Am liebsten wär' ich translates to "I would most like to be" or "My favorite would be to be". It's a charming and slightly old-fashioned way of expressing a strong desire or preference.
In the context of Max Raabe's song, it conveys a deep longing to be with the beloved. The full line, "Am liebsten wär' ich ganz allein mit dir," means "I would most like to be completely alone with you," perfectly capturing the romantic and intimate yearning at the heart of the song.
"Mir Ist So Nach Dir" is a cheeky, old-school love confession wrapped in Max Raabe’s signature retro charm. Throughout the song, the singer can’t shake an almost whimsical longing for that special someone: “Mir ist so nach dir … und mir wird immer nach dir sein.” In other words, “I’m in the mood for you, yesterday, today, and always!” He daydreams about being completely alone together, while at the same time poking fun at his own obsession. The playful back-and-forth questions – “What’s going on with you? What’s going on with me?” – reveal a mix of curiosity and comedic self-doubt that keeps the mood light and flirtatious.
Behind the vintage sound of the Palast Orchester, the message is refreshingly simple: sometimes love just takes over, and we spend the whole day wondering how the other person feels in return. This song captures that fizzy, slightly goofy stage of infatuation when your heart is sure, but your head is still asking questions. It is a perfect melody for anyone who enjoys a clever twist on classic romance.
Max Raabe was born Matthias Otto in Lünen, Germany, in 1962, and trained as a classical baritone before reinventing himself as the singing voice of another era entirely. While studying in Berlin in the mid-1980s, he and a group of fellow students formed the Palast Orchester, building their repertoire out of German dance-hall and cabaret arrangements from the 1920s and 30s that they dug up in flea markets. He still fronts the band today, gliding into a poised falsetto with the deadpan calm of someone who has never once cracked a smile on purpose.
Raabe's version of "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" turned him into a national name in 1992, and he has spent the decades since moving comfortably between his own German-language songs and English standards by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, playing Carnegie Hall more than once along the way. A songwriting partnership with Annette Humpe produced the platinum album "Küssen kann man nicht alleine" in 2011, and Berlin later awarded him its Order of Merit for the act he built almost by accident as a student.