"Eisbär" (German for "polar bear"; ) is a 1980 song by the Swiss

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Ritmeester on the popular na ...

band Grauzone. A cult hit, it first appeared on the 1980 compilation album ''Swiss Wave – The Album''. The shorter single version was later collected on the Grauzone album ''Die Sunrise Tapes'' (1998). The song features a man singing he wants to be "a polar bear in the cold polar", because by being one he "wouldn't have to cry any longer and everything would be fine." The instrumental arrangement also evokes an Arctic atmosphere. Grauzone recorded in 1982 an English-language version (Polar Bear) of the song, which was first released in 2010 on the double CD ''Grauzone 1980–1982 Remastered''. The song is

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

performed with guitar, drums and synthesizers.

Track listing

; 7" single (1981) : A "Eisbär" (4:17) : B "Ich lieb sie" (I Love Her) (3:18) ; 12" single (1981) : A "Eisbär" (4:17) : B1 "Ich lieb sie" (3:18) : B2 "Film 2" (3:35)

Chart performance

Covers and cultural references

* In 1990, Polar Pop (feat. Mc Grzimek) released a house version of the song. * In 1993, Prisonshake released a cover version on the B-side of their "Two Sisters" single. * In 1996, Scholle (ohne Schwester C.) produced a dance version on the compilation NDD – New German Dancefloor Stufe 3. * In 1997, The Belgian

hard house UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

disc jockey Frédéric de Backer released a cover of the song under the pseudonym GrooveZone. It was released in 24 countries and sold over 300,000 copies. * In 2001, The

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Neue Deutsche Härte (; "New German Hardness", sometimes abbreviated as NDH), also known as dance-metal, is a crossover style drawing from Neue Deutsche Welle, alternative metal, groove metal, electro-industrial and techno. It developed in Germany and Austria d ...

band Stahlhammer covered this song, it appears on the album ''Eisenherz'' (2006). * In 2003, Knorkator feat. Holger Klein interpreted the song. * In 2004, The German band Razzia covered Eisbär on their album Relativ Sicher Am Strand (2004) * In 2004, The German Neue Deutsche Härte band

Oomph! Oomph! is a German Rock music, rock band from Wolfsburg, formed in 1989. The band pioneered the movement. Their work contains lyrics in both English and German, with a shift towards German exclusively on recent albums (''GlaubeLiebeTod'', '' ...

released their version of the song as a B-side on the single "Augen Auf!", and on a new edition version of '' Wahrheit oder Pflicht''. * In 2006, The French band

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

recorded a version of the song for their album '' Bande à Part'' *

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls is an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; add ...

has covered the song in live concerts. * Rodolphe Burger has covered the song in live concerts with Stéphane Eicher as guest. * In 2016, the song featured in the Swiss-French animated film My Life as a Courgette. * In 2016, Mexican

Stoner Rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

band SUPERHIGH recorded a Spanish version titled "Oso Polar", and released it as a digital single. * In 2016, Deathline International covered this song on their Eisbär EP. * In 2017, The German Neue Deutsche Härte band

Eisbrecher ; ) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band founded by Alexander Wesselsky and Noel Pix after their departure from Megaherz, with the founders describing their music style as "modern, electronic trip-rock". The band consists primarily of Alexand ...

covered this song on their

Sturmfahrt ''Sturmfahrt'' (; German for ''Stormy voyage'') is the seventh studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Eisbrecher, released in 2017 by Metropolis Records. Track listing * Track 15 appears on the US version and German Limited Edition ...

album.Eisbrecher – Sturmfahrt (Discogs)
/ref> * In 2018 the band Mind Spiders covered the song and translated the lyrics to English on their album Furies. * In 2020 Eisbär was added to the Grand Theft Auto radio station, Kult F.M. * In 2021, Sam Vance-Law released a cover of the song on his NDW EP. * In 2021 the band Melenas from Navarra (Spain) released their version of the song called "Osa Polar" in Spanish. * In 2022, German group Brutalismus 3000 released a cover of the song as a single. * In 2023, Swiss group YC-CY performed the song on their tour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisbar (Song) Swiss songs in German Swiss pop songs 1981 singles 1980 songs Arctic in fiction