Du bist Zuhause für immer und mich
You’ll always be home for me – "Oft gefragt" by AnnenMayKantereit
“Oft gefragt” by AnnenMayKantereit is a moving tribute to lead singer Henning May’s father. The lyrics show gratitude for the many thankless tasks of single parenthood, detail shared experiences and travel, and reiterate that while their relationship may not have always been perfect, his father will always be Zuhause, or home, for him.
The holiday season feels like a fitting time to remember and show appreciation for those who are “home” for us – whether they are our biological family or not.
Aside from its sentimental meaning, “Oft gefragt” also offers us a masterclass on the Present Perfect tense (das Perfekt) in German – so if that was also on your holiday wish list (as I’m sure it was), buckle up and read on!
Du hast mich angezogen, ausgezogen, großgezogen
You dressed me, undressed me, raised me
Und wir sind umgezogen, ich hab dich angelogen
And we moved, I lied to you
Ich nehme keine Drogen
I don’t take drugs
Und in der Schule war ich auch
And I was also in school
Du hast dich oft gefragt, was mich zerreißt
You often wondered what was tearing me apart
Ich wollte nicht, dass du es weißt
I didn’t want you to know
Du warst allein zu Haus’, hast mich vermisst
You were alone at home, you missed me
Und dich gefragt, was du noch für mich bist
And wondered what you still are for me
Und dich gefragt, was du noch für mich bist
And wondered what you still are for me
Zuhause bist immer nur du
Home is forever only you
Zuhause bist immer nur du
Home is forever only you
As mentioned above, “Oft gefragt” is truly a masterclass on the Present Perfect verb tense in German, also known as das Perfekt. Although it’s referred to as the Present Perfect in English, das Perfekt is actually a past verb tense, used to describe events which have already occurred. A little confusing, I know, but stay with me.
German has a few different tenses to describe the past – you may also be aware of the Past Simple (das Präteritum) and the Past Perfect (das Plusquamperfekt). But the Present Perfect (das Perfekt) is likely what you will hear the most of in daily spoken conversation.
Das Perfekt is composed of two parts: a conjugated form of the verb haben (to have) or sein (to be), as well as a special form of the primary verb at hand called the past participle (or das Partizip II).
Here’s a simple example of a sentence using the Present Perfect to describe an event completed in the past:
Er hat einen neuen Tisch gekauft.
He bought a new table.
In the example above, “hat” is the conjugated form of the verb “haben”, while “gekauft” is the past participle form of the verb “kaufen” (to buy). In most cases, as in this example, the conjugated verb appears directly after the subject, while the past participle moves to the end of the sentence.
Unfortunately, knowing exactly how to construct the past participle (Partizip II) for any given verb isn’t always cut and dry. Many follow the pattern of adding ge- to the front of the verb while replacing the verb’s infinitive -en ending with -t – this is what we see above with kaufen -> gekauft. But there are many other ways to form the past participle as well, depending on the type of verb we are using – for more insight into this you can take a look at these resources or consult with your nearest grammar book or German teacher.
And how do we know when to use haben vs. sein with das Perfekt? The good news is – the vast majority of situations call for haben, so it’s a safe bet if you need to guess. Here’s another resource with a bit more insight into this. But to generalize a bit – sein is usually used in situations describing movement or change of state:
Ich bin nach Frankfurt gefahren.
I drove to Frankfurt. (Indicates movement)Ich bin um 6 Uhr aufgewacht.
I woke up at 6am. (Indicates a change of state from sleeping to awake)
So with this brief background behind us, let’s take a look at the many examples of das Perfekt that “Oft gefragt” offers us:
Examples following the “ge + verb stem + t” pattern:
Du hast dich oft gefragt, was mich zerreißt.
You often wondered what was tearing me apart
(haben + fragen)Und dich gefragt, was du noch für mich bist
And you wondered what you still are for me
(haben + fragen)Ich hab(e) in letzter Zeit so oft daran gedacht.
I’ve so often thought of that recently.
(haben + denken)
Examples with separable (and mostly irregular) verbs:
Du hast mich angezogen, ausgezogen, großgezogen.
You dressed me, undressed me, raised me.
(haben + anziehen, ausziehen, großziehen)Ich hab(e) dich angelogen.
I lied to you.
(haben + anlügen)Du hast mich abgeholt und hingebracht.
You picked me up and brought me places.
(haben + abholen, hinbringen)Und ich habe aufgehört, mich das zu fragen.
And I stopped wondering about that.
(haben + aufhören)
Example with a verb with a non-separable prefix:
Du warst allein zu Haus’, hast mich vermisst.
You were alone at home and missed me.
(haben + vermissen)
And finally, examples using “sein”:
Wir sind umgezogen.
We moved.
(sein + umziehen – indicates a changes of location)(Du) bist mitten in der Nacht wegen mir aufgewacht.
You woke up because of me in the middle of the night.
(sein + aufwachen – indicates a change of state)
Here are a few additional words from “Oft gefragt” to add to your vocabulary list:
anziehen – to get dressed
ausziehen – to get undressed
großziehen – to raise
umziehen – to move
anlügen – to lie to someone
nehmen – to take
die Droge / dir Drogen – the drug / the drugs
die Schule – the school
oft – often
sich fragen – to wonder
zerreißen – to tear
zu Hause – at home
vermissen – to miss
nur – only
abholen – to pick up
hinbringen – to bring somewhere
die Nacht – the night
aufwachen – to wake up
letzte – last
die Zeit – the time
denken – to think
aufhören – to stop
allein – alone
die Heimat – the hometown
immer – always