Ich habe Pläne grosse Pläne Ich baue dir ein Haus Jeder Stein ist eine Träne Und du ziehst nie wieder aus Ja ich baue ein Häuschen dir Hat keine Fenster keine Tür Innen wird es dunkel sein Dringt überhaupt kein Licht hinein Ja ich schaffe dir ein Heim Und du sollst Teil des Ganzen sein Stein um Stein mauer ich dich ein Stein um Stein Ich werde immer bei dir sein Ohne Kleider ohne Schuh Siehst du mir bei der Arbeit zu Mit den Füssen im Zement Verschönerst du das Fundament Draussen wird ein Garten sein Und niemand hört dich schreien Stein um Stein mauer ich dich ein Stein um Stein Ich werde immer bei dir sein Welch ein Klopfen welch ein Hämmern Draussen fängt es an zu dömmern Alle Nägel stehen stramm Wenn ich sie in dein Leibholz Ramm' Stein um Stein mauer ich dich ein Stein um Stein Und keiner hört dich schreien |
I have plans big plans I'm going to build you a house Every stone will be a tear And you'll never move out again Yeah I'm going to build a little house for you with no windows no door It'll be dark inside No light will get in at all Yeah I'll make you a home And you are to be a part of it all Stone by stone I wall you in Stone by stone I'll always be with you Without clothes without shoes You watch me working With your feet in cement You brighten up the foundation Outside there will be a garden And no one will hear you scream Stone by stone I wall you in Stone by stone I'll always be with you What a pounding what a hammering Outside it's starting to get dark All of the nails stand at attention when I ram them into your body-wood Stone by stone I wall you in Stone by stone And nobody will hear you scream |
A slow monologue about someone building a little house to entomb his victim alive – a possible interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. The riff during the chorus resembles the riff after the second chorus in Rosenrot; it was originally going to be the first single from Reise, Reise but was dropped in favour of “Mein Teil”)
A similar theme is to be found in Romanian mythology. In the folk poem Monastirea ArgeÅŸului (“The Monastery on the ArgeÅŸ River”), Mesterul Manole has to wall his wife, in order to finish the monastery he is building.
Another interpretation is that the song refers to the Berlin Wall and the former East German government; until the end of 1989, East Germans were not readily allowed into the capitalist West.
An interesting pun exists in the lyrics during the final verse of the song. Till sings, “Wenn ich sie in dein Leibholz ramm-…Stein um Stein…” The literal translation is, “When I ram them into your body-wood…Stone by stone…” However, because of German grammar and conjugation rules, the verb “ramm,” meaning “to ram” must be placed at the end of the sentence. Thus, this creates “ramm-…Stein,” wordplay alluding to the name of the band.
I think another interpretation could be this: a toxic relationship since in the beginning he says “every tear is a stone” and then he goes “STONE WITH STONE I WALL YOU IN” which could mean, in my opinion that he abuses her and turns her to depression and she feels trapped in all the ways possible. It could also be Stockholm syndrome
I’ve always understood this song to be clearly, absolutely, incontrovertibly about communism. East Germans were literally walled in like the song describes. The DDR government aggressively sought to shut every door and window to outside influences and ideas. No light form outside was allowed in. And especially the verse about there being a garden outside – that’s something nominally communist dictatorships still do. They have fronts and façades that they use to impress the rest of the world.
This song makes me think of the movie “Boxing Helena”
The more I learn German, the better I understand Rammstein’s songs and their true poetic beauty… this one has a figural meaning – it is about an abusive relationship wherein one partner resorts to what is called “coercive control”, thus gradually and diligently encaging the other over time. Thus “every stone is a tear” and the (beautiful) “garden” outside of the house (cage) so that nobody sees the abuse.
Quick (overly padentic) note on the footnotes, “ramm” does not mean “to ram” (the infinitive form), rather, “rammen” means “to ram”. “Ramm'” is just a shortened form of “ramme”, which is the conjugated form of rammen for “ich” (first person singular). Just feel it’s important to point out as a learner of German, as not to confuse other learners.
the more I hear this song the more I think that is about someone who’s burying a loved one. He’s building a tomb a great tomb (tomb has no window or door),he wants to make a big garden ( here in italy you can see how mucj effort somenone put in decorating tombs with flowers and plant). The part “without clothes or shoes” , in some cultures the defuncts lies in the ground naked onlu a blanket cover them and actually they’ll become part of the ground ( the foundation), and the the part about nails and wood. This si what I like about their works, you can find so many level of interpretation