Written by Jaden Parker
To round up our beautiful series on Oktoberfest, I will be telling you all about Oktoberfest music! Commonly mistaken for Polka music, which is from Czechia and Slovakia, German “Polka music” is called Volksmusik, or “folk music.” Volksmusik typically includes yodeling riffs, which sets it apart from its Slovakian counterparts. This type of music plays until 6 p.m. every day of the festival. After then, the music takes a turn into raucous, drunken singing and occasionally inappropriate Schlager music.
Schlager music is upbeat and happy music, and there are a lot of Schlager versions of American/English songs. Singing loudly while standing on a table is quite common at the festival, especially for those who have stuck to a liquid diet of beer for the day. Below is a list of the iconic Oktoberfest songs, some of which you just might recognize!
- “Ein Prosit”: traditional German drinking song played before every band’s break; lyrics mean “A toast, a toast of comfort!”
- “I Sing A Liad Für Di”: sung in Austrian which is close to Bayerisch, the language of Bavaria (a variation from traditional High German)
- “Völlig Losgelöst”: German New Wave music
- “Hey Baby (If You’ll Be My Girl)”: this is one of those English language Schlager songs!
- “So Ein Schöner Tag (Das Fliegerlied)”: translates to “The Fly Song” and is actually a children’s song about animals; there is detailed choreography for this one
- “Joana”: a raunchy call-and-response song between the band and the festival-goers
- “Ham Kummst”: a song by the Austrian band Seiler und Speer
- “In München Steht Ein Hofbräuhaus”: song about getting drunk at the Hofbräuhaus; I wonder if Angel Aloisius liked it?
- Atemlos Durch Die Nacht: “Breathless Through the Night” by Helene Fischer; pop song that’s a guilty pleasure song for most
Well, that unfortunately wraps up all the Oktoberfest fun for this year. But don’t fret. The year isn’t over quite yet, and I still have so much left in store to share with you. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more articles from ALLMYNE and feel free to find links to the other Oktoberfest articles below in case you missed one!
