| [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 |
I didn’t expect to find so many dumb comments under this song’s lyrics. Holy f***! How dumb should you be to not get the metaphor and instead try to fit in your race politics or other american bulls**t. It is like… I have no words…
Anyway, I think black man is a metaphor for scary man, which parents use to scare children. Black in this case – is not about the colour of the skin, but the theme of dark, fear and scary. And the song (and video confirms it) shows how, because of this imaginary fear people build walls, stick to old ideas (out of fear of change), and, in the end – turn for protection to the strong leader or some sort of regime based on the force and power.
If person is weak and don’t believe in his own strength, seeks for protection elsewhere – in the end it will come to such a society where everyone is hiding between their screen, fear each other and choose to be dumbed down by propaganda.
Seems to me the scharzmen Mann reference from germanic folk tales, similar to the bogeyman, is here used as a metaphor for xenophobia. It’s a double entendre. It’s pretty on the nose.
It’s not about black people.
Scharzenr Mann is a traditional Germanic children’s game dating back to the middle ages.
It’s a symbol for the dead .
If you Google it you find the rules for this game on the Internet
Another complaint about the slowness of Affenknecht posting the rest of the translations. This album has been out for weeks!
Be GRATEFUL you got their accurate translation at all, not demand anything at all! You have a bad entitled attitude!
So maybe “The Dark Man” would be a better translation?
“Schwarz” literally means “Black”
So no.
Both wrong.
Like it or not it translates to “bogeyman” in meaning which in english has nothing to to with black men. My very white sister is my literal “Schwarzen mann”
Watch the video it drops plenty of hints about doing and saying what tv and the internet told you, non Europeans hear black man and cry racism because that’s what the internet tells them to think.
To claim Schwarzen Mann or Bogey Man is some kind of reference to a group of people little known to the originators of the myth is cultural appropriation.
European history myth and legend is not someone else’s costume.
In Deutsch “Schwartz” means Black, so, no, man. It’s not better translation.
Just think about the pure little Arnold. His surname’s meaning is Black Niгer..And this giant world famous super star Mr. Olympia is fine about that and doesn’t brag about it. So, why should You do? Peace.
Actually, the surname Schwarzenegger is derived from a village in Austria (as well as Switzerland, though Arnold is Austrian so this is irrelevant) named Schwarzenegg ( which is roughly translated to Black Ridge). The ‘er’ is added to the end to indicate that the person is from the village. It’s purely coincidence that the name can be broken down into the vulgar term you’re referring to.
In case anyone was still doubting that there’s any reference to “the black man” as in actual people, note how at the end of the video they’re eating a so-called “Mohrenkopf”, translated “Moorhead”, or in Dutch it also used to be called “negerzoen”, which translates to “negrokiss” (for some reason), which is a kind of traditional regional snack made of chocolate (and more).
But while “Moor” (which broadly refers to different peoples from Africa, the Middle-East, and probably other places) and “negro” aren’t necessarily offensive terms, they still became controversial and not to be used lightly over the years, especially in the last decade or two of course. And so, the names of this snack in The Netherlands, and apparently also Germany (perhaps also other countries), became considered to be derogatory of “black people”, akin to the use of “blackface” and other old-fashioned norms.
People called for it to be changed and that was history.
I’m just saying, of all the things they could be doing or eating, sitting there in their typical “white man” outfits, being mesmerized by the television, why the controversial “Mohrenkopf”. – That’s no accident.
If anything, it makes it all the more poignant that they’re biting into the symbolic “Moorheads”, sucking out the filling, especially with the woman and child looking at them doing so.
It might be referring to that “boogeyman” in German folklore, or whatever it is exactly, which they told children about. But it’s basically thát for adults and they’re still living with that idea of “the boogeyman”, or “the black man”, leading to xenophobia and so forth, as we still see people living in paranoia, clearly evident on record in our everyday lives.
The video indicates to me that this is (at least partially) an indictment of the American alt-right and how history seems bound to repeat itself as a result of the 2016 election.
Not everything is about politics
If you don’t think this is a political song (at the very least music video) then you haven’t analyzed it well.
It literally depicts a group of guys looking like american middle-class suburbanites drawn to fear their neighbours by a crazy madman surrounded by people cheering him on. The men arm themselves gleefully, and CUDDLE THEIR GUNS, build walls, and consume fear propaganda all the time, being told the “black man” is out to get them. This could both be the “boogeyman” and ethnic minorities as fascists and nazis love to blame everything on minorities. The song literally shows the middle class consuming themselves into a vortex of despair and fear, before one guy stands up and turns the fear propaganda off.
spot on
Nicely Put, I see others understand the Bands double entendre’s in their songs.
And who/what is telling them to do so?
The little computer screens.
With the face of the guy in a straight jacket in front of microphone talking behind the band plugged into stuff.
It’s about doing what you’re told is the cool thing because the internet/media/peers told you what cool thing is without question.
Yea, this is definitely about USA and your political theatre. Isn’t it great that everything revolves around your country? /s
Yes, Schwarze Mann is bogey man…I grew up with it.
Okay hold on now- Do we mean “Black man” as in (A) men of African descent, or (B) a shadow man as in a personification of threat?
As in boogeyman, but translated literally.
Rammstein realizes the misfortune of the ancient “bogeyman” being called “black” and at the end of their video an African-German woman and boy look out at us. Don’t forget that their early manager was an African-German, “Emu” Fialik.
“Wenn die Kinder unerzogen” is not the children beeing uneducated, “unerzogen” means “naughty” in this context.
And I think it has been discussed anywhere on YouTube, but “Der schwarze Mann” has the double meaning of literally “the black man” and figuratively “the boogeyman”. Which is intended and a political comment, that’s why there are black refugees in the video at the beginning and end. And it’s a woman and a child, not a man. The black man is not there. Like the boogeyman in a political sense is a threat that’s not there (real).
I hope the rest of the lyrics will be translated soon!
It’s too bad that we invented the “bogeyman” before we knew there were real black people…So sad that real persons can be confused by such a coincidence.
No doubt what this song is about!
Love the video and music, hard hitting.
This time rather than it just being about the people growing old, it is about the conservation of outdated, old ideas. So still fitting the theme of the album.
meaning of the song, more than likely, is about the media controlling people. till, the crazy man, talks into a microphone and his bed is wired into the bands heads. im sure this song is all about being controlled by media.
Dude… you must be the only one that does not get the meaning of the song!
They don’t even try to obfuscate it. Especially when you see the video!
They couldn’t have made it more obvious, other than just spell it out for you.
Isn’t zwarzen Mann the German word for ‘the boogeyman’?
The boogeyman will get you if you don’t listen to your parents
So in first instance, the song is not about black/colored people.
The video could be seen as people being afraid of refugees/foreigners so it’s a bit confusing
It’s a dual meaning. Rammstein LOVES to make lyrics with dual meanings. Another German term is schwarzen Reiter “black rider” which means someone who rides the train without paying. I saw a short film where a black man is harassed on a train which used that dual meaning.
Of course it’s about the “refugee scare”!
They don’t even try to obfuscate it. Especially when you see the video!
They couldn’t have made it more obvious, other than just spell it out for you.
They certainly spelled if out but people freaking out about racism because they were told it’s racist underlines the actual message they’re spelling out.
You, right there, are the dude who is building the wall and barbed wire, because the computer told you to and you’re not capable of doing otherwise.
Literally a highlight reel of modern NPC culture.