Bernd Meinunger (* September 30, 1944 in Meiningen; † October 17, 2025 in Grünwald) was a German lyricist. In collaboration with Ralph Siegel, he wrote numerous hits such as "Ein bißchen Frieden" (A Little Peace), "Dschinghis Khan" (Dschinghis Khan), and "Theater" (Theater). In total, he wrote around 5,500 songs, including 1,000 in English.

Meinunger was born in Meiningen, Thuringia, in 1944. He was a school friend of Michael Kunze, who is also a songwriter. Meinunger grew up in Ruhla, Mainz, and Isny and graduated from high school in Munich in 1964. He began his professional career as a research associate in the agricultural department of the ifo Institute for Economic Research. He holds a doctorate in agricultural science.

In collaboration with Ralph Siegel, he created numerous hits such as "Ein bißchen Frieden" (Nicole), "Dschinghis Khan" (Dschinghis Khan), "Theater" (Katja Ebstein), and "Und wer küßt mich" (Roland Kaiser), some of which were successful at the Eurovision Song Contest. He has worked with many German-speaking artists; for example, Peter Maffay sang Meinunger's song "So bist du" (1979). He has also worked under pseudonyms such as John O'Flynn, Jim Leary, O. Pinion, and Gunter Johansen.

A fruitful artistic relationship also existed with singer and composer Hanne Haller, with whom he co-wrote many songs, including Haller's chart successes "Sat. abend" (number 11 in the German singles chart), "Mein lieber Mann" (number 20), "Weil du ein zärtlicher Mann bist" (number 22), and "Geh nicht" (number 23).
Meinunger was also successful as a lyricist with producer David Brandes. Acts such as E-Rotic and Vanilla Ninja benefited from his lyrics. Along with Sebastian Pobot and Don Gray, Meinunger was also part of the production team for singer and actress Laura Schneider, who landed a top 10 hit with "Immer wieder" in late 1999. In 2004, he wrote "I'm in Love Again" for producer Jack White, performed by Ira Losco.

At the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, Meinunger was responsible not only for the lyrics of the German entry, but also for the Swiss entry "Cool Vibes" by Vanilla Ninja. Both songs were composed by David Brandes. While Cool Vibes achieved eighth place in the final, Switzerland's best result since 1993, Run & Hide finished 24th and thus last.

Between 1989 and 2010, he participated in the Grand Prix der Volksmusik with a total of eleven different compositions. In 1986, he wrote the lyrics for the German version of Nella Martinetti's winning song "Bella Musica."

Meinunger considered himself a craftsman who could deliver lyrics to a melody within half a day. In total, he wrote around 5,500 songs, including 1,000 in English. Meinunger was married for more than 40 years and lived in Grünwald near Munich. He died there in October 2025 at the age of 81.

Dschinghis Khan - Dschinghis Khan (ZDF Starparade 14.06.1979)

Katja Ebstein - Theater (ZDF Disco 24.03.1980)