Rammstein Liese lyric with English translation

To everyone trying to find ways around this song being about a rape: Perhaps they think it’s forceful because the song says “he wants to force her”, and then (paraphrasing) “there will be blood if you’re not friendly to me”. Pay attention to the next movie that shows a female character being threatened sexually by one or more male characters. The dialogue will include something along the lines of “Well that’s not very friendly of you. I think we should teach you a lesson.” It’s such a well-known use of the word “friendly” that it’s a Hollywood cliche! The song also says Liese is a child unless I’m misunderstanding their use of the word “child”. This is hardly the first song of theirs about rape. I don’t think they’re endorsing it or singing about it in a positive light. To me, Till sounds pretty pissed off at several points during the song, most notably on the lines (in English) “he has infected Liese” and the second iteration of “the scythe is rusty from the blood”. The word “infected” is also not a positive word, or a romantic word in ANY context. If you have to go through this level of complicated second guessing and flimsy justification then your hypothesis is wrong.

@Lily

“Irregardless” isn’t a word.

Ok, another interpretation:
What if Jakob is a violent husband? Just the violent kind of guy and, in a flash of violent desire, ends up hurting his wife (Liese) in the act? His threats fits with the violent husband kind to me? It would explain his threatening and her “consensual” response

That’s just what went through my mind 🙂
(Excuse any bad grammar)

“Sichel & Sense”, think penis, “bist du freundlicht nicht zu mir” means “why are you nice to everyone but me”, “anstecken” can also mean “to penetrate”, literally, to stick. To taste like pear, well, (what woman wouldn’t like to taste like fruit down there, sweet, juicy, it would be a real showstopper right ?) could mean she will taste nice ‘cos no one has been there before him, ever, and what’s more innocent than a girl who ‘s a geese keeper in a meadow in Germany ?
The blood is explained before, some, not all, some, women bleed when having sex for the first time.

Now, as it is kind of weird to sing about a guy running towards you with his dick in his hand, this is a more poetic way to describe that act.
It’s like a Grimm’s fairytale, or Andersens’ perhaps, in a more graphic form. Read some of those tales.

To make a long story even longer, it’s about seduction, not rape in the criminal way, set in a time a while, or long ago, when candles, wine and dine and foreplay weren’t described to you in Cosmo or FHM yet.

Ofcourse mind you, this is my interpretation and I could be, or probably am, wrong.

German is a beautiful language and with that, Rammstein (or herr Lindemann) use every part of it, be it old, east or poetic. It’s use sets them on higher ground, a lonely, unique spot at the top, in music.

From Holland, greetings,

Maria

@ smoke/sonne

maybe rotersand was writin to explain why she was unwilling
and the story of why this happened?

Hello people,

I can definitely see how heated up things have got and I want to throw some more oil in the fire!

What if the song correlates with “Mein Teil”? The sexual inclination is obvious, but what if there is no metaphor here at all? Have you thought about the gruesomeness of this aspect? That Jacob could have liked Liese’s taste and could have decided he wanted to check out how she tastes on the inside? Forget about necrophilia, I’m talking about straight-up cannibalism here 😀

I know that I’m not doing myself a favour with this post (and will most probably get flamed for it), but for the sake of the argument, nobody has even MENTIONED this potential perspective.

I’ve been wondering if Jakob is the man who killed the subject of Roter Sand, and is now trying to claim the dead man’s love, but finding her unwilling, is resorting to rape because he feels he has earned her.

@Charismatic Engima yeah but what do you think about the “you are not friendly to me” sentence thats what confuses me is he saying that she is not being nice to him? ..geez i feel dumb right now.

I note how a lot of people seem to think that, just because “the scythe is rusty”, that means the sex was forceful. Even the most well-intentioned first sexual encounter for a lot of girls involves bleeding — it’s just how the parts work down there.

