In Heaven There Is No Beer

"Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier"
Song
Language	German
English title	"In Heaven There Is No Beer"
Published	1956
Genre	Drinking song
Composer(s)	Ralph Maria Siegel
Lyricist(s)	Ernst Neubach

"In Heaven There Is No Beer" is a polka song about the existential pleasures of beer drinking. The title of the song implies a reason for drinking beer while you are still alive. The song in German is "Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier", in Spanish, "En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza". ^[1] It was originally composed as a movie score for the film Die Fischerin vom Bodensee, 1956, by Ernst Neubach and Ralph Maria Siegel. ^[2] The English lyrics are credited to Art Walunas.

The song was the inspiration for the title of the 1984 film and 1985 Sundance Film Festival winner, In Heaven There Is No Beer? , ^[3] which also featured the song "Who Stole the Kishka?". ^[4]

A version of the song by the Amherst, Massachusetts, band Clean Living became a hit in 1972 (US Billboard #49, Cash Box #34; ^[5] Canada #51). ^{[6] [7]}

References

1. "En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza (lyrics in Spanish and Dutch)". Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
2. Siegel, Ralph Maria; Neubach, Ernst (1956). Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier: Marschfox. Aus dem Neubach-Film: Die Fischerin vom Bodensee[In Heaven There is No Beer] (musical score) (in German). Zürich: Helbling. OCLC   81325100.
3. Maslin, Janet (May 23, 1984). "Documentaries on Polka and Bluegrass". New York Times . Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
4. "In Heaven There Is No Beer? (1984)" Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine , IMDb.
5. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 23, 1972". Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
6. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
7. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1972-12-16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2022-12-06.