This is only the first of several threads I'm planning to start regarding the meaning of Rammstein songs.
Why Zerstören? Well, that question seems to be legit when you listen to the song for the first time. Because, the first time you hear it, the song probably seems pretty straightforward: it's about a person who is very eager to destroy (e.g. the constant repeating of "Ich muss zerstören" and the many synonyms for it), but however has the feeling he shouldn't ("doch es darf nicht mir gehören", 'ich will ein guter Junge sein"). In the end, the duality seems to fade away as the overall very dominant urge to destroy seems to win.
The strange intro is already explained on this site: it's part of the song Huma Kusu, a Turkish song (about sadness and fear of loss, if I understand correctly), which can be related to the working title Ankarra and indirectly to the problems in the Middle East in these times of war (the song was written in 2003-2004, when the Iraq war dominated the news). Flake did explain that the song was about US president G.W. Bush who seemed to enjoy ensuing destruction with his Middle East-orientated "War On Terror".
But what about the outro? Why the sad story of the blind girl leaving the guy? It doesn't really seem to relate to the rest...
One interpretation would be pure liguistics. The word "blind" coud refer to the expression "blind by rage", an idiom used in German as well. Than you could say that when the rage or the blindness is over, one opens the eyes and sees to what terrible destruction hate has lead. That could correspond with the tone and structure of the ending music, which evokes a kind of weird, calm atmosphere reminding of the painfull, threatening quietness you have after a big loud disaster (like a bomb or fire atack - in this song the heavy climax of singing, drums and guitars), when silence falls and you see what ruins are left behind. After the fierce energy of destroying, one opens the eyes and realizes what has been going on. Probably the feeling that places like Bagdad must've had for the innocent citizens who were victims of America's agressive destructive politics, i.e. the bombardements.
Whatever the interpretation, it seems to be about an epiphanie ("die Augen aufgemacht") after a period of blindness. The epiphanie doesn't happen to everyone though: the girl (= The (Middle) East? Often represented in art by a woman btw) sees what's going on and takes her distance from the man (= The West? Or G.W. Bush as representative of the West?) by leaving him. That interpretation would imply though that the woman (East) has been quite agressive and destructive too, joining the man (west), and only now seems to be turning away from it. Politically/historically that could refer to the destructions made by the East in the late 80s - 90s - 2000s, beginning with terrorist attempts and strikes, resolving into 9/11.
If this is what Rammstein exactly meant, we cannot know of course. Flake revealing his anti-Bush sentiments as background to this song makes us think at least some of this might be intentional. Besides, we cannot forget that with Amerika, written in more or less the same period, the band also made aware they had some sarcastic thoughts regarding the American imperialism. This of course quite beneath the surface and with a - for them very typical - portion of duality: it's not all good, and it's not all bad. A thing we see again in Zerstören, where we can see that the "Mädchen" also used to be blind.
What are your thoughts on this? Especially that ending of the song always puzzeled me and I never seem to grasp the exact meaning of it. Do you have other insights, convictions or maybe even arguments to completely disagree with me? Please share them!
Why Zerstören? Well, that question seems to be legit when you listen to the song for the first time. Because, the first time you hear it, the song probably seems pretty straightforward: it's about a person who is very eager to destroy (e.g. the constant repeating of "Ich muss zerstören" and the many synonyms for it), but however has the feeling he shouldn't ("doch es darf nicht mir gehören", 'ich will ein guter Junge sein"). In the end, the duality seems to fade away as the overall very dominant urge to destroy seems to win.
The strange intro is already explained on this site: it's part of the song Huma Kusu, a Turkish song (about sadness and fear of loss, if I understand correctly), which can be related to the working title Ankarra and indirectly to the problems in the Middle East in these times of war (the song was written in 2003-2004, when the Iraq war dominated the news). Flake did explain that the song was about US president G.W. Bush who seemed to enjoy ensuing destruction with his Middle East-orientated "War On Terror".
But what about the outro? Why the sad story of the blind girl leaving the guy? It doesn't really seem to relate to the rest...
One interpretation would be pure liguistics. The word "blind" coud refer to the expression "blind by rage", an idiom used in German as well. Than you could say that when the rage or the blindness is over, one opens the eyes and sees to what terrible destruction hate has lead. That could correspond with the tone and structure of the ending music, which evokes a kind of weird, calm atmosphere reminding of the painfull, threatening quietness you have after a big loud disaster (like a bomb or fire atack - in this song the heavy climax of singing, drums and guitars), when silence falls and you see what ruins are left behind. After the fierce energy of destroying, one opens the eyes and realizes what has been going on. Probably the feeling that places like Bagdad must've had for the innocent citizens who were victims of America's agressive destructive politics, i.e. the bombardements.
Whatever the interpretation, it seems to be about an epiphanie ("die Augen aufgemacht") after a period of blindness. The epiphanie doesn't happen to everyone though: the girl (= The (Middle) East? Often represented in art by a woman btw) sees what's going on and takes her distance from the man (= The West? Or G.W. Bush as representative of the West?) by leaving him. That interpretation would imply though that the woman (East) has been quite agressive and destructive too, joining the man (west), and only now seems to be turning away from it. Politically/historically that could refer to the destructions made by the East in the late 80s - 90s - 2000s, beginning with terrorist attempts and strikes, resolving into 9/11.
If this is what Rammstein exactly meant, we cannot know of course. Flake revealing his anti-Bush sentiments as background to this song makes us think at least some of this might be intentional. Besides, we cannot forget that with Amerika, written in more or less the same period, the band also made aware they had some sarcastic thoughts regarding the American imperialism. This of course quite beneath the surface and with a - for them very typical - portion of duality: it's not all good, and it's not all bad. A thing we see again in Zerstören, where we can see that the "Mädchen" also used to be blind.
What are your thoughts on this? Especially that ending of the song always puzzeled me and I never seem to grasp the exact meaning of it. Do you have other insights, convictions or maybe even arguments to completely disagree with me? Please share them!
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