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| Donauquell dein Aderlass | Donau Spring your bloodletting/bleeding |
| Wo Trost und Leid zerfließen | Where comfort and sorrow dissolve |
| Nichts Gutes liegt verborgen nass | Nothing good lies hidden, wet |
| In deinen feuchten Wiesen | in your damp meadows |
| Keiner weiss was hier geschah | No one knows what happened here |
| Die Fluten rostigrot | The floods (are) rusty red |
| Die Fische waren atemlos | The fishes were breathless |
| Und alle Schwämme tot | And all sponges dead |
| An den Ufern in den Wiesen | At the banks in the meadows |
| Die Tiere wurden krank | The animals became sick |
| Aus den Augen in den Fluss | Out of the eyes into the river |
| Triebabscheulicher Gestank | (the) stench (of) vile urge |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand weisst was hier geschehen | No one knows what happened here |
| Keiner hat etwas gesehen | Nobody saw anything |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand hat etwas gesehen | No one saw anything. |
| Mütter standen bald am Strom | Soon mothers stand at the stream |
| Und weinen eine Flut | And cry a flood |
| Auf die Felder durch die Leiche | On the fields through the dead body |
| Stieg das Leid in alle Teiche | The sorrow climbed into all ponds |
| Schwarze Fahnen auf der Stadt | Black flags on the city |
| Alle Ratten fett und satt | All rats fat and satisfied |
| Die Brummen giftig allerort | The poisonous humming everywhere |
| Und die Menschen soviel fort | And the people so far away |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand weisst was hier geschehen | No one knows what happened here |
| Keiner hat etwas gesehen | Nobody saw anything |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand hat etwas gesehen | No one saw anything. |
| Donauquell dein Aderlass | Donau Spring your bloodletting/bleeding |
| Wo Trost und Leid zerfließen | Where comfort and sorrow dissolve |
| Nichts Gutes liegt verborgen nass | Nothing good lies hidden, wet |
| In deinen feuchten Wiesen | in your damp meadows |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand weisst was hier geschehen | No one knows what happened here |
| Keiner hat etwas gesehen | Nobody saw anything |
| Wo sind die Kinder | Where are the children? |
| Niemand hat etwas gesehen | No one saw anything. |
| Lyric © Rammstein | Translation © Affenknecht.com |
Submitted by Dill
The song deals with an accident near Baia Mare, in Romania, which occurred on 30th Januar 2000.
Extremely heavy rainfall on 30 January caused a dam to breach, causing 100.000 m³ of water to flood a goldmine and carry with it app. 100 ton of heavy metals and sodium cyanide into the nearby river Donau (German name for the Danube). The poison was carried along the river, causing havoc in several countries; drinking water became poisoned, and people fled the rivers’ surroundings to escape the deadly poison, which quickly destroyed all life in and around the river itself.
Lots of children were obviously affected by this disaster, but the name ‘Donaukinder’ (‘Danube Children’) more probably refers metaphorically to the fish in the river, seen as the ‘children’ of the Danube/Donau; the fish obviously suffered most directly the full force of this disaster and the absence of fish in the river is the most obvious consequence of the disaster. Hence, the song rhetorically asks: ‘Wo sind die Kinder?’ (‘Where are the children?’). Furthermore, the German name for Baia Mare, where the breach occured, is ‘Frauenbach’, meaning ‘Woman-River’, which sustains the metaphor of comparing River/Fish to Mother/Children.
“Und alle Schwämme tot”
should be
“und alle Shwäne tot” translates to “and all the swans are dead”
“Die Brummen giftig allerort”
should be
“Die Brunnen giftig aller Ort” translates to “the wells are poisonous of all towns”
“Und die Menschen soviel fort”
should be
“Und die Menschen zogen fort” translates to “and the people have moved away”