Wir waren namenlos Und ohne Lieder Recht wortlos Waren wir nie wieder Etwas sanglos Sind wir immer noch Dafür nicht klanglos Man hört uns doch Nach einem Windstoss Ging ein Sturm los Einfach beispiellos Es wurde Zeit Los Sie waren sprachlos So sehr schockiert Und sehr ratlos Was war passiert Etwas fassungslos Und garantiert Verständnislos Das wird zensiert Sie sagten grundlos Schade um die Noten So schamlos Das gehört verboten Es ist geistlos Was sie da probieren So geschmacklos Wie sie musizieren Ist es hoffnungslos Sinnlos Hilflos Sie sind gottlos Wir waren namenlos Wir haben einen Namen Waren wortlos Die Worte kamen Etwas sanglos Sind wir immer noch Dafür nicht klanglos Das hÃört man doch Wir sind nicht fehlerlos Nur etwas haltlos Ihr werdet lautlos Uns nie los Wir waren los |
We were nameless and without songs We were never again really wordless Still we are a little songless Yet we're not toneless You can hear us After a gust of wind began a storm Simply matchless It was time -less They were speechless So totally shocked And totally powerless What happened Somewhat composureless and surely understandingless That will be censored They said groundless Too bad about the music So shameless That should be forbidden It's witless what they're trying there So tasteless how they're making music Is it hopeless Senseless Helpless They are godless We were nameless We have a name We were wordless The words came Still we are a little songless Yet we're not toneless You do hear it We aren't flawless Just a bit anchorless You will become soundless You'll never get rid of us We were less |
Los features acoustic guitars, a bluesy electric guitar solo, and a harmonica. The rather curious lyrics may describe the experience of Rammstein as a musical group, and contain some interesting plays on words, such as “…sie sind gott…LOS!” (“they are god…less.”)
Yep, “los” has lots of related meanings in German depending on context. No way to translate them all using the same word (or syllable) in English. In the last three lines alone it’s used to mean “-less”, “rid”, and “off”.
I think “we were off” (as in setting off) is a much better translation of the last line than “we were less”. As someone else has said “los” by itself can be taken to mean something like “lets go”.
And I certainly agree with the point about “gott…los”. It’s a joke that can be translated as “they are god; let’s go” or “they are godless”. Same with “zeit…los”: could mean “it was time; let’s go” or “it became timeless”.
LOS full band version
https://youtu.be/dQ1XVLnhadQ?list=RDdQ1XVLnhadQ