| Du bist ein Kunstprodukt | You are an artifact wrought by clever hands, |
| TV makes you Superstar | The glass-eyed oracle crowns you in neon light— |
| Kunstprodukt | A curio of artifice, |
| Popstar, Popstar, wunderbar | Popstar, popstar—marvel cast in gilded night. |
| Du bist so jung | You are untouched by years, |
| Du bist so schön | You bloom, a blossom in first dawn, |
| Du würd'st dich gern | You hunger, quietly, to glimpse— |
| Im Fernsehen sehen | Yourself refracted through the TV’s watery faun. |
| Doch du kannst nichts | But oh, you conjure nothing— |
| Hast kein Talent | No secret fire quickens in your veins, |
| Hast alle Chancen | Fortune scattered chances at your feet, |
| Bisher verpennt | Yet every clock struck silent in your reign. |
| Du schreibst dem Sender | You pen your longing to the station’s lair, |
| Und du hast Glück | And luck, that blind old bird, descends to you, |
| Der Sender schreibt dir | The station, with a flourish, |
| Gleich zurück | Returns your missive, stamped in blue. |
| Nun musst du singen | Now you are told to sing— |
| Und kannst es nicht | And silence blossoms where the notes should grow, |
| Doch das macht ja | Yet in this age, so mercifully numb, |
| Zum Glück heut nichts | No one will care, and none will know. |
| Du bist ein Kunstprodukt | You are an artifact wrought by clever hands, |
| TV makes you Superstar | The glass-eyed oracle crowns you in neon light— |
| Kunstprodukt | A curio of artifice, |
| Popstar, Popstar, wunderbar | Popstar, popstar—marvel cast in gilded night. |
| Ein cooles Image | A mask of cool— |
| Bekommst du jetzt | They graft onto your trembling face, |
| Deine Frisur | Your hair, a banner, |
| Wird gleich ersetzt | Is razored off and fashioned to their taste. |
| Deine Klamotten | Your clothes—those quiet witnesses— |
| Du magst sie nicht | Are banished, scorned, |
| Doch das kümmert | But your sorrow— |
| Dein Management nicht | Means nothing to the chieftains you adorn. |
| Du bist die Puppe | You are a marionette, |
| In einem Spiel | Dangling in the theater of bright desire, |
| Nummer eins sein | To be number one— |
| Ist das Ziel | The summit all the puppeteers require. |
| Du hast’s geschafft | You have attained it: |
| Ein Star zu sein | To step into the star’s white flame, |
| Doch in drei Wochen | Yet in three weeks’ time— |
| Nimmt diesen Platz ein and’rer ein | Another mask will take your name. |
| Du bist ein Kunstprodukt | You are an artifact wrought by clever hands, |
| TV makes you Superstar | The glass-eyed oracle crowns you in neon light— |
| Kunstprodukt | A curio of artifice, |
| Popstar, Popstar, wunderbar | Popstar, popstar—marvel cast in gilded night. |
| Kunstprodukt | A curio of artifice, |
| TV makes you Superstar | The glass-eyed oracle crowns you in neon light— |
| Kunstprodukt | A curio of artifice, |
| Popstar, Popstar, wunderbar | Popstar, popstar—marvel cast in gilded night. |