Buy Rammstein song “Haifisch” on Amazon
| Wir halten zusammen, | We stick together |
| wir halten einander aus, | We endure one another |
| wir halten zueinander; | We hold onto one another |
| niemand hält uns auf. | No one holds us back |
| Wir halten euch die Treue, | We stay faithful to you |
| wir halten daran fest | We firmly hold onto that |
| und halten uns an Regeln, | And obey the rules |
| wenn man uns Regeln lässt. | If you leave rules to us* |
| Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen | And the shark, that has tears |
| Und die laufen vom Gesicht, | And they run from the face |
| doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser – | But the shark lives in water |
| so die Tränen sieht man nicht. | So no one can see the tears |
| Wir halten das Tempo, | We keep our speed |
| wir halten unser Wort; | We keep our word |
| Wenn einer nicht mithält, | If one can’t keep up |
| dann halten wir sofort. | Then we immediately stop |
| Wir halten die Augen offen, | We keep our eyes open |
| wir halten uns den Arm; | We hold each other by the arm |
| sechs Herzen, die brennen – | Six hearts that burn |
| das Feuer hält euch warm | The fire keeps you warm |
| Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen | And the shark, that has tears |
| und die laufen vom Gesicht; | And they run from the face |
| doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser – | But the shark lives in water |
| so die Tränen sieht man nicht. | So no one can see the tears |
| In der Tiefe ist es einsam | In the deep it is lonely |
| und so manche Zähre fliesst | And so many a tear is shed |
| und so kommt es, dass das Wasser | And it so happens that the water |
| in den Meeren salzig ist. | In the oceans is salty |
| Man kann von uns halten | You can think of us |
| was immer man da will; | Whatever you want |
| wir halten uns schadlos, | We get compensation |
| wir halten niemals still. | We never keep still |
| Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen | And the shark, that has tears |
| und die laufen vom Gesicht; | And they run from the face |
| doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser – | But the shark lives in water |
| so die Tränen sieht man nicht. | So no one can see the tears |
| In der Tiefe ist es einsam | In the deep it is lonely |
| und so manche Zähre fliesst | And so many a tear is shed |
| und so kommt es, dass das Wasser | And it so happens that the water |
| in den Meeren salzig ist. | In the oceans is salty |
| Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen | And the shark, that has tears |
| und die laufen vom Gesicht; | And they run from the face |
| doch der Haifisch lebt im Wasser – | But the shark lives in water |
| so die Tränen sieht man nicht. | So no one can see the tears |
| Lyric © Rammstein | Translation © Affenknecht.com |
Submitted by EinHeisserSchrei
Translation Notes:
This song is about Rammstein and the fans. Rammstein stick together, do what they want. The fans are the sharks who “shed a tear” that no one notices when, for instance, we heard the band nearly broke up. “Six hearts that burn, the fire keeps you warm” is obviously the band making the fans happy.
* whether “wenn man uns Regeln lässt” means “If you leave rules to us” or “if you leave control to us” can be easily determined by looking up the spelling in the official booklet. if “Regeln” is spelt with a capitalised “R”, it means “rules” (noun), but if it is spelt uncapitalised, a verb was used. consequently: capitalised “R” = “If you leave rules to us”, but uncapitalised “r” = “if you leave control to us” which is more likely.
Someone somewhere (I can’t remember where) said it was loosly based on an old song called “Mack the Knife”.
I’m sure it’s probably wrong though.
By the way, anyone who can’t detect Depeche Mode in this tune needs new fucking ears!
Am I the only one who was reminded of a group of criminals from say the Mafia when they read the lyrics? Obviously it’s about Rammstein, but I couldn’t help but make the crime connection.
Let me put it like this; the criminals, they’re human as well. They’re cruel killers, and they feel bad or think about what they’ve done, but no one else in the underworld cares because killing and crime is the norm in their world.
I kind of see that song has being a “happy” song from Rammstein!! I mean, the music and melody has for me a happy feeling to it!! It is like a Rammstein tribute to us, the fans…
They are 6 strong sharks that are trying to make something good even though things can be hard and running in to obstacles sometimes, they always find a way to come back and be stronger. The fans keeps them alive and stronger…
I maybe out of line but it’s how i see and feel the song. I express myself way better in french!!! So sorry if things don’t makes sense for some!!
Oh, and can’t wait to see the video 🙂
This song really tells how close Rammstein is!
Their always gonna stick together.
“Wir halten das Tempo,
wir halten unser Wort;
Wenn einer nicht mithält,
dann halten wir sofort.”
The line “Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen” has a funny – and probably intended – similarity with Bertold Brechts Mackie Messer which contains the line “Und der Haifish, der hat Zähne” – the shark has teeth.
