Top 10 Best Renditions of "Nessaja"
Nessaja, also known as Ich wollte nie erwachsen sein (I never wanted to be an adult) or Nessajas Lied (Nessaja's Song), is a song by Romanian-German singer-songwriter Peter Maffay, first released in 1983 as the closing track of his concept album Tabaluga oder: Die Reise zur Vernunft. It was composed by Maffay, with the original German lyrics written by Rolf Zuckowski.In the context of the album - which centers around a young dragon named Tabaluga who is on a journey to understand the concept of reason - the song is sung by the wise old turtle Nessaja. Nessaja tells Tabaluga that, even after all these years, he has remained a child inside and never truly wanted to grow up. The song has a slightly melancholic and nostalgic feel, with a bittersweet tone that becomes more positive as it progresses. It can be fully appreciated even without knowledge of the rest of the album.
Following the album's success, Tabaluga became a beloved character in various forms of media, including cartoons, books, and musicals. This popularity reached such an extent that few people realize he originated from a music album by a well-respected musician. Ironically, Peter Maffay himself is equally famous, though this is unrelated to the song's success. Nessaja has become a well-known and frequently performed classic, with many people unaware of its original context within the album.
The lyrics - about staying true to one's inner child until the end of life (translated from German: somewhere deep inside me / I remained a child / only then when I can't feel it anymore / I know it's too late for me) - may also symbolize freedom and remaining unspoiled by society's pressures. This theme has resonated with listeners, making it a moving and melodious song that is popular for live performances. While the song initially charted at number 17, its popularity grew over time, thanks to numerous performances by Maffay and other artists, ultimately establishing it as one of the most famous German songs of all time.
Internationally, audiences are likely most familiar with Scooter's trance-style cover version, which was featured in the opening moments of the comedy movie Brüno. This rendition is also the most commercially successful version of the song, having charted in multiple countries - often in the top ten - and peaking at number one in Germany.
Although the original will always remain the classic and of course needs to be acknowledged as the introduction of the tune, I personally think with his 2010 re-recording Peter Maffay created an even more powerful version. Apart from containing a beautiful string section, this version also has a very climactic build-up that ends in a fantastic grand finale.
The classic 1983 version of the tune has, without a doubt, the most emotional performance next to Maffay's own 2010 rendition. It's a slow-paced, beautiful, and meaningful ballad that I regard as one of the greatest achievements in German music.
In 2017, popular techno producer Alex Christensen, also known as Alex C., hired the Berlin Orchestra to record several classic eurodance and techno songs of the 90s in a symbiosis of classical and electronic music. Though I was initially highly skeptical and expected a big fail (you don't cover or remix eurodance classics - they are sacred. They are what the 90s sounded like, at least over here), I ended up unexpectedly liking the album and how it manages to combine the orchestral and old-school techno elements.
His version of Nessaja is even better than Scooter's - which, by the way, wasn't released in the 90s but in 2002, so the track shouldn't have been on the record in the first place.
Translating "Nessaja"'s lyrics into English, pitching the vocals up to a chipmunk degree, interpolating the melody of "Baker Street" played on a synthesizer, and of course, having H.P. Baxxter shouting bizarre sentence fragments into the mic, Scooter created one of the most iconic techno songs to date. Somehow, despite all the odds, it manages to keep a bit of emotion from the original.
Because of this cheap-looking cover artwork, I briefly hesitated to put this up here. If Engel were an artist without a label contract that had to craft everything on his own, that would have been excusable. However, he actually wrote hit songs for well-known German celebrities - although not exactly artists that I like.
But you have to acknowledge when something is done well, and this harmonica cover sounds very graceful.
People can hate on Helene Fischer all they want, but this woman has a great voice. Her music may be soulless pop, but she's definitely talented in what she does: singing.
Naturally, ballads are easy cake for someone who can sing. She may not have the nostalgic bittersweetness of Maffay, but it still feels enchanting and magical.
23 was a short-lived collaboration project from hip-hop superstars Bushido and Sido that was only active in 2011. This was at a time when both were at their poppiest and didn't have the best standing in German hip-hop, although they later recovered significantly and are legends now.
In that era, dark and aggressive German hip-hop was at a commercial low point, and many rappers tried to become more radio-friendly by collaborating with popular music stars. It mostly works out on "Erwachsen sein," though. Peter Maffay re-recorded the most famous segment of the song, the first verse, which serves as the chorus, and the string segment of the 2010 version was sampled at the end. Bushido and Sido rap about realizing they get older and start to change, but deep inside, they always remained the same.
It's not their greatest song, but it's good.
This is a beautiful-sounding, enchanting instrumental piano cover that works exactly for what it is. A song with such a great melody packed with emotion is more than suitable for a piano version.
It's solid. It's not exciting or spectacular, and it doesn't get to me emotionally, but it's sung and performed flawlessly, without there being much innovative about it.
It's neither as iconic nor as great as Scooter's chart-topping approach, but this techno version is also fine for a dance party. It's not thrilling, but it has a nice, stomping beat and cool synths. The gazillion other remixes of this version are quite underwhelming.