What is it about?
A man sings about his family and compares it to a Stammbaum, which grows big and strong and has deep roots. One by one, he introduces all the family members: parents, siblings, grandparents, uncle and aunt, male and female cousins, nephew, niece and his wife. The message: the family sticks together, all year round and forever.
Useful words
- der Vater, die Mutter, der Bruder, die Schwester: the immediate family
- die Oma, der Opa: colloquial for Großmutter and Großvater
- der Onkel, die Tante, der Cousin, die Cousine: the extended family
- der Neffe, die Nichte: the children of one's brother or sister
- der Stammbaum: a drawing that shows how everyone in a family is related
- die Wurzel (die Wurzeln): the part of the tree underground, here an image for one's origins
- die Weisheit, die Geduld: qualities often associated with grandparents
Expressions
- jemanden festhalten: not to let go of someone, to give them support
- zu Besuch kommen: to visit someone
- zusammenhalten: to help each other in difficult times
- auf jemanden bauen: to rely on someone
- Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm.: a well-known proverb. Children are very similar to their parents.
- wie es früher mal war: how life was in the past
Grammar
- mein or meine? With masculine and neuter nouns you say mein (mein Vater, mein Bruder, mein Stammbaum), and with feminine nouns meine (meine Mutter, meine Schwester, meine Frau). The plural also uses meine (meine Eltern).
- Reflexive with uns: Wir helfen uns means: We help each other.
- Subordinate clause with weil: The verb goes at the end: Weil man auf die eigene Familie baut.
- Simple past of sein: wie es früher mal war
- Adjectives after the article: ein wunderbares Nest, mit tiefen Wurzeln, die große Familie
Watch out: Here the lyrics bend the language for the rhyme
- Zuhaus: The standard form is Zuhause. Zuhaus is shortened so that it rhymes with Jahr aus.
- Jahr ein und Jahr aus: Normally you write and say jahrein, jahraus.
- Mit tiefen Wurzeln tief unten im Park: The double tief and the Park are only there for the rhyme with stark. Of course, a family tree does not stand in a park.
- Ich trage an diesem Glück keine Schuld: You only say Schuld an etwas tragen for bad things (Er trägt Schuld an dem Unfall). What is meant here is roughly: I did not make this good fortune myself, it is a gift. You should not copy this combination with Glück.
- Wir haben das Lächeln vom selben Gesicht: This is a poetic, unusual phrasing. In everyday life you say Wir haben dasselbe Lächeln.
- Die Cousinen und Cousins lesen ein Buch: This line is mainly there for the rhyme with Besuch.