Er wartet auf den Mittagswind die Welle kommt und legt sich matt mit einem Fächer jeden Tag der Alte macht das Wasser glatt Ich werf den Stein zu meinem Spaß das Wasser sich im Kreis bewegt der Alte sieht mich traurig an und hat es wieder glatt gefegt Im weißen Sand der alte Mann zitternd seine Pfeife raucht nur das Wasser und ich wissen wozu er diesen Fächer braucht Die Ahnung schläft wie ein Vulkan zögernd hab ich dann gefragt den Kopf geneigt es schien er schläft hat er bevor er starb gesagt Das Wasser soll dein Spiegel sein erst wenn es glatt ist, wirst du sehen wieviel Märchen dir noch bleibt und um Erlösung wirst du flehen Den Fächer an den Leib gepresst im Todeskrampf erstarrt die Hand die Finger mussten sie ihm brechen der Fächer bleibt zurueck im Sand Den Alten ruf ich jeden Tag er möchte mich doch hier erlösen ich bleib zurück im Mittagswind und in dem Fächer kann ich lesen Das Wasser soll dein Spiegel sein erst wenn es glatt ist, wirst du sehen wieviel Märchen dir noch bleibt und um Erlösung wirst du flehen |
He waits for the midday's wind the wave comes and lies down wearily with a fan every day the old one makes the water smooth I throw the stone for fun the water moves in circles the old one looks sadly at me and swept it smooth again In the white sand, the old man trembling, smokes his pipe only the water and I know why he needs this fan The premonition sleeps like a volcano hesitating, I asked him then his head bent, it seemed he slept before he died he said The water shall be your mirror only when it is smooth will you see how many fairy tales are left for you and you will plead for salvation The fan pressed against his body the hand stiffens with rigor mortis they had to break his fingers the fan stays back in the sand I call the old one every day for him to save me here I stay back in the midday's wind and I can read in the fan The water shall be your mirror only when it is smooth will you see how many fairy tales are left for you and you will plead for salvation |
This song is about a man who watches an old man stare at himself in a reflecting pool and fan the water smooth when it is disrupted. The old man is possessed by the reflection of himself. After seeing this, the one who threw the stone in the beginning looks into the water and sees the same thing the old man saw and also becomes possessed. He then calls for the old man to save him from the same fate. This song is possibly about the cleansing of society.
My dad used to play this song
I remember hearing this when I was small
I am Bhuddist, and this is how I interpret the song. Water is a common metaphor for life in Bhuddism, and the obsession with controlling the water usually represents the tendency to get caught up in trying to control uncontrollable parts of your life, such as aging, death, and change in general.
I think the first man is looking at himself, trying to make everything perfect in his life. He becomes so obsessed with trying to change things and have this perfect self, that he grows old and dies without taking it all in. The reflection he sees in the water represents his ideal self. Things keep coming along disrupting this perfect, idealized self image, and he realizes how much he’s screwed up and wants to do it again. He wasn’t able to fulfill every desire or goal and get everything right(the Märchen) he had for himself. The second man realizes his mistake, and he calls to the first man, who never found a solution, and is unable to save the second man from the same fate.
That is beautiful…
i believe its about getting older, and realizing a lot of things.
water might be life itself, when the younger person throws the stone in it, its a metaphor for doing something wrong or wasting time with having fun.
the old one knows he shouldnt do it, and making the water smooth might mean caring about his life and time, and only if the younger one will get older too and realize this, then he will also realize how wrong he might have lived his life until that time.
this is just how i see it. even the demo of alter mann seems to be about time and getting older
it reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode “Nick of Time”.
The old man (then the young man) can see his future when he fans the water, with the same result as the tv show.
I love this song so much. I always had an imaginary music video for this song in my head.. just shows how much imagery is in the song. R+ 4ever
I concur with Genji also I think the old man is a sage, when the mind becomes still a person will be aware of more. Ripples on a water is a metaphor for this phenomena associated with meditative states. Then again I think the best lyrics are open to interpretation and thereby have different meaning for many, this is a clever song.
too few conversation on this : (
I just don’t really understand how the song may be about “social cleansing”. What exactly is meant by the term social cleansing?
I think, the song is about realizing what it means to be adult and how hope and idealism are fading over time. The older you become, the more you see all the senselessness in life and that all principles and morales you have, are just made up and are vain in the end. The calm water stands the those rare moments where youre not distracted by other things and can reflect about yourself (the water shall be your mirror). I guess the senctence “how many fairy tales are left for you” means how much idealism and and hope are left in yourself over time. At all, the lyrics could mean a lot what makes them particular interesting. It’s strange how deep some of the Rammstein lyrics are compared to the rather graphical songs. 😀
not at all about winsdom, it would not be rammstein style. They are emphatyzing the sorrow of knowing your life, as good as it can be, will end, and not even that late. This leads the man to depression and to the ultimate wish to be saved by the old man, who can not and must already be depressed too. Sorry if my english is bad, I am italian. Rammstein are really afraid of death and know the whole mankind is, me too.
I think the song is moral anyway. One of my favorite rammstein songs of all time.
It could possibly be about the wisdom of old people, thats how i interpret it.
Philly, you’re wrong, what you have meant would be “Der Alte lässt mich traurig aussehen”. “ansehen” means “to look at”, “aussehen” means “to look like”.
The translation “the old one looks sadly at me” is correct.
This song is beautiful, it’s like a story and I wonder what it’s about? Can someone interpret it please? I can’t figure it out…
“die Alte sieht mich traurig an”- i’m pretty sure translates to “the old makes me look sad”
sieht…an comes from ansiehen, which means to appear. litterally translating into “the old appears me sad”
Toller Lied :]