@ Lily There is no need to be like that. You’re not a very pleasant indivdual. xD C’mon doesn’t Rammstein make you want to spread the love? Turn that ( ever permanent) frown upside down! xD

@Lily..
LOL. Does it turn you on to “pretend” to be such a cunt?
Go ahead, you like to answer questions, don’t you?
:*

The special edition of Liebe Ist für Alle Da contained a song at the end called ‘Liese’ that was essentially ‘Roter Sand’ with different instrumentation and entirely different lyrics. What is the connection between the two songs?

Landers: The simple answer is that ‘Roter Sand’ is a result of the band’s continued development of ‘Liese.’ ‘Liese’ was the original song, and it was something that Ollie, Till and Flake came up with after a bottle of red wine. It took them a grand total of about eight minutes to come up with it, and ‘Roter Sand’ was the result of the band working on it and developing it. It’s like the brother song to ‘Liese.’ Some of the band members said, ‘No, leave it. “Liese” is the better one,’ and another fraction said, ‘No, the new version is much better,’ so the only choice was to put both versions on there.

http://www.regenmag.com/Interviews-307-Rammstein.html

You know what… It’s just a song. I reckon you’ve all spent a lot more time interpreting meanings in this than Rammstein did writing it. With their habit of vague lyrics – I think interpretations are more based on what people WANT the song to mean. Thanks for the insight into your minds people.

I think if the “scythe” metaphor had been replaced with something more obiously phallic, I would interpret the song as being about underage sex.

However, the scythe imagery is formidable, not to mention the “rusty with blood” extension. I am not sure it refers to rape (“he is allowed to lick Lieschen”).

If we were to continue the interpretation that this is being told as if a children’s story, then the scythe metaphor could be one of those “cautionary tale” things where it is implied that messing around with a “Jakob’s scythe” is very very dangerous.

Liese translates to the German form of Elizabeth btw

Dear Lily. Please – go fuck yourself. There are endless possibilities to interpret any song out there, and I think everybody deserves the right to interpret this in their own way, may it be far out of the box. Talking about keeping opinions to yourself while puking out some of your own is plain stupid.

Not that I should talk – complaining about complaints – on the internet. That’s just retarded. I should probably shut up and go to bed.

On the subject, my interpretation is that the song is about rape or loss of virginity in a painfull way. Or maybe screwed-up-talker-kind-of-love. It also sounds to me like the people are young. It is sung/told like a childrens story i feel by Till’s voice. Also having the characters named feels like a typical childrens-story. Notice how the songs about adults often are told in first or second person, with no names to them. That makes this feel kind of “childish” in the storytelling (with fucked up content though). My two cents. Peace.

@Lily,

About the last lines of the chorus; “Vom Blute rostig ist die Sense, bist du freundlich nicht zu mir” does it not matter how it’s written? We’ve assumed that it is written and punctuated this way, but it could be something like “Vom Blute rostig ist die Sense. Bist du freundlich? Nicht zu mir”. Listening to the song, to me it feels like Till isn’t intending the two lines to be related. It would be a contradiction if he were threatening to rape her when they are having consensual sex. Whilst “Bist du freundlich? Nicht zu mir” might not be grammatically accurate, it wouldn’t be the first time Till has manipulated words to rhyme, “make sense” etc. As you say, open to interpretation. Just a thought…

Think this is about underage rape…

“Sense” is not “sickle”, but “scythe” technically speaking. Which makes it even more probable that it is a metaphor for a penis.

“Probieren”, cf “to probe” (I don’t mean that “probieren” literally means “to penetrate”, just a hint as to what nuances are in the word “probieren”).

“Goldflut” could obviously be sperm.

I believe Jakob at first forces him onto her, but after he licks her, her hairs stand on end (=she is aroused) and she follows him to the wheat fields.

That she tastes like pears is probably just a way to say that Jakob thought it was a pleasant experience to lick her, with the pear representing something good and sweet.

“Freundlich” could be the contrast between being a “friend” or something more.

“Das Kind” is mentioned in relation to the “Goldflut” and might have something to do with that he has impregnated her.

