Who is Bodo Wartke, German music artist behind viral Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar song on TikTok?

A rap titled Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar, which was originally made by Bodo Wartke, has recently gone viral on TikTok, accompanied by a dance as well. Viewers are now questioning who the singer is, and what the song is about since it is originally sung in German.

Bodo Wartke is one of the most well-known music comedians in Germany. His songs usually consist of several interesting and diverse themes including politics, women, capitalism, and society. Wartke is also a piano artist, as reported by Last.fm. Most of his songs are based on regular events.

---

German musician Bodo Wartke's life and career explored

The main excitement of knowing about Bodo Wartke, arose after his song went viral on TikTok. Born in 1977, Bodo is a singer who makes songs on several topics that are mostly related to regular happenings in a person's life including love and society. With the release of his first lengthy feature show Ich denke, also sing' ich (unterwegs) (Engl. I think, therefore I sing).

Bodo Wartke has been a music comedian since 1996, and is currently a part of about three tours, under three separate programs. He has become famous for proving that it wasn't necessary to make fun of someone in order to be funny.

The original TikTok video that featured the viral song garnered about 19 million views. While he did not write the tongue twister on which the piece was based, the rap element added to it made it unique and catchy. As it went viral, several people made videos with the song. One viewer reacted to the original video, saying,

"Sir, I don’t know what you’re saying, but you have my full attention."

While the song had become quite viral, a lot of people failed to understand what it was about due to its language. Many viewers even claimed they saw similarities between the viral rap and the Dog of Wisdom meme that went viral in 2015. According to a report by Dexerto, some fans of the song explained what the song was about. The song told the story of a woman named Barbara and her famous rhubarb cake. She then decided to open a rhubarb bar in the village after demand for her cake began to grow.

In the same village, apart from Barbara, there also lived barbarians who were regular at her bar. They came there so often that the group of barbarians came to be known as "rhubarb bar barbarians." The tongue twister used in the music piece primarily focused on the barbarians who were asked to leave acting that way, and instead visit Barbara's bar.

After the barbarians began visiting her bar, she claimed that they became friendlier than "Barbapapa" (a children's book character). The song further talked about Barbara sending them to a barber's place to get their hair trimmed and shaved since the barbarians were too hairy.

---

Overall, the rap has become quite viral over time, with the viewers enjoying the track quite a lot. Several American influencers have been a part of this trend lately, along with the rap creators themselves.