21, 22, 23 Lyrics in English by AnnenMayKantereit

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song 21, 22, 23 by AnnenMayKantereit from German to English.

These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!

Chorus 1

And you turn 21, 22, 23

You can't know what you want yet

And you turn 24, 25, 26

Verse 1

And you don't dance like you used to anymore

And you and your friends

You're all studying

And you're all waiting

For something to happen

Do you even have a clue

Where you stand right now?

You're wasting your youth

Between pubs and shared flats

Chorus 2

And you turn 21, 22, 23

You can't know what you want yet

And you turn 24, 25, 26

Verse 2

You don't dance like you used to anymore

And sometimes you get melancholic

In the streetlamp light

On weekends you go partying

And of course you get wasted

And you keep your dreams small on purpose

So you won't be disappointed in the end

Chorus 3

And you turn 21, 22, 23

You can't know what you want yet

And you turn 24, 25, 26

Verse 3

You don't dance like you used to anymore

And you don't dance like you used to anymore

And you always say it's all not on you

And you order another beer

And when I ask you what you want to be

You always just say "I don't know

As long as I'm not mid-thirties

As long as I'm not mid-thirties"

Chorus 4

And you turn 21, 22, 23

You can't know what you want yet

And you turn 24, 25, 26

Outro

You don't dance like you used to anymore

And you don't dance like you used to anymore

And you turn 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Christopher Annen, Henning Gemke, Severin Kantereit

Did you like this lyrics translation?

melancholisch — melancholy

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.

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AnnenMayKantereit 21, 22, 23 Lyrics