Ever wonder where some bands come up with their band names? Well, we do, and we’re sick of sitting around scratching our heads about it. We’re hitting the streets (aka. “Internet”) to find the origins behind some of the more bizarre, intriguing or just plain random band names in the scene. Every Wednesday we’ll be pulling the curtain back on a different band and this week it’s Philadelphia punk group The Menzingers.
According to the band’s vocalist / guitarist Tom May their band name is just the phonetic spelling of a German word for “troubadour.” I spent 30 minutes trying to find out exactly what that German word was but eventually Google gave me this error message:
Your search – German words that sound like “troubadour” – is an idiotic search term.
Suggestions:
* Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
* Try different keywords.
* Try more general keywords.
* Just ask a fucking German.
Discover more from Dying Scene
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Markus German
Im am sorry, Tom May was wrong. Menzinger is just a Bavarian (South German) Surename and a name for some places there. It is like calling a Band “the Andersons” which is a actual an american Surname and Anderson Park a Place in Washington.
The real German word for Troubadour is “Minnesänger”. Minne is a medieval word which means “love” and is not used anymore in modern language, only in historical context. Sänger ist just singer. So it is a person who sings lovesongs.
The words are pronounced different, but when doing it very wrong, they could sound similar to foreigners.
“Minnesänger” would sound more like an English speaker saying:
“min-e-sanger”
While Menzinger should sound like:
“Men Tzinger” not “Men singer”
I am actually from South Germany and, born and living close to the mentioned place. So Menzinger is a familiar name to me, i know exactly how to pronounce the words.
So actually the Band pronounces itself like Men who sing, which is actually right. But not like love singers. Maybe they just stick to something American and call them selfes Anderson Park. Haha just joking, actually like The Menzingers for the familiar name ;-).