Bring Me Edelweiss

"Bring Me Edelweiss" is a song by Austrian band Edelweiss, first released in late 1988 as a stand-alone single, then later included on their debut album Wonderful World of Edelweiss. The song was a hit in Europe and New Zealand, reaching the number-one position in six countries and peaking within the top five on several other music charts, going on to sell over five million copies worldwide. The song contains numerous samples from other artists and features yodeling.

"Bring Me Edelweiss"
Single by Edelweiss
from the album Wonderful World of Edelweiss
B-side"Kitz-Stein-Horn"
Released1988
Length3:42
LabelGiG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Martin Gletschermayer
  • Walter Werzowa
Edelweiss singles chronology
"Bring Me Edelweiss"
(1988)		 "I Can't Get No... Edelweiss"
(1989)
Music video
"Bring Me Edelweiss" on YouTube

Origin and content

In 1988, British electronic band the Timelords (better known as the KLF) scored a number-one hit in the United Kingdom and New Zealand with the novelty song "Doctorin' the Tardis",[1][2] which samples a number of songs, including Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" and The Sweet's "Block Buster!". As a result of the song's success, the band published a book entitled The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way).[3] Written by members Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, the book instructed—as a joke—how to earn a number-one hit without much work. One instruction, "Compose your music with bits you've nicked from other songs",[4] was supposedly followed by Edelweiss, allowing them to compose "Bring Me Edelweiss."

The song features many samples. The primary sample, which the song's chorus is based on, is ABBA's 1975 song "SOS". ABBA usually do not allow other artists to sample their music, and they claimed Edelweiss never contacted them and never had permission to sample "SOS".[4] However, members of the band claim that they managed to get one of ABBA's publishers to provide them with a contract during a drunken phone call in broken English.[5] Other samples in the song include the 'Ow!'s from "Rock Me Amadeus" by fellow Austrian musician Falco, sections of Indeep's 1983 song "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life", and the 'Ah yeah' from Run-DMC's "Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)".[6] Yodeling is also common throughout the song, and the female vocals are provided by Austrian singer Maria Mathis.

Jason Roth of NPR described the song's music video as "a cleavage-soaked Alpine fever dream".[7]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[39] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[40] Gold 25,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 5,000,000[4]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 12 June 1988 – 18 June 1988". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. "Single Top 40 28/08/1988". charts.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. Messker, David (3 September 2008). "White Label Wednesday: Edelweiss, "Bring Me Edelweiss"". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. "Bring Me Edelweiss by Edelweiss". Songfacts. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  5. Roth, Jason (20 July 2017). "The KLF's Greatest Protégés Didn't Really Know What Was Going on". NPR.
  6. "Bring Me Edelweiss by Edelweiss". Whosampled. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. Roth, Jason (20 July 2017). "The KLF's Greatest Protégés Didn't Really Know What Was Going On". NPR. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  9. Bring Me Edelweiss (US cassette single sleeve). Edelweiss. Atlantic Records. 1988. 7 4-88911.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Bring Me Edelweiss (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Edelweiss. Atlantic Records. 1989. 0-86423.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Bring Me Edelweiss (Canadian 12-inch single vinyl disc). Edelweiss. Warner Music Group. 1989. 24 68960.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Bring Me Edelweiss (Austrian maxi-CD single liner notes). Edelweiss. Edelweiss Production. 2001. 413.0101.3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  14. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 6392." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 9. 4 March 1989. p. 14. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 4. 28 January 1989. p. 17. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  17. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 18. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bring Me Edelweiss". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  20. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  22. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". VG-lista. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  23. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  24. "Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  26. "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. 1 July 1989. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  27. "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 17 June 1989. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  28. "Alternative Airplay". Billboard. 10 June 1989. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  30. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2002" (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  31. "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  32. "Eurochart Hot 100 – 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  33. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1989". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  34. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989" (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  35. "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  36. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1989". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  37. "Year End Singles". Record Mirror. 27 January 1990. p. 44.
  38. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1989" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  39. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Edelweiß; 'Bring Me Edelweiß')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  40. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
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