'Danke Schoen' is a
1962 song first recorded by
Bert Kaempfert, however it gained its fame in
1963 when
American singer
Wayne Newton recorded his version of it. The music was composed by Bert Kaempfert, with the lyrics written by
Kurt Schwaback and
Milt Gabler.
The song was released when Wayne Newton was 21 years old. It has been featured in many
television commercials and
motion pictures, such as ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off'', ''
Meet the Parents'', ''
Matchstick Men'' and ''
Vegas Vacation''.
Brenda Lee recorded 'Danke Schoen' for her
1964 album
By Request, produced by
Owen Bradley.
Trivia
In
German, "danke schön" is equivalent to the
English "thank you very much". It literally means "pretty thanks", similar to the English "pretty please." The polite response is "bitte schön," which translates roughly and literally to "you're very welcome" and "pretty please" respectively. In English, the German letter "
ö" can also be written as "oe" when the
umlaut is unavailable.
The title is mispronounced in the song and in general the way it is spoken in English. "Schön" in German is pronounced as [ʃøːn] ("ö" representing a
close-mid front rounded vowel), not "shane", although the latter pronunciation is needed to make it rhyme with "pain". The German word ''schön,'' roughly rhymes with the English word "earn" if pronounced non-rhotally. There is no precise equivalent phoneme in English.
During
German concerts,
Nirvana's
Kurt Cobain would indulge in
wordplay, opting to thank the fans with "
Donkey Show".
External links
★
Song lyrics