Männer 1984 Lyrics in English Herbert Grönemeyer

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Männer 1984 by Herbert Grönemeyer from German to English.
Men hug
Men give security
Men cry secretly
Men need lots of tenderness
Men are so vulnerable
Men are simply irreplaceable in this world
Men buy women
Men are constantly wired
Men hit on you like crazy
Men lie on the phone
Men are always ready
Men impress with their money and their coolness
Men have it tough, take it easy
Hard outside and really soft inside
Even as kids they're tuned to be men
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
Men have muscles
Men are terribly strong
Men can do anything
Men get a heart attack
Men are lonely fighters
Must break through every wall, must keep going
Men have it tough, take it easy
Hard outside and really soft inside
Even as kids they're tuned to be men
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
Men wage wars
Men are already drunk as babies
Men smoke pipes
Men are terribly smart
Men build rockets
Men do everything very precisely
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
Men don't have kids
Men get thin hair
Men are people too
Men are somewhat odd
Men are so vulnerable
Men are simply irreplaceable in this world
Men have it tough, take it easy
Hard outside and really soft inside
Even as kids they're tuned to be men
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
When's a man a man?
When are you a man?
Did you like these lyrics?
SONG MEANING

Herbert Grönemeyer’s 1984 hit “Männer” is a witty roller-coaster ride through all the clichés of masculinity. In rapid-fire lines, he piles up contrasts: men are tough yet tender, strong yet fragile, self-confident yet insecure. One moment they are heroic rocket-builders, the next they are secretly crying in the dark. By exaggerating every stereotype— from “men buy women” to “men get heart attacks” — the singer invites us to laugh at how impossible it is to fit into the traditional male mold.

The chorus hammers home the big question: “Wann ist ein Mann ein Mann?” (“When is a man a man?”). Grönemeyer never answers it outright. Instead, his tongue-in-cheek list shows that real men, like real people, are full of contradictions. The song is both a playful celebration of men’s quirks and a sharp critique of the pressures society puts on them from childhood. Above all, it reminds us that everyone— no matter how “manly” — needs tenderness, honesty, and the freedom to be vulnerable.

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