Three white pigeons – a German listening exercise

I took a picture of this pretty white pigeon the other day and it reminded me of a German lesson I held a few years ago. It was  a listening exercise with a song about three white pigeons. On my way home I wondered whether the band who sung this song were still around. So I did some googling, found the song on YouTube and found out that the band was still making music. Not only that, they gave permission for me to use their song for the exercise on this blog post.

So, first of all, who are they?

The band is called EAV, which stands for Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung (First general uncertainty/ uninsurance). It’s an Austrian band which formed in 1977 and, although they have changed members, they are still making music.

And the song?

Here it is:

And the exercise?

Here it is. But unlike some other ‘fill in the gaps’ texts I have deleted whole words and sometimes only parts of words.

Click on the picture to enlarge it:

So, grab a piece of paper and a pen, listen to the video and try and write down the missing words or word endings. There are 17 in total. Once you’re done it (it doesn’t matter how often you listen to the song), you can download an answer sheet  →  ERSTE ALLGEMEINE VERUNSICHERUNG 3 WEIßE TAUBEN LYRICS to see the complete text or you can see the complete text here.

Did you manage to fill in the 17 gaps?

If this made you want to hear more from EAV, read about them on Wikipedia, check out their website or find some of their songs on Youtube. They are also on Facebook.

EDIT 2019: I have just found out that on Saturday 14th September 2019 they gave their final concert. So, although you can still hear their old songs, there will be no more new songs.

EDIT 2021: If you liked this exercise you might like to check out my online course: Improve your German with German songs and learn how to use German songs to improve your German vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, and singing 🙂

You can also get my Music Journal For German Learners: An 8.5 by 11 inches journal for those who want to use German songs to improve their German

Or, if you prefer to keep track of your German music electronically, check out my Journal for Music Loving German Learners Trello Board