- Heather Woods Broderick
- voice
- Peter Broderick
- guitar, voice, upright bass, percussion
- Nils Frahm
- piano, percussion
— German text written by Nils Frahm —
Sometime in the summer of 2009 I was out for a walk with a friend named Jana in Cologne, Germany. We were new friends at the time, having been introduced by our mutual friend Nils just a month or so before, and I felt my mind expanding as we walked and talked about life and art and whatever else. Jana always seemed to offer a fresh view on whatever I was doing. A constructive criticism which I wasn’t finding elsewhere.
This time she was describing with a smile on her face how my music was too sweet. How it was always so pleasing and pretty, perhaps lacking something courageous and edgy. And I made a joke with her about creating a piece of music with piano and choir voices in which the lyrics are all disturbing profanities. Her response was completely enthusiastic. ‘You should really do that!’
I didn’t think she would actually expect me to make this piece of music, so I wanted to surprise her with it one day. When I got back home (Copenhagen at the time), I immediately got to work and soon after sent her a CD in the mail with a little song called For Jana, comprised of layered sparse piano tones and multiple voices singing this text:
I also shared the song with Nils and we joked about including it on this album somehow. But I couldn’t quite see myself sending this track over to the record labels and asking them to take it seriously. So instead I decided to make a song about this song. That’s how Bad Words came about.
If I didn’t have the nerve to sing constant profanities on my album, I at least wanted to sing something that made me a little uncomfortable, so I asked Nils to write the first verse in German (which I didn’t speak a word of at the time), and then I wrote a short English verse to wrap it up.
Es hat geholfen
Dir zuzuschauen
Wie man nackig baden geht
Es war auch lustig
Dir anzutrauen
Dass ich noch gar nicht lange leb´
Ich danke dir auch
Für die Dinge
Die mir deine Freundin rät
Es war mir niemals
Wirklich deutlich
Wie das Fluchen meine Laune hebt
Das alles macht mir Mut
Now I’ve learned the words
They can pour out of me
Pulled on a rope by your hands
It’s uncertainty
We can let it be
No need to clean up
When you can live with the mess
24 Comments on “Bad Words”
Thea
commented on
Stupid that I’ve had this album on my itunes for a while now (my brother’s friend gave me a load of music one night) and I had no idea about this website the whole time! This is one of my favourite songs, I wish the more expletive song came as a hidden track though. I recently saw that you’re playing in Manchester soon! however I’ll have to see if I can fathom the pennies for it, as I’m a poor student with a mere children’s facepainting job to fund me over the summer….so if i don’t make it, i hope you enjoy the city!
Darío Z
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Ey Peter! Awesome concert last Monday in Madrid! About the song… I have the feeling that when you are not putting a message, any, on the song… it is somehow incomplete. That’s the feeling I have in here. The motivation is quite funny =) but if I would not know… I would say this is an empty, beautiful but empty, statue. Does it make sense? Am I too much into lyrics always? Well… I do rap, maybe that is why…. just in case, I wanted to share =).
p.s. – It sounds super good
Sapna
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Shit.
Peter Broderick
replied on
exactly.
Boris
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This song is so hauntingly beautiful. Thank you for writing this, Peter.
Felix
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On my soundcloud there is a song inspired by you (Twenty-Two) It was once a song on a mixtape for a person I had to leave. (Somehow the link didnt work in the latter posts)
http://soundcloud.com/felix_lau
Felix
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PS: The woman from the bookshop I spent time with is called Jana, too. Accidents happen all the time.
Felix
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Dear Mr. Peter Broderick,
thank you for this album which soothed me when I was in some interpersonal conflict (i got out of it). It’s kinda funny that I couldn’t understand the German lyrics although I am from Germany (Baltic Sea).
This song and especially the lyrics reminded me of a woman I spent some time with two years ago. She was working in a bookshop where I met her and she was the most open minded human being on earth. I will never forgot the time I spent with her. She has another life to live now, but words can’t describe what she gave me.
Benjamin van Vliet
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The video for ‘For Jana’ must have been fun to make too… And that’s quite a strange set of lyrics that Nils wrote!
Peter Broderick
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yes, quite abstract, those lyrics… the animated curse words were a blast to make. i thought, if they are terrible words, then they should look terrible!
Kenny
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Hey Peter,
Your idea was pretty awesome. Perhaps you can include the x-rated version on your next release?
By the way, dude, I really dig the song.
Peter Broderick
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i’m kind of hoping someone will release For Jana on a 7″ one day… we’ll see!
stefan
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Phantastic, both songs, Bad Words and F”*/&%$§§!
Found Your new album on Simfy, can’t stop listening to it. Loolooloop.
Thank You!
S.
jana
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obviously this is my favourite song on the album. – although i’d like to challenge you again to make it even bader. i think some vicious slimey, mutated animal sounds from the canalisation would be wicked. a choir of farting obese farmers from fresno, jamaican burbs in three frequencies, lovemaking noises from mongolia, apes at war, an exploding microwave and then peter with angelical grace singing fuck in a duet with a peter-lookalike in a church brimful of catholics. you gotta challenge the industry, ey?
Peter Broderick
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yes!!!
Peter Broderick
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i’m just gonna throw this out there…
if there’s anyone in this world who’s interested in putting ‘for jana’ on a 7″ . . . i’d be thrilled! i’m thinking a one-sided 7″ with an etching of the text on the backside. wouldn’t that be awesome? or not…
Ralph
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That would be great indeed. By the way, any plans on releasing the whole album on vinyl?
Ralph
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Oh wait, I just realized it already is…
FreddieLeeFroth
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I’ve recently been looking to replace my most favoured personal insult ‘Tit Monkey’, so from this moment on I shall be using ‘Cunt Face’ exclusively … Sheer inspiration …
Peter Broderick
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tit monkey . . . love it!! i’ll have to put that in the next song.
pussyhole
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dont give a fuck bout yall fuck dat shittt
the other Jana
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Großartig Peter! Wie immer.
Thanks for the Copy, again!
PvC
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I keep wondering what the record label’s response would have been. You should have tried at least!
BTW – Wonderful site, wonderful innovative concept, this. Thanks!