This music lets you know you’re at Oktoberfest!
They’re there every year: One or more Oktoberfest hits to which the visitors sway, dance, and climb onto the beer benches. While some of these hits remain “one hit wonders,” there are others that have become an integral part of the tents.
Oktoberfest: The biggest hits in the festival tents
German-language Oktoberfest hits:
- Spider Murphy Gang - Skandal im Sperrbezirk
- Die Draufgänger - Cordula Green
- Andreas Gabalier - Hulapalu
- Die jungen Zillertaler - So a schöner Tag (Fliegerlied)
- De Höhner - Viva Colonia (Da simmer dabei, dat is prima!)
- DJ Robin & Schürze - "Layla"
International Otkoberfest Hits:
- Robbie Williams - Angels
- Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
- Four Non Blondes - What's Up
- John Denver - (Take Me Home) Country Roads
- Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline
- Doris Day and Frank De Vol - Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera Sera)
- DJ Ötzi - Hey Baby
- Ricchi e Poveri - „Sara perché ti amo“
Ziller Valley or Cologne: From all over the world to the Oktoberfest
Of course, there are plenty of alpine songs that have what it takes to become a Oktoberfest hit, but Oktoberfest visitors who enjoy celebrating are also cosmopolitan and open-minded! So not only does the famous “Zillertaler Hochzeitsmarsch” (Ziller Valley Wedding March) by the “Zillertaler Schürzenjäger” from Austria sound in all harmony, but so too does the rousing “Viva Colonia” by “de Höhner.” Tolerance in, tolerance out — of course “Bavaria” is sung on the Wiesn instead of “Colonia.” Year after year, DJ Ötzi sings about his “Anton” from Tyrol, which is not that far away, and from his neighbors to the south comes the indispensable “Fürstenfeld” (Princely Field). Rex Gildo advertises for the Fiesta Mexicana, and year after Oktoberfest year, Tony Christie looks for the “Weg nach Amarillo” (Way to Amarillo). And even if nobody wants to go home yet: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by Tom Astor always works.
“Der alte Holzmichl,” “Atemlos,” and “Cordula Grün”
While the above mentioned songs create an endless atmosphere and only evoke positive emotions, there are other Oktoberfest hits that polarize the listeners. Quite a few people would happily pop Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” just so they didn’t have to hear the song anymore. To the question “Lebt denn der alte Holzmichl noch?” (Does the old Holzmichl still live?), a majority of the visitors would love to answer with “Not for long, if it’s up to me.” And by now, some Oktoberfest guests couldn’t care less whether Helene Fischer is “Atemlos” (Breathless) or if her oxygen supply works perfectly. Others, on the other hand, love the classics. One of the most recent examples of Oktoberfest hits that rub some people the wrong way is “Cordula Grün” (Cordula Green). If you hear this song in the Oktoberfest tents, you can really observe every human emotion from pure enthusiasm to “I’m just going to go the bathroom.”
The meaning of Hulapalu...
… has yet to be fully clarified. But it doesn’t matter: Oktoberfest only comes once a year and people are going to yell along, even if nobody knows what it’s all about. Andreas Gabalier and his “Hulapalu” are already a cult hit on the Oktoberfest, and as soon as the Oktoberfest bands play the first notes, the atmosphere in the tents regularly boils over. Incidentally, Gabalier himself once said in an interview that everyone is allowed to imagine what they like under the “not quite G-rated” Hulapalu. That’s quite nice.
