Burli (song)
Encyclopedia
Burli is the name of a controversial song in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 by Austrian band Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
The EAV is an Austrian band that got together in 1977....

. It is the eighth track of their album entitled Liebe, Tod & Teufel (Love, Death and Devil).

The song is about a boy named Burli, who suffered mutations due to a nuclear power plant disaster. The incident is described as a "Super-GAU", which means the worst possible scenario in such circumstances in the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

. The song details how he suffers problems as a result of this, including having four hands with each having ten fingers, however no-one could play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 as quickly as him. The story does have a happy ending as he gets married to his neighbour Amelia. The song also mentions that he has more than one sex organ.

The song reached number 41 in the German music charts on 6 June 1988 and remained in the charts for seven weeks. It also reached number 24 in the Austrian music charts on 15 June 1988 and remained in the charts for four weeks. The song is controversial because people believed it was making fun of people with disabilities, especially as it was shortly after the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...

, however one main trait of Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
The EAV is an Austrian band that got together in 1977....

is that they are known for singing songs about recent events. It was songs like this which lead to radio stations refusing to play their material.

External links

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