It’s obviously about Rammstein. The sharks refer to themselves as:
Six hearts that burn
The fire keeps you warm
(sechs Herzen, die brennen –
das Feuer hält euch warm)
The six hearts refer to the six members of Rammstein and the fire manifests itself in their music.
To James and Firestrikers:
And the shark, it has tears,
and they run from the face.
But the shark lives in water,
so the tears remain unseen.
For me, it points out that something often depicted as vicious and mindless like a shark actually has a method for what it is doing or has emotion where others thought it didn’t. The shark living in water makes me think of how people have the persona or mask that they are unaffected by what happens around them. So, the sadness that the shark feels blends in with the other’s personas and so its tears go unnoticed.
In the depths it is (so) lonely,
and so many tears are shed,
and so it comes (to be) that the water
in the oceans are salty.
Here the shark is deep in the ocean of sorrow, alone. Since it has cried the amount it has, the habitat it is in has adapted as such. Basically meaning that the shark being sad and lonely has, in turn, kept it sad and lonely.
The other parts of the song make me think of
the band itself, especially that there are
six hearts that burn for us and keep us
warm. It makes me recall Mein Herz Brennt,
and how their passion for what they are
doing keeps us from getting cold. For me,
Rammstein really brings a passionate feel to
music that is unprecedented. So, keeping us
warm could be seen as filling that need for
poetic music that would be otherwise vacant
in our lives. It does make me think that
society as a whole is a lot less
intellectual and inquisitive.
One can think of us
whatever they please.
We remain unharmed.
We will press forward.
This verse makes me think of the fact that some people think that Rammstein have ill intentions. A very recent note of this is Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da being put on the Index in Germany. Regardless of that, however, they will continue what they are doing. This can be seen as simply being persistent and disregarding what others will think.
To James:
My interpretation of this part of the song:
In der Tiefe ist es einsam
und so manche Zähre fliesst
und so kommt es, dass das Wasser
in den Meeren salzig ist.
I think they mean, when a person had much sorrow and sadness in it’s life, they have shed alot of tears. And because of that they won’t accept alot of others in their own live, they live in bitterniss, referred to by the salty water… And that’s why they are so lonely. Even reminds me of the old guy from the movie UP..
I really like this song, along with “Fruhling in Paris” and “Donaukinder” and … O wait, I like the whole album XD
Actually, I’m pretty sure the lines
und so kommt es, dass das Wasser
in den Meeren salzig ist.
should be translated as
That’s why the water
In the oceans is salty.
Basically, the idea is that the *reason* seawater is salty is because the shark has cried so many (salty) tears.
One of the best songs on the album.
Second line in the lyrics is missing a “mit”,
therefore the correct version would be:
Wir halten miteinander aus
Otherwise a good source for Rammstein lyrics!
I think the song is actually referring the shark as being a nasty creature, with emotions, much alike in society we see people, but we see them for what they are not who they are. A generic example of this would be a bully, where bullies are mean in society, but we don’t see that perhaps they have been brought up in a bad family. It could also be depicting how humans see things for as they are like a cripple on the street, where they can’t change who they are, and society often refuses to accept them for who they are as people rather than seeing them as a cripple.
I’d love to see other peoples opinions on this, this song really intrigues me to “delve deeper” into the actual meaning behind it. This is the reason i love Rammstein so much, because most of their songs are about something or give meaning.
The part of the song that really makes me think this is:
In der Tiefe ist es einsam
und so manche Zähre fliesst
und so kommt es, dass das Wasser
in den Meeren salzig ist.
(In the deep it is lonely
And so many a tear is shed
And it so happens that the water
In the oceans is salty)
which suggest some sort of seclusion, lonely in the water. And the water being salty, salt referencing to the surroundings being bitter? Well thats what I’ve got so far, would love for people to help develop the meaning behind this.
listening to this for the second time i’d have to totally agree about the whole DM sound in the background but it just makes it even more grooveh heheh i like the song more for lyrics than anything else…
[Some stylistic suggestions]
It should be:
And the shark, he has tears
But the shark lives in water
So the tears can’t be seen
If one can’t keep up
We immediately stop
These passages sound better this way, imo.^^
Just suggestions though.
Naw – I think the shark referred to is Rammstein themselves – they are saying that although as an entity they (quite rightly) consider themselves as the ultimate species, they are still vulnerable, but do not want to be seen to be weak – they can do what they want when they want and they will stick together come what may – but even they have tough times – hence the tears they cry (when things are bad) cannot be seen by you or I.
Mind blowing album and I am 54years old!!
Great song! Love the lyrics, the song reminds me of the song Los. It all about how they are different and fitting in. I know I also have that problem.