At the European Football Championship, songs like “Major Tom” and “Pyrotechnics” have become fan anthems. The German Olympic team is already preparing – with its own song for Paris. Why?
Erfurt singer Clueso was never drawn to professional sport. He was “too skinny” for football, and the methods used in East German gymnastics were too brutal for him. “I actually tied myself to tables with ribbons so that the bus that was going to pick me up wouldn’t take me. It was really hard, and my brother and I didn’t want to do it at the time,” the 44-year-old told the German Press Agency. Musically at least, Clueso (“Winner”, “Chicago”) has now made it to the Olympic Games. The songwriter is singing the official song for the German team. “Forever Now” is being released today.
“Music is a constant companion of athletes on their way to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Music connects, comforts, motivates and tells stories – like sport.” This is how the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) justified the decision to commission a team song for the first time. They wanted to give the Olympic participants of Team Germany “a musical companion for their very special journey, so that they are always reminded of their stories and emotions.”
The track, which is only 140 seconds long, has a catchy pop beat, brass, choirs and a simple chorus (“And we run past everyone, no one would have bet on us. We’re building a monument to time. For ever now”). For a motivational song, the lyrics don’t have to be very deep, says Clueso. His first attempts at songwriting were too cerebral. He then decided to approach the topic by talking to the sports stars.
Failure for success: Clueso sings about “Cracks in Gold”
“Many people don’t see how often you have to lose to win. I know that from music too. That you have to fail very often and often get a lot of resistance from friends and family along the lines of: ‘Why are you actually doing this?'”
In the second verse, the Thuringian, who used to be a passionate breakdancer, sings about these two sides of the coin: “How often do you only see the perfection? And not the cracks in the gold. We top our best time, just like Usain Bolt.”
For Clueso, whose real name is Thomas Hübner, writing an Olympic song was a balancing act: the athletes should be able to identify with the lyrics. On the other hand, he also wants to perform the song at his concerts after the Paris Games. That’s why the songwriter captures a feeling with the party song.
Olympic stars rely on locker room DJs and loud music
Former gymnastics world champion Pauline Schäfer-Betz (27) is pleased with the German team’s song premiere. “At the European Football Championships, you notice that solidarity is also intensively promoted through music. If a song helps the fans to identify with the German team, I think that’s an incredibly nice thing.”
Music is actually important for many in top-level sport to get in the mood before training or competition. The German men’s hockey team has appointed a special “locker room DJ” for this purpose, while individual athletes such as kitesurfer Jannis Maus (28) rely on their playlists. “Before I go out on the water, I listen to music loudly and block out everything else.”
World stars and the mother of all Olympic anthems
A song for the German Olympic team may be new, but the organizers have been providing musical accompaniment to the games for several decades. The epic duet “Barcelona” by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé gave everyone goosebumps in 1992, but the British singer died a few months before the opening ceremony.
The mother of all Olympic anthems, Whitney Houston’s impressive “One Moment In Time”, was only played at medal ceremonies and television broadcasts in Seoul in 1988 – but then blossomed into a worldwide hit. Megastars such as Gloria Estefan (1996, Atlanta), Björk (2004, Athens), Sarah Brightman (2008, Beijing) and Muse (2012, London) are also musical Olympians.
It is not yet known who will sing the official song for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26. In any case, the German athletes, surfers and footballers will celebrate their medals with Clueso – who will also perform in the German fan zone in Paris one day after the opening ceremony.
Press release from the DOSB Clueso on Instagram Song excerpt on Youtube
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
