"Eisbär" (; ) is a 1980

cult hit A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

composed 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 Spits on the popular nationwid ...

band

Grauzone Grauzone (German for "grey area", ) was a band from Berne, Switzerland, that was active and disbanded in the early 1980s. The band is most famous for their 1981 hit "Eisbär" ("Polar Bear"). The single charted at number 12 in Germany and number ...

. 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.

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 punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

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 Prisonshake was an indie rock band originally formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1986 by Robert Griffin and Scott Pickering. Their first album was the box set ''I'm Really Fucked Now'', which was released in 1990. This album combined a CD, vinyl LP, ca ...

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 ...

discjockey

Frédéric de Backer Y-Traxx was a band consisting of DJ Laurent David, Frédéric De Backer and TC Process. Their EP, '' Mystery Land'', made No. 63 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section m ...

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, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Neue Deutsche Härte Neue Deutsche Härte (; "new German hardness"), sometimes abbreviated as NDH, is a subgenre of rock music that developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and during the early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Wel ...

band

Stahlhammer Stahlhammer (German for "Steel Hammer") is a Neue Deutsche Härte band from Austria that formed in 1992. They incorporate elements from hardcore, groove metal, industrial metal and symphonic metal into their songs. The band has to this date rel ...

covered this song, it appears on the album ''Eisenherz'' (2006). * In 2003,

Knorkator Knorkator is a German band from Berlin that combines heavy metal with comical elements. They proclaim themselves to be "Germany's band in the world" (german: Deutschlands meiste Band der Welt), as the title "The best band in the world" was al ...

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 band from Wolfsburg, formed in 1989. The band pioneered the Neue Deutsche Härte movement. Their work contains lyrics in both English and German, with a shift towards German exclusively on recent albums ('' GlaubeLiebeTo ...

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 ''Wahrheit oder Pflicht'' (; German for "Truth or Dare") is the eighth studio album by the German rock band Oomph!, released in February 2004. It is the band's most commercially successful album, being their only title to achieve platinum status ...

''. * In 2006, The French band

Nouvelle Vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) 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 iconocla ...

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

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are 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; ad ...

has covered the song in live concerts. *

Rodolphe Burger Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788 ...

has covered the song in live concerts with

Stéphane Eicher Stephan Eicher (born 17 August 1960) is a Swiss singer. He sings in a variety of languages, including French, German, English, Italian, Swiss German and Romansh, sometimes using different languages in the same song. Eicher's success started ...

as guest. * In 2016, the song featured in the Swiss-French animated film

My Life as a Courgette ''My Life as a Courgette'' (french: Ma vie de Courgette; also titled ''My Life as a Zucchini'' in North America and Australia) is a 2016 stop-motion animated comedy-drama film directed by Claude Barras, and co-written by Céline Sciamma. It wa ...

. * 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 Sleep ...

band SUPERHIGH recorded a spanish version titled "Oso Polar", and released it as a digital single. * In 2016,

Deathline International Deathline International are an American industrial rock group based in Oakland, California, known for experimenting with multiple electronic music styles. The original nucleus of the band comprised composers Shawn Brice (Wiz Art, Spawn) and Chris ...

covered this song on their Eisbär EP. * In 2017, The German Neue Deutsche Härte band

Eisbrecher Eisbrecher (; German for "icebreaker") are a German Neue Deutsche Härte band that consists primarily of Alexander Wesselsky (vocals) and Noel Pix (lead guitar/ programming), with live support from Jürgen Plangger (guitar), Rupert Keplinger ...

covered this song on their

Sturmfahrt ''Sturmfahrt'' (; German for ''Stormy voyage'') is the seventh studio album by German band Eisbrecher. Track listing * Track 15 appears on the US version and German Limited Edition only * "D-Zug" is a contraction of ''Durchgangzug'', meaning ...

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

References

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