Atme aus, atme ein.
Breathe in, breathe out. – “Für Immer Hier” by Bruckner
There are many German songs and artists that I truly love (and am excited to feature here), but a few special songs have accompanied me since my very first days in Germany and become an integral part of my experience and memories here.“Für Immer Hier” by Bruckner is one of these songs.
“Für Immer Hier” (“Forever Here”) is a catchy, upbeat song by the indie music duo Bruckner (who also happen to be brothers), which is almost guaranteed to put you in a good mood. The lyrics utilize the metaphor of flying, feeling weightless, and even leaving the earth’s orbit to symbolize feeling content and free after making it through a difficult time. The beautiful acoustic version feels even more peaceful and reflective.
Ich bin gedankenfrei nach so langer Zeit
I’m free of worries after such a long time
Werde nicht mehr gejagt, brauch nicht wegzulaufen
I’m no longer being bothered, don’t need to run away
Schwebe leicht
Float easily
Ich sitze hinter dir, machen uns’re Miles
I sit behind you as we make our miles
49 ccm
49 ccm
Atme aus, atme ein
Breathe out, breath in
If you’ve been around German for a while, then you’ve probably noticed the usage of separable verbs – verbs whose prefixes separate and change position within a sentence, most often moving to the very end.
A typical usage of separable verbs usually looks like this line from “Für Immer Hier”:
Ich grab’ mich bei dir ein
I dig into you
The verb eingraben (to dig into) separates when conjugated in this sentence, with the prefix ein moving to the end.
But the song also gives us a simpler example, with two separable verbs repeating through the song’s refrain:
Atme aus, atme ein
Breathe out, breathe in
This example of the verbs ausatmen (to breathe out) and einatmen (to breathe in) separating is helpful and refreshing in its simplicity. It’s also a reminder that while we may not have separable verbs per se in English, we do have set verbal phrases that act similarly – such breathe out, breathe in, dig in, clean up, throw out, etc.
For more further information and exercises on separable verbs, check out this article from Lingolia.
Here are a few more words from “Für Immer Hier” to add to your vocabulary list:
gedankenfrei – free of thoughts or worries
weglaufen – to run away
schweben – to float
ausatmen – to breathe out
einatmen– to breathe in
die Lichter – the lights
vorbeiziehen – to pass by
die Ewigkeit – the eternity
eingraben – to dig into
daheim – at home
die Landung – the landing
weich – soft
bleiben – to stay / remain
Breathe out. Breathe in. Happy listening and learning – I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do!