German songs are a great learning tool for the student of the German language. Even beginners can benefit from listening to simple songs that provide entertainment and an opportunity to pick up new vocabulary, grammar and patterns of speech. Vice versa if you are a German speaker working on improving your English then watching a German music video with English subtitles, like in today's example, can make English more accessible.
Hope you enjoyed this short German lesson designed for English speakers wanting to improve their German knowledge. Please feel free to leave a comment about how you found the lesson and / or the song.
Don't forget to download the lesson notes for free that includes vocab and grammar notes along with the songtext in German.
Take the 20 Question Quiz to check how much you have retained from the lesson.
Learn German Lesson
In today's lesson we will be focusing on a song by the well known 1980's German pop singer Michael Stein.Michael Stein Song
Michael Stein hit number 1 in Germany in 1985 with the love song Du gehörst zu ihm. Michael chose to include the number in his Meinem Besten album in 2010. Du gehörst zu ihm or You Belong to Him in English, is the first track on this German pop singer's best of compilation album which includes 18 tracks in all. |
| Meinem Besten Album by Michael Stein |
Learning Outcomes of Studying this Michael Stein Song
Du gehörst zu ihm with its catchy tune and simple lyrics is a good example of songs that can be helpful to English speakers trying to learn the German language. The song uses a number of everyday verbs and words which is particularly good for the beginner learning German.Another particularly useful aspect of this song is the use of the German verb gehören (meaning to belong to in English.) The song will no doubt be helpful in committing to memory that the verb gehören (to belong) triggers the dative case. It is also worth noting that certain differences between English and German exist in the usage of gehören / belonging to.
Download the Lesson Sheet and lyrics in PDF format that goes with this Michael Stein song.
Read on to take the 20 Question Quiz for this lesson.
Du gehörst
Er / Sie / Es gehört
Wir gehören
Ihr gehört
Sie gehören
We can also say that an animal belongs to someone:
Also consider the two examples below which also don't use zu:
Take these examples below from the song where the distinction is not drawn:
As you can see both forms are correct although a subtle shift in meaning occurs when zu is added. Rather than getting too hung up on whether to use zu or not it is far better to memorize the dative forms of the personal pronouns which otherwise are easy to trip up English speakers learning German.
Read on to take the 20 Question Quiz for this lesson.
Use of the German Verb Gehören
A short explanation of how gehören is used is likely to be helpful but first let me underline the importance of not confusing gehören (verb to belong) with gehören (verb to listen or to hear). The conjugation is the similar but the meaning is quite different.When gehören (verb to belong) is used it will always be accompanied by the dative. Such as with possessive pronouns for my eg meinem (masc and neuter), meiner (fem) and meinen (plural),
Das gehört meinem besten Freund.
That belongs to my best friend.
That belongs to my best friend.
Present Tense of gehören
Ich gehöreDu gehörst
Er / Sie / Es gehört
Wir gehören
Ihr gehört
Sie gehören
Use of Gehören to Indicate Ownership (Objects, Plants and Animals)
Who owns the object? General examples of gehören indicating ownership. Note the use of the dative pronoun to indicate who owns the object :
Das Buch gehört mir.
The book belongs to me.
Das Buch hat dir gehört.
The book belonged to you.
Das Buch gehört meiner Schwester.
The book belongs to my sister.
Das Buch gehört ihr nicht
The book does not belong to her
We can also say that an animal belongs to someone:
Der Hund gehört uns.
The dog belongs to us / The dog is ours.
The dog belongs to us / The dog is ours.
Use of Gehören to Indicate Belonging / To Be Part Of (Human Beings)
[zu jmdm ]
When talking about a person belonging to another then zu is often added to indicate belonging to someone, having a place with or a connection to someone, even one of somebody's. Of course this distinction is not drawn in English but is often made in German.
Therefore in the song, Michael Stein uses the verb gehören in its broader sense to mean you are part of him, you belong by his side and your place is by him.
Du gehörst zu ihm.
You belong to him. / You belong with him / You are with him / You're one of his.
Thus when being a part of something is suggested it is as well to use [gehören zu jmdm] form. As in the following example:You belong to him. / You belong with him / You are with him / You're one of his.
Gehörst du zu den Freunden oder der Familie?
Are you a friend or family?
Are you a friend or family?
That does not mean it is incorrect to leave out the zu and simply say: Du gehörst mir to mean You belong to me / You are with me / You are mine.
Ich gehöre dir und du gehörst mir.
I'm yours and you are mine.
Du gehörst mir, wie ich dir gehöre.
You're mine as I am yours.
I'm yours and you are mine.
Du gehörst mir, wie ich dir gehöre.
You're mine as I am yours.
Take these examples below from the song where the distinction is not drawn:
Weil du meinem Freund gehörst
Because you belong to my friend
In Wahrheit gehörst du ihm allein.
In truth you belong to him alone.
Because you belong to my friend
In Wahrheit gehörst du ihm allein.
In truth you belong to him alone.
As you can see both forms are correct although a subtle shift in meaning occurs when zu is added. Rather than getting too hung up on whether to use zu or not it is far better to memorize the dative forms of the personal pronouns which otherwise are easy to trip up English speakers learning German.
Watch Michael Stein Music Video
In this Michael Stein video available on YouTube I have embedded the German songtext (lyrics) and made the English lyrics available in the CC captions feature.Download the Lesson Sheet and lyrics in PDF format that goes with this Michael Stein song.
Du gehörst zu ihm [Lyrics in German]
Du wirst es einmal versteh'n,
Doch ich muss jetzt leider geh'n.
Du weißt, dass ich dich begehr',
Doch Freundschaft, sie zählt für mich mehr.
Denn du gehörst meinem Freund,
Und hättest du auch gemeint,
Dass ich dich heute verführt,
Ich weiß, das wär niemals passiert.
Ein Feuer, das brennt in uns zwein,
Doch ich sag dir, es darf niemals sein.
In Wahrheit gehörst du ihm nur ganz alleine.
Die Sehnsucht bleibt immer besteh'n,
Doch wir dürfen uns nicht wieder seh'n.
Denn in Wahrheit gehörst du doch nur ihm allein.
Die Sehnsucht bleibt immer besteh'n,
Doch wir dürfen uns nicht wieder seh'n.,
Denn in Wahrheit gehörst du doch nur ihm allein.
Und dein Blick er sagt mir: Bitte geh nicht fort,
Doch es darf nicht sein.
Denn am Ende, da würden wir beide
Nur die Verlierer sein.
Ein Feuer, das brennt in uns zwein,
Doch ich sag dir, es darf niemals sein.
In Wahrheit gehörst du ihm nur ganz alleine.
Die Sehnsucht bleibt immer besteh'n,
Doch wir dürfen uns nicht wieder seh'n,
Denn in Wahrheit gehörst du doch nur ihm allein.
Die Sehnsucht bleibt immer besteh'n,
Doch wir dürfen uns nicht wieder sehn'n.,
Denn in Wahrheit gehörst du doch nur ihm allein.
Du gehörst zu ihm.
Hope you enjoyed this short German lesson designed for English speakers wanting to improve their German knowledge. Please feel free to leave a comment about how you found the lesson and / or the song.
Don't forget to download the lesson notes for free that includes vocab and grammar notes along with the songtext in German.
Take the 20 Question Quiz to check how much you have retained from the lesson.
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