Lyrics of Rammstein song “Angst” and English translation

[Intro] [Intro]
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
 
[Strophe 1] [Verse 1]
Wenn die Kinder unerzogen When the children are uneducated
Schon der Vater hat gedroht The father already has threatened
„Der schwarze Mann, er wird dich holen “The Black Man, he’ll get you
Wenn du nicht folgst meinem Gebot“ If you don’t follow my commandment”
 
[Pre-Refrain] [Pre-Chorus]
Und das glauben wir bis heute And we believe that to this day
So in Angst sind Land und Leute So scared are the country and its people
Etwas Schlimmes wird gescheh’n Something bad will happen
Das Böse kommt, wird nicht mehr geh’n The evil comes, won’t go anymore
 
[Refrain] [Chorus]
Und die Furcht wächst in die Nacht And the fear grows into the night
Tür und Tore sind bewacht Door and gates are guarded
Die Rücken nass, die Hände klamm The back’s wet, the hands clammy
Alle haben Angst vorm schwarzen Mann Everyone is afraid of thе Black Man
 
[Post-Refrain] [Post-Chorus]
(Du) (You)
 
[Strophe 2] [Verse 2]
In Dunkelheit schleicht er heran In the dark, he sneaks up
Bist du nicht brav, fasst er dich an If you’rе not good, he’ll touch you
Traue keinem Fremden dann Trust no stranger then
So viel Albtraum, so viel Wahn So much nightmare, so much craze
 
[Pre-Refrain] [Pre-Chorus]
Und so glauben wir bis heute And so we believe to this day
Schwer bewaffnet ist die Meute The pack is heavily armed
Ach, sie können es nicht lassen Oh, they can’t stop it
Schreien Feuer in die Gassen Scream fire in the alleys
 
[Refrain] [Chorus]
Und die Furcht wächst in die Nacht And the fear grows into the night
Gar kein Auge zu gemacht Not a wink of sleep at all
Die Rücken nass, die Hände klamm The back’s wet, the hands clammy
Alle haben Angst vorm schwarzen Mann Everyone is afraid of the Black Man
 
[Post-Refrain] [Post-Chorus]
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
(Du) (You)
 
[Bridge] [Bridge]
Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann? Who is afraid of the Black Man?
Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann? Who is afraid of the Black Man?
Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann? Who is afraid of the Black Man?
Wer hat Angst? Who is afraid?
 
[Refrain] [Chorus]
Und die Furcht wächst in die Nacht And the fear grows into the night
Gar kein Auge zugemacht Not a wink of sleep at all
Die Rücken nass, die Hände klamm The back’s wet, the hands clammy
Alle haben Angst Everyone is afraid
 
[Outro] [Outro]
(Du) (You)
(Du) Schwarzer Mann (You) Black Man
(Du) (You)
(Du) Schwarzer Mann (You) Black Man

37 COMMENTS

  1. I believe it’s a representation of the division of Rammstein in the video. White picket fences that separate Rammstein members. The fences turn into walls with barbed wire fence around it. If you saw the walls and fence from above it would look like that circle. With the center circle being the hate and media they consume. The TV’s and computer they use are in the circle. Red is the predominate color in the video besides black and white. Red was the color Nazi’s used. Republicans in the US.
    Other countries with Red? China, former Soviet Union (now Russia), Denmark, Switzerland, and worst of all, Canada.

    • Majority of countries in world have red? Atleast most of Europe, nearly all of Africa, the americas, every British owned territory throughout time, quite a few of Asia too.

      I think it’s more to do with the black, white and red being the most visually contrasting plus red can symbolise everything from bravery, passion, to anger and violence.

  2. The cheerleaders are limping and only stepping forward with their right foot. That may be an over-analysis on my part, it may be intentional by the band. Right foot = right wing. Very similar to the effect of “dann schlägt es links.”

    Very cleverly they use German to English translation for wordplay. “Schwarzen Mann” translating to bogeyman in this context, but a literal translation is “black man.” At the surface it’s a song about the fear of the unknown. A deeper dive and it’s commentary on racism and putting up walls within society. The video spells this out so blatantly. Zombie cheerleaders bringing guns, there are literal brick walls replacing picket fences, a black woman and her child in rags surrounded by barbed wire. An insane person speaking from a podium. The video starts with the band sitting at a table with plates — eating what is fed to them.

    • A few more details from the music video that add to the message: there’s the six-sided icon on the podium (and throughout the video) that almost looks like a swastika, and there’s the black-white-red colour scheme used throughout, also borrowed from the swastika. Yep, they’re not subtle at all about the hate they’re calling out.

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