Is this song about underage sex?

now that`s my kind of lyrics

Liese is a german female name. But yes it’s also oldschool. It’s often used in Old german fairy tales, the girl who looks after the geese is very often called “Gänse-Liese” It is a short form from Elisabeth, which was a popular name in the past. I would see this song as a story from old times, also because nowadays noone uses a scythe. 😉

@ramm stein: no “liebe Liese” does not mean gentle love. “liebe” is more like “dear” and Liese is just her name (see above)

@Thuthut: i think this is just meant like, women taste sweet. ;), it would have suited better if they used plum, because in german plum also stands for female genitalia.

i just want to ask one question, Liese is the girl’s name right? is that a popular german name? also its pronounced “Leezuh” more or less, right?

So, my mother tongue is german 🙂

“angesteckt” means just infected or contaminated.

and in fact there is nor childish language in this song, it’s just a little bit old school (ancient) and poetic. Some would never speak like this in the every day life, but Rammstein sometimes use this way of speaking in their songs.

The whole song is sung as to children: “Da kommt Jakob angerannt” is somewhat a childish grammar, as well as saying “der Jakob”, as a noun.

By the way, the melody, including the whistle accompaniment, is identical to Roter Sand’s, so it gives an interesting different angle of what may be one situation; when Roter Sand is sung from the view of an adult who fought over his lover and Liese – from a view of some twisted affection.

Neither English, nor German, is my mother’s tongue (in fact it’s Swedish), but I’ve tried to do a translation of my own (using a very old German-Swedish dictionary and the faint memory from my school years).
From this Swedish translation I made one to English.

“Sunday at the field by Ammer
(Ammer is a lake, but might also denote a fruit or a bird)
The good Liese watches over the geese
Then comes Jacob a-running
Holding a scythe in the hand

With this he waves there and again
Little Liese under skirt and girdle (I’m not really sure how, in fact, Jakob is “waving”. Perhaps he waves in front of her face first, then cuts off her cloths, and then cuts her)
Ha wants to taste her, wants to subdue her
And the scoundrel meanwhile begins to sing:

Dear Liese, forget about the geese
I want to taste your skin
Rusty from blood is scythe
Are you friendly not to me
(I can’t fully appreciate this last sentence – but perhaps Jacob is trying to make Liese feel ashamed about making the scythe “dirty”)

Jakob may then lick little Liese
And she is going to have the flavour of a pear
Small fluff will be standing straight
And they hurry to the field of wheat

In the golden river, well hidden
He has stuck Liese down/up
(perhaps with the scythe?)
Holds her tightly wrapped until evening (with his arms or whatever, but probably with his arms)
And has sung to the child: (note the switch in tempus from present to past)

…
“

Also, this song is an alternative version of “Roter Sand”

Just to touch up Micha’s translation:

On a Sunday in the meadows,
Liese sheppards Geese,
Thats when Jakob comes up running,
holding a sickle in his hand

He nudges it now and then
beneath little Lieses skirt and korsett
He wants to taste her, wants to force her,
and the boy will sing…

Dear Liese, let the geese be,
I want to have the taste of your skin
Blood has turned this Sickle rusty,
You aren’t friendly to me

Jakob’s allowed to lick little Liese
and she will taste just like a pear
As the hairs stand on their skin,
they hurry off to the wheat field.

In fields of gold, well hidden
he has infected Liese
He holds her tightly into the evening, embracing her
and sang to the child:

Dear Liese, let the geese be,
I want to have the taste of your skin
Blood has turned this Sickle rusty,
You aren’t friendly to me

Dear Liese, let the geese be,
I want to have the taste of your skin
Blood has turned this Sickle rusty,
You aren’t friendly to me

1) Goldflut must be seen in relation to Weizenfeld because wheatfields are golden. It’s not a a metaphor for the womb.
2) ““-chen” is the diminutive suffix” – Right, but not a metaphor for her genitalia. It is just meant as belittlement.