Melancholisch means 'melancholy' or 'melancholic'. It's a more sophisticated and less common word than simply 'sad', suggesting a deeper, more reflective kind of sadness.
In the song, it describes the feeling of growing up and realizing that things aren't as they used to be. The line "Und manchmal wirst du melancholisch im Straßenlaternenlicht" (And sometimes you become melancholic in the streetlamp light) beautifully captures a moment of quiet introspection and longing for the past, making it a very evocative word.
German rock band AnnenMayKantereit delivers a painfully honest look at your early twenties in "21, 22, 23". The track tracks the slow slip of time as you count up the years: "Und du wirst 21, 22, 23 / Du kannst noch gar nicht wissen, was du willst" ("And you turn 21, 22, 23 / You can't possibly know what you want yet"). Instead of big life plans, the lyrics focus on university students drifting through everyday German youth culture, specifically "zwischen Kneipen und WGs" ("between pubs and shared apartments"). In Germany, a WG (short for Wohngemeinschaft) is the classic student flatshare, a place where people sit around waiting for something to happen while avoiding real adulthood.
There is a great, blunt humor in how the lyrics call out self-defense mechanisms. To protect yourself from failure, "du hältst deine Träume absichtlich klein / Um am Ende nicht enttäuscht zu sein" ("you keep your dreams intentionally small / So you won't be disappointed in the end"). Whenever anyone asks about the future, you blame outside forces, order another beer, and shrug: "Hauptsache nicht Mitte 30" ("Just not in my mid-thirties"). It is a song about getting slightly older, dancing a little less freely than you used to, and dreading the day you actually have to grow up.
AnnenMayKantereit is a German rock band from Cologne, formed in 2011. Its three founding members, guitarist Christopher Annen, singer Henning May, and drummer Severin Kantereit, met at school and built the band's name from their surnames. They started out as street musicians in Cologne before growing into one of the most popular acts in the German-speaking world.
The band is best known for Henning May's raw, gravelly voice and their plainspoken, emotionally honest German lyrics. Their 2016 debut album Alles nix Konkretes was a number-one hit in Germany, and the single 'Pocahontas' became one of their signature songs. With little more than guitar, drums, and that unmistakable voice, they turn everyday feelings into anthems that fans sing back word for word.