German band Rammstein's Spieluhr with English translation and notes
Friday, December 12, 2008
I've never heard of Rammstein before, but some people were talking about them on another forum today, and I listened to two of their songs. The first one I didn't like (can't remember the name), but Spieluhr is very good, and especially so for learning German considering how clear / overemphasized the lyrics are. First, here's the video:
On that same page they have a translation into English, and I'll use that but with a bit of tweaking to the word order and vocab to make it a bit clearer (i.e. a more literal translation), and the original German lyrics on the left.
German | English | Notes |
---|---|---|
Ein kleiner Mensch stirbt nur zum Schein | A small person just pretends to die | sterben - die; Schein - pretext |
wollte ganz alleine sein | It wanted to be completely alone | |
das kleine Herz stand still für Stunden | The small heart stood still for hours | |
so hat man es für tot befunden | So they declared it dead | finden (befunden) - find, deem, think |
es wird verscharrt in nassem Sand | It is buried in wet sand | verscharren - to bury without ceremony |
mit einer Spieluhr in der Hand | With a music box in the hand | |
Der erste Schnee das Grab bedeckt | The first snow covered the grave | |
hat ganz sanft das Kind geweckt | Woke the child very gently | sanft -gentle/ly |
in einer kalten Winternacht | In a cold winter night | |
ist das kleine Herz erwacht | Is the small heart awakened | |
Als der Frost ins Kind geflogen | As the frost flew into the child | fliegen - fly |
hat es die Spieluhr aufgezogen | It wound up the music box | aufziehen - wind up |
eine Melodie im Wind | A melody in the wind | |
und aus der Erde singt das Kind | And the child sings from the ground | |
Hoppe hoppe Reiter | Up down, rider | hoppeln - hop |
und kein Engel steigt herab | And no angel climbs down | |
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter | My heart does not beat any longer | schlagen - beat |
nur der Regen weint am Grab | Only the rain cries at the grave | weinen - cry (cf. whine) |
hoppe hoppe Reiter | Up down, rider | |
eine Melodie im Wind | A melody in the wind | |
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter | My heart does not beat any longer | |
und aus der Erde singt das Kind | And from the earth sings the child | |
Der kalte Mond in voller Pracht | The cold moon in full magnificence | |
hört die Schreie in der Nacht | Hears the cries in the night | |
und kein Engel steigt herab | And no angel climbs down | |
nur der Regen weint am Grab | Only the rain cries at the grave | |
Zwischen harten Eichendielen | Between hard oak boards | Eiche - oak; eichen - oaken; Diele - board/plank |
wird es mit der Spieluhr spielen | It will play with the music box | |
eine Melodie im Wind | A melody in the wind | |
und aus der Erde singt das Kind | And from the earth sings the child | |
(repeat chorus) | ||
Am Totensonntag hörten sie | On Totensonntag they heard this | On Totensonntag: "Sunday of the dead, a holiday taking place on the last Sunday before Advent in November. It's the day when Protestant Christians remember their dead" |
aus Gottes Acker diese Melodie | From God's field this melody | |
da haben sie es ausgebettet | Then they unearthed it | |
das kleine Herz im Kind gerettet | They saved the small heart in the child | retten - to save |
(more chorus, repeat) |
4 comments:
Thanks a lot! I always appreciate when I find German songs with translations, since those are nice opportunities to practice the German language a bit.
How come you'd never heard of them before? Wow. You must be spent too many time in Asia already :)
I guess though, that you know tons of Asian music that we here in Europe have never heard of. I think you could write about it in your blog, too :)
Thanks a lot! I always appreciate when I find German songs with translations, since those are nice opportunities to practice the German language a bit.
How come you'd never heard of them before? Wow. You must be spent too many time in Asia already :)
I guess though, that you know tons of Asian music that we here in Europe have never heard of. I think you could write about it in your blog, too :)
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