Page 3 - GC-July-August-24

'Barbara's Rhubarb Bar:' German tongue twister goes global The German Citizen • July - August 2024 • 3

By Stefan Dege Tok — not bad for a local Berlin "It's a very special way of rap‐
W.com: Two German come‐ comic. ping and I like the music and the
dians have landed an inter‐ Making waves on Broadway sound of the words, even if I don't
Dnational viral hit with a How the song was able to trig‐ understand [them]."
tongue twister turned song that ger such global hype remains — as Meanwhile, "Barbara's
hardly any non-German speakers with numerous other viral hits — an Rhubarb Bar" is not the first inter‐
understand. Hit maker Bodo Wartke internet mystery. national success with humorous
told DW how surprised he was by The clip was discovered by two German tongue-twister-like lyrics.
the song's success. Australian music students who In 2000, the German music pro‐
A cabaret duo from Berlin has likely did not understand the catchy ducer Stefan Raab came fifth at the
gained worldwide success with a lyrics, but who imitated the original Eurovision Song Contest with
witty rap that's gone viral on Insta‐ dance on TikTok before it was "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da" (roughly
gram and YouTube, and is a top shared and performed millions of translated as "What Do You Have
trend on TikTok where users lip- times all over the world. There").
sync and dance to the tune. "The two girls from Australia A mass Barbara dance-off
The musical cabaret artist Bodo have taken our choreography to a Wartke is expanding on other
Wartke and his collaborator, music whole new level," Wartke told German tongue twisters, too, that
producer Marti Fischer, were no DW. "And I think that has inspired he turns into short witty songs with
strangers to social media within many people to imitate it, including Bodo Wartke. Photo by Tobias Möritz from Leipzig, Deutschland the help of Fischer.
Germany. the many dance influencers on Tik‐ Part of the comedian's inspira‐
But their tongue-twister rap, Tok — right up to choreographers from a small village who is known and adding beats," Wartke ex‐ tion is to "musicalize" a German
"Barbaras Rhabarberbar" (Barbara's from Broadway, which is com‐ wide and far for her fine rhubarb plained. "And so I used that for my language that is more commonly
Rhubarb Bar), has broken pletely crazy and of course a great cake, and who opens a bar where social media channels and — sur‐ known for its hard tones.
global records and even knocked honor." three bearded barbarians become prise — it worked!" As for his Barbara ditty, which
R&B queen Beyoncé off her The melody of the regulars — and whose barber also He and producer Fischer never now has a sequel in which Barbara
streaming throne for a time. German language visits and drinks beer with his pie. expected "Barbara's Rhubarb Bar" gets a girlfriend with whom she
Now one half of the duo, Bodo There are tongue twisters in ev‐ Wartke has simply continued to to become an international hit. starts a family, Wartke has a special
Wartke, himself is followed by ery language, but the rap about Bar‐ play with syllables in his lyrics — "I thought you have to under‐ final wish for the song.
nearly 900,000 people on Tik‐ bara's delicious rhubarb cakes drew and not for the first time. stand German to have fun with "I would love to see all the Bar‐
on a rich German tradition of sin‐ The artist, who performs songs something like that. But apparently baras from Berlin and everywhere
American cities gle-word tongue twisters, in this in his stage programs that are much many people like the sound of the else dance along with us," he told
case: Rhabarberbarbarabarbar‐ longer than a 60 second clip, had language and the rhymes." DW.
with German barenbartbarbierbier (Rhubarb Bar‐ been thinking about what he could Wartke says the melody and "That could perhaps make it
bara Bar Barbarians' Beard Barber into the Guinness Book of Records
names Beer). do on social media. rhythm of the syllables, when — the whole world dancing with us
"And then I came up with the
Altdorf, Wisconsin The song inspired by the tongue idea of expanding German tongue rapped, can work in other lan‐ to Barbara's Rhubarb Bar — how
guages, the comic comparing songs
Named after Altdorf, twister tells the story of Barbara twisters, rhyming the whole thing by US rapper Eminem. great would that be!"
Switzerland.
Altorf, Illinois
Named after Altdorf,
Switzerland.

Altenburg, Missouri
Named after Saxe-
Altenburg.

Anaheim, California
A blend of "Ana", after the
nearby Santa Ana River,
and heim, a common
Germanic place name
compound originally
meaning "home".[

Anhalt, Texas
Named after the
Principality of Anhalt.

Augusta, Georgia
Named after Princess
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.
Augsburg, Illinois
Named after Augsburg,
Germany.

Austerlitz, New York
Named after formerly
German-settled
Slavkov u Brna.

Baden, Georgia
Named after Baden.

Baden, Maryland
Named after the Baden
region.

Baden, Pennsylvania
Named after the German
town of Baden-Baden.

Bamberg, South Carolina
Named after William
Seaborn Bamberg, whose
grandfather was an
immigrant from Germany.
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