Ein Flugzeug liegt im Abendwind An Bord ist auch ein Mann mit Kind Sie sitzen sicher sitzen warm und gehen so dem Schlaf ins Garn In drei Stunden sind sie da zum Wiegenfeste der Mama Die Sicht ist gut der Himmel klar Weiter, weiter ins Verderben Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben Der Mensch gehört nicht in die Luft So der Herr im Himmel ruft seine Söhne auf dem Wind Bringt mir dieses Menschenkind Das Kind hat noch die Zeit verloren Da springt ein Widerhall zu Ohren Ein dumpfes Grollen treibt die Nacht und der Wolkentreiber lacht Schüttelt wach die Menschenfracht Weiter, weiter ins Verderben Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben Und das Kind zum Vater spricht Hörst du denn den Donner nicht Das ist der König aller Winde Er will mich zu seinem Kinde Aus den Wolken tropft ein Chor Kriecht sich in das kleine Ohr Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind gut zu dir Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind Brüder dir Der Sturm umarmt die Flugmaschine Der Druck fällt schnell in der Kabine Ein dumpfes Grollen treibt die Nacht In Panik schreit die Menschenfracht Weiter, weiter ins Verderben Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben Und zum Herrgott fleht das Kind Himmel nimm zurück den Wind Bring uns unversehrt zu Erden Aus den Wolken tropft ein Chor Kriecht sich in das kleine Ohr Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind gut zu dir Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind Brüder dir Der Vater hält das Kind jetzt fest Hat es sehr an sich gepresst Bemerkt nicht dessen Atemnot Doch die Angst kennt kein Erbarmen So der Vater mit den Armen Drückt die Seele aus dem Kind Diese setzt sich auf den Wind und singt: Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind gut zu dir Komm her, bleib hier Wir sind Brüder dir |
An airplane is in the evening wind On board is a man with his child as well They sit secure and warm and so they fall into the trap of sleep In three hours they will be there for mama's birthday The view is good the sky is clear Onwards, onwards into destruction We must live until we die Humans don't belong in the sky So the lord in Heaven calls his sons to the wind Bring me this human child The child has still lost time Then an echo jumps to his ears A muffled rumbling drives the night and the driver of the clouds laughs He shakes the human cargo awake Onwards, onwards into destruction We must live until we die And the child says to the father Don't you hear the thunder That's the king of all the winds He wants me to become his child From the clouds falls a choir which crawls into the little ear Come here, stay here We'll be good to you Come here, stay here We are your brothers The storm embraces the flying machine The pressure falls quickly in the cabin A muffled rumbling drives the night In panic the human cargo screams Onwards, onwards into destruction We must live until we die And to God the child pleads Heaven take back the wind Bring us unharmed to earth From the clouds falls a choir which crawls into the little ear Come here, stay here We'll be good to you Come here, stay here We are your brothers The father is now holding onto the child and has pressed it tightly against himself He doesn't notice its difficulty in breathing But fear knows no mercy So with his arms the father squeezes the soul from the child Which takes its place upon the wind and sings: Come here, stay here We'll be good to you Come here, stay here We are your brothers |
Dalai Lama is an adaptation of “Der Erlkönig”, a poem written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) in 1782 and subsequently set to music by many composers, including Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1815. The band apparently considered calling the song “Erlkönig” in homage to Goethe’s poem. “Flugangst” (“fear of flying”, literally “flight fright”) was also considered as a name before Rammstein settled on “Dalai Lama” in reference to the current Dalai Lama’s well-publicised dislike of air travel. Other than this somewhat oblique reference, the song does not have anything to do with Tibetan Buddhism or the Dalai Lama.
The song replaces Goethe’s travelling man and child on horseback with a man and child on an aircraft, and the Erlkönig himself with the “king of all the winds”. As in the poem, the travellers are menaced by a mysterious spirit which “invites” the child to join him (though only the child can hear the spirit’s invitation). Rammstein’s version differs markedly from Goethe’s original in describing the fate of the child. In the poem, the child cries out that the Erlkönig is abducting it. The alarmed father rides for help, holding the child in his arms, only to find that his son is dead; Rammstein replaces this with a typically morbid twist: after running into a storm sent by the “king of all the winds” which threatens all the passengers, the terrified father suffocates the child by holding him too tightly and the child’s soul joins its “brothers” in the winds.
I love this band. The dark tales, the cynical humor, some emotional, etc. They always have something new, where as other bands tend to pick a field and stick with it for several albums. Ex. A lot of Industrial Metal bands like Fear Factory are very political, most Power Metal bands like Hammerfall or Iced Earth are always about power and glory, a lot of Heavy Metal bands like Slipknot and The Disturbed write about just insanity in general. I would keep going but… I’m in class and getting yelled at for being on my iPod. 10th grade life, gotta love it. m/
This is pure poetry… Just Amazing…
Powerfuly emotional…that’s R+
Japan Airlines 123 is the other big influence behind this song – there’s even a 30-second clip of that airplane’s black box recording (just before the crash) hidden on some releases of the album. As of this posting, it remains the single most fatal airplane accident in history.
Damn incredible song and Lyrics.
Damn, I’m not that well at German, but I noticed some words and sentece (spelling?) and just had to check the whole lyrics. I almost cried, it’s such a wonderful song. Me, myself, I hate to fly. Sad song, but also great. It’s kinda scary, but I LOVE the way Till write his lyrics.
Rammstein für ewig!
Aww.. I wanted to make an adaption of the poem “Erlkönig”, and now I see that one of my favourite Rammstein songs is on… Amazing song anyway, the lyrics are awesome, even better than the poem
The English translation reads like something Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) might have written…cool, but creepy!
cool song, i meant=)
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Echt tolles Lied.
this is a soft and hard song, soft parts and hard parts
A well played song, with some…cynical humor, but the beat is amazing
I love this song!
i knew there was another reason why i like this song