The Most Popular German Language Pop Song EVER!

“Amadeus, Amadeus” might be the catchy chorus to an ’80s hit you’ve absently hummed along to for years, but we’re here to tell you there’s more to the story of “Rock Me Amadeus”!

Falco released the song “Rock Me Amadeus” in 1985 and by the following year it was a hit in countries all over the world. However, the fact that the song was written in German left much of the English speaking population unable to understand the true meaning of the song, which actually talks about the life of classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

*Light bulb* Right?!

Keep in mind that both Mozart and Falco have ties to Vienna, Austria and this was Falco’s way of paying tribute to one of Austria’s greatest historical figures. If you’ve listened to JACK Up The ’80s with Larry you might have even heard the Canadian edit from vinyl, which includes a brief spoken word Mozart biography during the intro!

According to this article, some of the lyrics roughly translate to “His mind was on rock and roll and having fun because he lived so fast he had to die so young”. The lyrics speak to the idea that the classical composer was not a highfalutin, upper-class snob like you might think, but more of a rebel who lived hard and fast. The song also came out shortly after 1984’s hit movie Amadeus, which won eight Academy Awards. The mid-’80s were Mozart-mania!

Despite having German lyrics, the music video for this song helped portray a message we could all understand, with Falco parading around in a multi-coloured Mozart wig, riding motorcycles and blending the civilized folk with the hard party-goers.

Much like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Falco also died young. He was only 40 when he passed away in a car accident while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.

“Rock Me Amadeus” brought this German-speaking artist to the top of the charts in both North America and Europe, and although there was never a full English version produced, at least you know the meaning behind the most popular German language pop song ever recorded!