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“Da Sepp” is an incredibly harsh but extremely funny G’stanzal (Bavarian folk song) by singer/songwriter Hans Söllner, who hails from the town of Bad Reichenhall in the Bavarian district of Oberbayern. Söllner is a vegetarian Rastafarian, with blonde dreadlocks and a stubby beard, and he is famous for his Bavarian reggae and his fight for the legalization of marihuana. “Da Sepp,” however, moves away from his reggae songs and follows a traditional G’stanzal set-up.

"Don’t say Söllner didn’t warn you about Bayern culture!"

The lyrics deal with a typical Sepp – a very common “farmer” name, derived from Joseph – who is a disgustingly rude old Bavarian. The song describes his daily routines with coarse exaggeration. It is a Bavarian gift to be able to make fun of one’s self, as manifested in the song’s refrain: “Ja des is echte Bayernculture; Heimatabend, Wienerwalzer, Knedeln fressen, Bladeln, Speim, A wen Kultur muas sein” (Yes, this is real Bavarian culture; country-evenings, Vienna waltzing, stuffing ourselves with dumplings, Bladeln [a traditional folk dance from the Alpine regions of Bavaria and Austria], puking, a little culture is necessary). The lyrics explain how “Sepp hod heit sei Frau scho gfotzt, ja wenns ihr Fotzn hoidn dad” (Sepp has already beaten his wife today, because she wouldn’t shut her trap). There is Bavarian wordplay going on here. “Fotzn” can mean three things: to beat or punch someone, someone’s mouth, or, even crasser, a woman’s genitals.

Another verse, which paints a particularly accurate picture of Bavarian humor and household hierarchy, is about Sepp’s son. He refuses to bring his father a beer, so Sepp “beats him under a table.” Although the expression can seem somewhat extreme, it’s actually considered light-hearted humor in Bavaria. Telling someone “I kan’t da oana eine haun” (I could pop you one), when he or she has forgotten something important or done something silly, is not considered aggressive or bad-tempered, though Bavarians do have a reputation for being grumpy. Elsewhere, we read: “Uh da Sepp a solche Drecksau aber a” (Oh Sepp what a pig). Ending the statement with “aber a” (or “aber auch,” which means “but as well”) just adds extra emphasis. Although “Sau” (swine) is used beyond Bavarian borders, its roots as a swear word – especially with the add-on “Drecksau” (filthy swine) – are likely in the valleys and mountains, “im tiefstem Bayernland” (deep in Bavaria). One of the final verses in the song reads: “Sepp already drank Weissbier today. Stuffed himself with garlic, shat, stank. He left the door wide open on purpose. The whole house stank.” Ladies and Gentleman, Damen und Herren: Don’t say Söllner didn’t warn you about Bayern culture!

Lyrics in English:

Sepp
Does Ulm still belong to Bavaria
Ohoh, yeah In the depths of our hearts we're all Bavarians.
The first human was black, that was a Bavarian,
and with time they all got paler.

Oh Sepp
Hey Sepp, you're so smart, huh Sepp.
Tell me why didn't they bury Strauss in Wackersdorf
back in the dar? Ha sepp, you don't know that,
huh, Sepp. Right you don't know that.
Because it would've turned into the repossessing plant.

Sepp already beat his wife today
Cause she never shuts her trap
and if she would have shut her yap
she would have saved herself a slap.

Sepp already wound up his boy today.
He already showed him how things work around here,
he refused to bring him a beer so he beat him under the table.

REFRAIN

Yes that's real Bavarian culture
Country-evening, Vienna waltzing,
stuffing ourselves with dumplings, Bladeln, puking,
a little culture's necessary.

Sepp already played cards today
lost everything, what you gonna do?
But because it made him so grumpy,
he slaughtered a breeding pig.

Sepp already kanoodled his wife today,
while she was cooking, inside the house
she defended herself, scratched and spat
in the end she barfed in his pants.

Oh Sepp what a filthy pig

REFRAIN

Sepp already drank Weissbier today.
Stuffed himself with garlic, shat, stank.
He left the door wide open on purpose
the whole house stank.

Sepp already whipped and yodeled,
in Reichenhall the crowd went wild.
Preissen (North Germans) everyone laughs
when Sepp makes an ass of himself

REFRAIN

Hamburg, Bochum everyone knows
all of Bavaria is a mental institution.
Cowshit-shovelers we're all the same,
I'm so embarrassed for you all,
Cowshit-shovelers, we're all the same,
I'm so ashamed for you all.