B1 German · wenn-clauses + verb-final word order
Letzter Plattenladen
Closing time in the last record shop in town: the owner hums an old song, dust hangs in the warm light, and nobody wants to leave. A wistful jazz-pop piece whose chorus turns on how German times an event with wenn.
Generated using AI, checked by people · B1 German · published 2026-09-12
The lights dim very slowly
The door sounds softly in its frame
I am the woman who still stays late
Among sleeves that smell of passing years
The owner hums an old song
We laugh softly between the shelves
Time stands still in the warm dust
Hold me tight inside this sound
When the shop slowly closes its eyes
Old records spin around our dreams
Until the final needle finds its peace
He turns the sign to "Closed today"
We count our steps out to the street
The evening carries us like a song
Hold me tight inside this sound
When the shop slowly closes its eyes
Old records spin around our dreams
Until the final needle finds its peace
The key turns, but the song remains
We walk outside, the night ends completely still
90%
of this song's words are in the 5,000 most common
57
words from the top 1,000
1–3,932
frequency ranks covered
80
unique words in the lyrics
Lyrics, line by line
Hover or tap a word for its meaning and frequency rank (1 = most common).
Intro
Die Lichter dimmen ganz langsam
The lights dim very slowly
Die Tür klingt leise im Rahmen
The door sounds softly in its frame
Verse
Ich bin die Frau, die spät noch bleibt
I am the woman who still stays late
Zwischen Hüllen, die nach Jahren riechen
Among sleeves that smell of passing years
Der Besitzer summt ein altes Lied
The owner hums an old song
Wir lachen leise zwischen den Regalen
We laugh softly between the shelves
Die Zeit bleibt stehen im warmen Staub
Time stands still in the warm dust
Chorus
Halte mich fest in diesem Klang
Hold me tight inside this sound
Wenn der Laden seine Augen schließt
When the shop slowly closes its eyes
Alte Platten drehen unsere Träume
Old records spin around our dreams
Bis die letzte Nadel Frieden findet
Until the final needle finds its peace
Verse-short
Er dreht das Schild auf "Heute zu"
He turns the sign to "Closed today"
Wir zählen Schritte bis zur Straße
We count our steps out to the street
Der Abend trägt uns wie ein Song
The evening carries us like a song
Chorus
Halte mich fest in diesem Klang
Hold me tight inside this sound
Wenn der Laden seine Augen schließt
When the shop slowly closes its eyes
Alte Platten drehen unsere Träume
Old records spin around our dreams
Bis die letzte Nadel Frieden findet
Until the final needle finds its peace
Outro
Der Schlüssel dreht, doch das Lied bleibt
The key turns, but the song remains
Wir gehen hinaus, die Nacht ist ganz still zu Ende
We walk outside, the night ends completely still
A1 · the 57 words to know first
Every word in this song that sits in the 1,000 most common German words, by rank.
| Rank | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Die | The |
| 1 | Der | The |
| 1 | den | The |
| 1 | das | The |
| 3 | in | In (prep.) |
| 4 | bin | To be |
| 4 | ist | To be |
| 5 | ein | A, an |
| 10 | Ich | I |
| 15 | Er | He |
| 16 | auf | On, at, to |
| 21 | zu | To |
| 21 | zur | To |
| 24 | diesem | This, that |
| 25 | wie | How |
| 26 | Wir | We |
| 33 | noch | Still, yet |
| 34 | nach | After, toward |
| 42 | Wenn | If, when |
| 53 | Jahren | Year |
| 65 | mich | Me |
| 66 | gehen | To go |
| 69 | ganz | Whole, all the |
| 73 | doch | However, but |
| 75 | unsere | Us, we |
| 75 | uns | Us, we |
| 77 | Bis | Until, till |
| 85 | stehen | To stand |
| 96 | Zeit | Time |
| 99 | Frau | Woman, wife, Mrs. |
| 103 | findet | To find |
| 105 | Zwischen | Between |
| 113 | bleibt | To stay, remain |
| 116 | Heute | Today |
| 138 | altes | Old |
| 152 | letzte | Last |
| 155 | Halte | To stop, hold |
| 169 | spät | Late |
| 183 | Ende | End |
| 222 | Augen | Eye |
| 271 | trägt | To carry, wear |
| 325 | Nacht | Night |
| 342 | Abend | Evening |
| 350 | schließt | To close |
| 375 | Tür | Door |
| 376 | Schritte | Step |
| 391 | Straße | Street |
| 436 | Lichter | Light |
| 444 | lachen | To laugh |
| 526 | langsam | Slow |
| 567 | fest | Firm, solid |
| 700 | klingt | To sound |
| 704 | zählen | To count |
| 753 | Rahmen | Frame, framework |
| 788 | drehen | To turn |
| 788 | dreht | To turn |
| 992 | Träume | Dream |
B1 grammar note
wenn — 'when' pushes the verb to the end
"Halte mich fest … wenn der Laden seine Augen schließt": wenn ('when / whenever') opens a subordinate clause, so the verb schließt slides all the way to the end, after its object seine Augen. English keeps the verb up front — 'when the shop closes its eyes' — while German saves it for last. "Bis die letzte Nadel Frieden findet" then does exactly the same with bis: two of the small conjunctions that reliably send the verb to the back.
Questions
- What level is "Letzter Plattenladen"?
- B1 German. 57 of its 80 unique words are in the 1,000 most common German words, and 90% are in the top 5,000, so it is readable early and still teaches ranks up to 3,932.
- What grammar does this song teach?
- wenn — 'when' pushes the verb to the end. "Halte mich fest … wenn der Laden seine Augen schließt": wenn ('when / whenever') opens a subordinate clause, so the verb schließt slides all the way to the end, after its object seine Augen.
- Is the song real or AI-generated?
- The song, video and translations are generated using AI and checked by people. Every page says so, and the lyrics are original — no licensed recordings are used.
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