"Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha" (usually shortened to "Da Da Da") is a song by the German band Trio. Trio was formed in 1980 by Stephan Remmler, Gert "Kralle" Krawinkel and Peter Behrens. Released as a single in 1982 and featured on their 1981 self-titled debut album, "Da Da Da" became a hit in Germany and about 30 other countries, selling 13 million copies worldwide. The lyrics were written by Remmler, the music by Krawinkel. "Da Da Da" remains the band's biggest German hit and their only hit outside Germany.

Background and composition

It is known in many language versions:

  • German version as "" (or simply "")
  • English version as "Da Da Da I don't love you you don't love me"
  • French version as ""

The song "Da Da Da" became quite popular despite being extremely repetitive. It was a product of the Neue Deutsche Welle (or NDW). However, Trio preferred the name , which means "New German Cheerfulness", to describe their music. At that time, popular songs were based on extremely simple structures that were ornately produced. Trio's main principle was to remove almost all the ornamentation and polish from their songs, and to use the simplest practical structures (most of their songs were three-chord songs). For this reason, many of their songs are restricted to drums, guitar, vocals, and just one or maybe two other instruments, if any at all. Bass was used very infrequently until their later songs, and live shows often saw Remmler playing some simple pre-programmed rhythms and melodies on his small Casio VL-1 keyboard while Behrens played his drums with one hand and ate an apple with the other. Remmler used a contact microphone on his throat to achieve a different timbre to his voice on lyrics where he stepped away from the regular mic.

Charts

  • The song was a chart success in more than 30 countries.
  • The German version of "Da Da Da" reached No. 2 on the charts (April 1982). There were three versions: the single version (3:23), a long version (6:36). The live version was included in the album Trio live im Frühjahr 82 (1:32). The B-side of the 7-inch single release was "Sabine Sabine Sabine", whereas the B-side of the maxi-single carried two more songs: "Halt mich fest ich werd verrückt" and "Lady-O-Lady".
  • In the UK, "Da Da Da" hit No. 2 in July 1982.
  • In Canada, it peaked at No. 3 in December 1982.
  • In France, the song was made more popular in 1982 with Zam making a French version titled "Da Da Da je t'aime pas tu m'aimes pas".
  • In the US, the song peaked at No. 33 on the Dance/Disco Top 80 chart.

| align="center"|3

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!scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)

|align="center"|4

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!scope="row"|Denmark (IFPI)

|2

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!scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)

|2

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!scope="row"|France (IFOP)

|3

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!scope="row"|Iceland (Dagblaðið Vísir)

|align="center"|3

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!scope="row"|Israel

|2

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!scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi)

|align="center"|5

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!scope="row"|Portugal (AFP)

|4

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!scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio)

|1

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!scope="row"|Spain (AFYVE)

|align="center"|7

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!scope="row"|US Dance/Disco Top 80 (Billboard)

|33

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1982)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)

|28

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!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

|9

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!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

|7

|-

!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (RPM)

|25

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!scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ)

|2

|-

!scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio)

|6

|-

!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|3

|}

Sales and certifications

Cover versions

  • In 1982, German singer and actor Frank Zander released a cover of the song titled "Da da da ich weiß Bescheid, du weißt Bescheid" that also reached number two on the West German chart. The same year, an Italian version made by I Masters (a trio formed by three Italian young men, Paolo Paltrinieri, Lorenzo Canovi and Romeo Corpetti) called Da Da Da Mundial '82 was made after Italy's victory at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, with the lyrics honouring the Italian team, with the part prior to the refrain, before the "Aha" saying Son tutti figli di Bearzot (translated, They are all sons of Bearzot).
  • Elastica covered the song on their 2000 album The Menace.
  • Since 2008, a variation of "Da Da Da" has been used by the Austrian retail chain INTERSPAR for its television and radio presence. The song has also been incorporated into the retail chain’s slogan ("Alles da da da", ).
  • In early 2019, YouTuber MaximillianMus created a parody titled, "Oh Yeah Yeah", and ordered his fanbase to take over YouTube comment sections, title-dropping the song across many videos on the platform, prompting YouTuber/rapper KSI to address the meme in one of his videos.
  • In 2010, Señor Coconut released a cover of "Da Da Da" on National Records.

See also

  • Dada
  • Lists of number-one singles (Austria)
  • List of number-one singles from the 1980s (New Zealand)
  • List of number-one singles of the 1980s (Switzerland)

Note

References

  • Lyrics of "Da Da Da"