☝️ Key Points
- 'König Erl' is a humorous and modern interpretation of the classic poem 'Erlkönig' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
- In the song, the father is more interested in smoking a cigarette than in quickly taking his son to the doctor.
- The story ends in a comedic way with 'The boy is alive, the horse is dead.', which is typical of Otto Waalkes' comedic style.
- 'König Erl' is a humorous parody of the serious theme in 'Erlkönig' and is typical of Otto Waalkes' style.
Interpretation
The song lyrics 'König Erl' by
Otto Waalkes is a humorous and modern interpretation of the classic poem 'Erlkönig' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In the original poem, it is about a father who rides through the night with his sick son to save him, while being pursued by the mystical figure of the Erlkönig.
Waalkes takes this serious and dramatic story and adds humorous elements to create a parody. In the song 'König Erl', the father is more interested in smoking a cigarette than quickly taking his son to the doctor, as shown in the line 'Heut' werdens' wohl etwas länger brauchen, Denn Paps will erstmal eine rauchen.'
In the last stanza, the typical humor of Otto Waalkes becomes visible. Despite the tragic situation of the son being sick, the story ends in a comedic way with 'Der Knabe lebt, das Pferd ist tot.' This unexpected outcome is typical of Otto Waalkes' comedic style and shows the absurdity of the situation.
In summary, it can be said that 'König Erl' is a humorous parody of the serious theme in 'Erlkönig' and is typical of Otto Waalkes' style.