This hit single, from Frank Spilker Gruppe's album Mit all den Leuten, lightly and ironically examines what happens when people try to ignore their problems and frustrations, piling them up in the back of their minds.
Frank Spilker is the lead singer and songwriter of the popular German band Die Sterne, who are based in Hamburg. They have been in the business since the mid-1990s, and their trademark is a low-fi pop-rock sound, with simple yet deep and sometimes brilliant lyrics. They belong to the phenomenon of the Hamburger Schule, a musical current which started in the 1980s and which features pop and punk elements and smart songwriting. In 2008, Spilker released the album Mit all den Leuten with his solo project Frank Spilker Gruppe, and its single “Es sieht gut aus” (It Looks Good) was quite a success.
The song is mainly about not dealing with one’s problems, piling them up by suppressing them instead of facing them and eventually getting rid of them. It has an ironic undertone, but it is light in nature and, due to its up-tempo beat, its message is rather subtly deployed. For a first-time listener, it seems as if everything is indeed “sieht gut aus” (is okay), but in the third stanza, Spilker adds that “…es sieht sehr gut aus, wenn man nicht so genau hinsieht,” meaning that everything does indeed look good, as long as one doesn't look too closely.
Spilker is singing about something that many people are familiar with: avoiding problems and running away from responsibilities, until it’s too late. Spilker offers an ironic view of this situation and peppers it with vivid imagery and similes. He compares the problems that have piled up to stinking trash that one should have taken out and which, instead, is now on a pillow: “Du hast das Zeug nicht weg gebracht, das hättest du aber müssen. Jetzt liegt es unverarbeitet und stinkend auf deinem Kissen.” Most likely, it’s a metaphor for the tears that come out at night, as the thoughts which one has suppressed during the day rise to the surface. Not opening a letter does not mean it’s not there, and by ignoring it, a new problem will be waiting just around the corner: “Du weißt, wenn man Briefe nicht öffnet, dann gelten sie trotzdem als zugestellt. Und dass sich zu deinen Problemen auf diese Art noch eins hinzugesellt.“
Spilker, his eyes a-twinkle, names all the possible options one might choose to engage in instead of becoming proactive: running away, beginning therapy, drinking, etc. However, the refrain reminds us that life is a book and that one needs to look up the last page to see that everything will be okay in the end. Later, he compares life to movies, which – after all – usually have a happy ending.
What makes the song so interesting is the combination of light music, a rather serious topic, clever imagery, and great rhymes. We know that ignoring our problems is a bad thing, but at the same time we keep doing it. The song evokes this ambivalence perfectly. Spilker appears to be addressing another person who seems very close, but maybe it’s a conversation with himself after all. The music video offers additional imagery: Spilker singing the song in a dog shelter, the main metaphors being cages and ruffles. Also, it features a great moment in music video history: a dog who sings along with Spilker, completely in tune.
Lyrics in German:
Du hast das Zeug nicht weg gebracht, das hättest du aber müssen. Jetzt liegt es unverarbeitet und stinkend auf deinem Kissen. Am Horizont ziehen Wolken auf - ganz miese dunkle Gesellen. Du weißt nur eines ganz genau: du kannst dich dem jetzt nicht stellen.
Das Leben ist ein Buch und du kannst ja wohl lesen. Du mußt nur hinten nachsehen, wie es weiter geht: Gut aus, es sieht gut aus, es geht gut aus.
Du weißt, wenn man Briefe nicht öffnet, dann gelten sie trotzdem als zugestellt. Und daß sich zu deinen Problemen auf diese Art noch eins zugesellt. Doch jedes Mal, wenn es schwierig wird, schwörst Du wieder auf diese Taktik. Es sieht gut aus es sieht sehr gut aus, wenn man nicht so genau hinsieht.
Das Leben ist ein Film, den so ziemlich jeder kennt und Filme haben meistens jawohl ein Happy End! Gut aus, es sieht gut aus, es geht gut aus.
Was wollen wir machen, Therapie? Oder gehen wir noch mal einen heben? Sollen wir einfach mal jemand anrufen und ihm oder ihr was erzählen? Ich habe einen Vorschlag: ignorieren, das ging doch bis jetzt immer gut. Man gewinnt dadurch etwas Zeit und man kann auch noch flüchten zur Not.
Das Leben ist ein Buch und du kannst ja wohl lesen. Du musst nur hinten nachsehen, wie es weiter geht: Gut aus, es sieht gut aus, es geht gut aus.
Lyrics in English:
You didn’t bring out the stuff, but you should have. Now it’s lying on your pillow, undigested and smelly. There are clouds coming up on the horizon, fearsome dark fellas. And you know one thing is for sure: You can’t take on that challenge now.
Life’s a book and you sure can read. So you just gotta look on the last pages to see how it’s gonna end. Looking good, it’s looking good. It ends well.
You know that when you don’t open a letter it still is considered delivered. And by doing this, the next problem is waiting just around the corner. But each time there’s trouble you place great confidence in that strategy. It’s looking good, it’s looking very good, as long as you don’t look closer.
Life’s a movie which almost everybody knows and movies mostly have a happy ending! Looking good, it’s looking good. It ends well.
What shall we do now? A therapy? Or shall we have a drink? Maybe we should just call somebody and talk to him or her about something? I have a suggestion: ignore it, this worked quite well in the past! You win time and in times of need you can still escape.
Life’s a book and you sure can read. You just gotta look on the last pages to see how it’s gonna end. Looking good, it’s looking good. It ends well.
