B1 German · relative clauses (die/der/das)
Nachtlichter
A neo-soul night-walk through a city that has just gone quiet, sung by "the woman who counts the lights". It has a music video, and its lyrics are a small workshop in relative clauses — the grammar that lets you glue a description onto a noun.
Generated using AI, checked by people · B1 German · published 2026-09-12
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90%
of this song's words are in the 5,000 most common
60
words from the top 1,000
1–3,911
frequency ranks covered
82
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 Stadt wird leise, der Tag ist vorbei
The city grows quiet, the day is over
Ich bin die Frau, die die Lichter zählt
I count the lights, one, two, three
Verse
Später Abend, der Regen ist warm
Late evening, the rain is warm
Kaffee in der Hand, die Jacke am Arm
Coffee in my hand, my jacket on my arm
Die U-Bahn singt ihr altes Lied
The subway sings its old song
Ich schreib die Zeilen, die keiner sieht
I write the lines that nobody sees
Neonlicht auf nassem Asphalt
Neon light on wet asphalt
Die Nacht ist jung, und ich werd nicht alt
The night is young, and I won't grow old
Chorus
Nachtlichter über meiner Stadt
Night lights over my city
Jede Straße glänzt, jede Farbe satt
Every street shines, every color rich
Ich sing mein Lied, die Welt wird still
I sing my song, the world goes still
Die Nacht gibt mir, was ich will
The night gives me what I want
Verse-short
Ein Fenster leuchtet, jemand ist wach
A window is lit, someone is awake
Musik im Kopf bis in den Tag
Music in my head until the day
Ein Mädchen singt, die Stimme klar
The bass is deep, the voice is clear
Alles gut, wie es immer war
All is well, as it always was
Chorus
Nachtlichter über meiner Stadt
Night lights over my city
Jede Straße glänzt, jede Farbe satt
Every street shines, every color rich
Ich sing mein Lied, die Welt wird still
I sing my song, the world goes still
Die Nacht gibt mir, was ich will
The night gives me what I want
Outro
Die Lichter aus, die Stadt schläft ein
The lights go out, the city falls asleep
Morgen wird sie wieder mein
Tomorrow it will be mine again
A1 · the 60 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 |
| 2 | und | And |
| 3 | in | In (prep.) |
| 4 | ist | To be |
| 4 | bin | To be |
| 4 | war | To be |
| 5 | Ein | A, an |
| 7 | sie | She, her |
| 8 | wird | To become, get |
| 8 | werd | To become, get |
| 10 | Ich | I |
| 11 | nicht | Not |
| 12 | es | It |
| 16 | auf | On, at, to |
| 25 | wie | How |
| 27 | ihr | You, her |
| 36 | Alles | All (pron.) |
| 37 | aus | Out, out of, from |
| 38 | was | What |
| 46 | keiner | No |
| 47 | über | Above, over, about |
| 49 | gibt | To give |
| 51 | meiner | My, mine |
| 51 | mein | My, mine |
| 57 | will | To want to |
| 63 | mir | Me |
| 64 | immer | Always |
| 74 | wieder | Again |
| 76 | gut | Good |
| 77 | bis | Until, till |
| 79 | sieht | To see |
| 87 | Jede | Every |
| 99 | Frau | Woman, wife, Mrs. |
| 111 | Tag | Day |
| 138 | altes | Old |
| 138 | alt | Old |
| 164 | Welt | World |
| 169 | Später | Late |
| 180 | Hand | Hand |
| 184 | schreib | To write |
| 199 | jung | Young |
| 204 | Stadt | City, town |
| 239 | klar | Clear |
| 250 | Kopf | Head |
| 325 | Nacht | Night |
| 330 | jemand | Someone, somebody |
| 342 | Abend | Evening |
| 391 | Straße | Street |
| 399 | Stimme | Voice, vote |
| 436 | Lichter | Light |
| 509 | Musik | Music |
| 527 | Arm | Arm |
| 602 | Mädchen | Girl |
| 616 | am | The (+superlative) |
| 621 | Morgen | Morning |
| 674 | Fenster | Window |
| 679 | schläft | To sleep |
| 704 | zählt | To count |
B1 grammar note
die, der, das as relative pronouns
"Ich bin die Frau, die die Lichter zählt" and "Ich schreib die Zeilen, die keiner sieht": here die is not an article but a relative pronoun standing in for the noun before it, and — as always in a relative clause — the verb (zählt, sieht) lands at the end. The pronoun copies the gender of its noun (die Frau → die, das Fenster → das), which is why keeping track of gender pays off the moment you start joining sentences.
Questions
- What level is "Nachtlichter"?
- B1 German. 60 of its 82 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 3,911.
- What grammar does this song teach?
- die, der, das as relative pronouns. "Ich bin die Frau, die die Lichter zählt" and "Ich schreib die Zeilen, die keiner sieht": here die is not an article but a relative pronoun standing in for the noun before it, and — as always in a relative clause — the verb (zählt, sieht) lands at the end.
- 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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