After the end of the Third Reich in 1945, the anthem was shortened to just the third stanza of the original song, as this passage is sometimes associated with Nazism and, in following, claims a large area of land that is no longer contained within the current borders of Germany.

After the song's initial release, mild confusion arose in the Bay Area music scene as to why Biafra (who was outspoken about his far-left political views) was targeting Jerry Brown (a notably liberal politician for the time).

Biafra paints the scene in low, sneering tones before bursting into the manic chanted chorus; after two verses and choruses, the song shifts into a slower middle eight section set to a martial drumbeat over which Jello Biafra imagines the nightmarish actions of Brown's SS-styled secret police ("Come quietly to the camp; you'd look nice as a drawstring lamp," a reference to the allegation that lampshades were made from human skin during the Holocaust[3][4]).

The version recorded for Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables was played slightly faster, featuring a much more strident vocal from Biafra and a fuller, more confrontational sound altogether than the single mix.

On their EP In God We Trust, Inc., they recorded an updated version of the song, titled "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now", about then-President Ronald Reagan, including a lounge-jazz introduction, different lyrics, and several verses set at a much slower pace.

Another updated version of this song about Governor Schwarzenegger, called "Kali-Fornia Über Alles 21st Century", was performed live (among a few other Dead Kennedys classics) when Biafra toured with the band Melvins to support their collaboration album in 2004.