songs featured so far on the blog.
I really haven't had many major issues with Deutsche Bahn, and when I have, the work-arounds I scrambled to find were in retrospect worth it as experience with a touch of adventure. Most of my journeys have looked and felt a lot like their ads https://youtu.be/JVq4_OzwXOM .
DB - Daheim Bleiben 😆