☝️ Key Points
- The song is a humorous and satirical portrayal of the dwarves from fairy tales and criticizes the 'dumbing down of the people' through these stories.
- The traditional notions of dwarves as 'small and cute, pious and peaceful' are questioned and depicted as false.
- The seven dwarves are individually listed: Grumpy, Happy, Cloudy, Tschakko, Cooky, Bubi, Speedy.
- The singer urges to personally question the dwarves to discover the truth about them.
- The chorus 'Hey dwarves, hey dwarves, hey dwarves ho' draws attention to the dwarves and their story and encourages questioning of traditional notions.
Interpretation
The song 'Hey Zwerge ho' by
Otto Waalkes is a humorous and satirical portrayal of dwarves as depicted in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The singer questions these portrayals and presents them as 'goddamn fairy tales' that have nothing to do with reality. He criticizes the 'dumbing down of the people' through these tales and emphasizes that the 'hard data' and 'naked facts' tell a completely different story.
He also alludes to the prejudices that exist about dwarves. They are often portrayed as 'small and cute, pious and peaceful', while in reality they are 'big and strong, bold and hearty'. The singer makes it clear that there can only be seven dwarves in the dwarf world and lists their names: Brummboss, Sunny, Cloudy, Tschakko, Cooky, Bubi, Speedy. The number seven is referred to as 'genius', likely referencing the Seven Dwarfs from the story of Snow White.
The singer concludes the song by urging to ask the dwarves themselves if one wants to know the truth about them, and emphasizes that they have 'every reason to complain' about the way they are portrayed in the tales. The constant repetition of the chorus 'Hey Zwerge, hey Zwerge, hey Zwerge ho' serves to draw attention to the dwarves and their story, and to make listeners question their preconceived notions about dwarves.