Rammstein Haifisch lyric with English translation

C’mon now – this interpretation is a bit silly. Rammstein are the sharks. They look dangerous and cruel, but they also have their sensitive side invisible to outside observers. No one else can see the tears of the sharks, yet their sorrows are so great that they turn the seas salty.

Really though, the song seems to be mostly word-play with “halten”. The word is used is many different ways: stay, endure, hold, keep, and stop. In English, “halt” still has the meaning “stop”, but maybe the word “hold” also comes from the German “halt”. A question for linguists, and a nice example of the poet at play.

There are legends from German mythology describing how the ocean got salty, but Till has come up with a new one: the poor, over-sensitive sharks has been crying so much. %^)

Also the usual ironic humor: the sharks always follow the rules, as long as they get to make them.

In the Little Black Rammbook, available on Amazon, I translate the lyrics to match original rhyme & beat, like this:

We all stick together
We help each other out,
We cling on to each other
No-one takes us out.

We are faithful to you
We hold on very tight
We’ll stick to all the rules, if you
Allow us to set them right.

And the shark, well, he is crying
Down his face the tears now fall
Yet the shark lives in the water
So we don’t see tears at all.

We set a quickfire tempo
We’re true to what we say
If someone can’t keep up with us
We’ll stop then straight away.

We keep our eyes wide open
We open out our arms,
Six hearts, aflame and beating
The fire then keeps you warm.

And the shark, well, he is crying
Down his face the tears will fall
Yet the shark lives in the water
So we don’t see tears at all.

It’s lonely in deep water
The tears are running free
That explains, then, why the water
Is salty in the sea.

Think then, what the hell you like
Think then, what you will
We are completely blameless
And we never keep quite still.

And the shark, well, he is crying
Down his face the tears now fall
Yet the shark is living in water
So we don’t see tears at all.

It’s lonely in deep water
So many tears are running free
That explains, then, why the water
Is salty in the sea.

(Chorus)

Take a look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Threepenny_Opera

As mentioned before the song is about the band.
How they stuck together during the years and supported on-another.
male-bonding etc..

And also the criticism and flak they got for their music and lyrics.
Which can be read form the following text:

Man kann von uns halten
was immer man da will;
wir halten uns schadlos,
wir halten niemals still.

Which would translate (in meaning not by word) to:

You can think of us
what ever you want
We are not responsible/liable/to blame for your actions.
We’ll never shut-up / We’ll never stop (as in when marching)

Don’t forget that the band was named with other bands in certain high-school shootings they where not responsible for. However sad these events where.

this German link shows two uses of schadlos.
http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/deutsch-englisch/schadlos.html

“schadlos” as intended as the band is not responsible for damages incurred by a 3rd party caused by a listener to there music.

However there is a second meaning.
As “sich schadlos halten” means to take advantage.

Again an example of how the band used words with multiple meanings to express both or suggest A but mean B

An other nice example is the song “Du hast”
When spoken the first 3 line have the following translations
(keep in mind the reputation of the band and what you would hear)
du hast : you hate / you have
du hast mich : you hate me / you have me
du hast mich gefragt : you have asked me (Oh it was not about hate)

So I guess translating schadlos to English will get only one meaning for the word in the English text. The band probably intended both.
Sadly things don’t always translate well especially poetry.

And that’s why I love the band. For their lyrics which look at the darker sides of man and society and have multiple meanings, intentions and emotions. As this one has in some respect it also a childrens song: “daddy? -Yes son. -Why is the sea salty? – Well son, you see sharks cry too, but you can’t see their tears as they live in the sea. -Dad? -Yes son. -They must have cried a lot then as the sea is very salty. -Yes son they must have.”

“To hold harmless” is a legal term referring to a business agreement.

“We hold each other harmless” is something to the effect of: If bad things X, Y, or Z happen as a result of our doing business together, it is neither of our faults, and we cannot legally argue otherwise.

My list of favorites from this album:

Top three are Haifisch, Fuhre Mich and Ich tu dir weh. I like Buckstabu, and Waidmans Heil a lot too, but this one has GREAT lyrics. Very satisfied with the lyrics of this one.

@ PETER – hmm… I thought it over a bit, maybe it is a double meaning… I’m still not sure what the meaning of this strophe is:

Man kann von uns halten
was immer man da will;
wir HALTEN UNS SCHADLOS,
wir halten niemals still

but I guess “We hold harmless;get indemnity/compensation” does fit better? nevertheless, “we behave harmless” could be another meaning, but I can’t see the logic in it:

“We behave harmless
We never keep still” ???

Since I can’t speak English that good, I was forced to look up synonyms of indemnity – I found another meaning; “pardon; end of blame”… Maybe this makes more sense:

“You can think of us
Whatever you want
We are pardoned
We never keep still”

- ??? not sure if it can mean the same in German

Sources: http://thesaurus.com/browse/indemnity?__utma=1.757579086.1277134810.1277134810.1277134810.1&__utmb=1.4.9.1277134832794&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1277134810.1.1.utmcsr=%28direct%29|utmccn=%28direct%29|utmcmd=%28none%29&__utmv=-&__utmk=166885822#visualthesaurus

http://www.dict.cc/deutsch-englisch/schadlos+halten.html
http://en.bab.la/dictionary/german-english/jdn-schadlos-halten

PS: Now I’m being a nitpicker
I’m only speculating, but I think “We never KEEP STILL” is better, because they rather mean “you can’t KEEP US QUIET” (I can speak German).
“We never SIT STILL” sounds too literary, even figuratively it sounds rather like “we won’t take it” or “we will do something about it”…

@Enravota – interesting point of view, but I interpreted those songs you mentioned in another way, nevertheless, your interpretation is possible too… But I think these three songs: Ein Lied, Rammlied & Haifisch, are clearly dedicated to the fans… It’s like a trilogy ode or something

I tottaly agree with Cinnamon Revenge. I hold the shark to be te band itself. The meaning is that the rich and famous can also experience lonleyness and sadness, but the people usually can’t see that because of the enviroment the rich and famous dwell in. And this enviroment is quite a lonley place, which fuels the sadness itself. Nevertheless though, the band holds together and their hearts burn aflame to keep us warm.

The comparisson made with the Ein Lied can be made also with many other Rammstein songs, as it is a “lightmotive” in their work – in Mein Herz brennt, also in Ich willq even in Spring if you like to make an broader interpretation.

Oh, and yes for the nitpickers: “We never sit still” is of course better english than the author’s original “We never keep still”, but that’s nitpicking and does not matter to understand the meaning!

Hey sockpants, I feel the same way with much of these translations.

However if translators were allowed to change it that much then over enough time it would become a wreck like the Bible.

The bible’s translation from language to language has caused it to be a mess. None of us would want that to happen to Rammstein’s lyrics now would we? =]

@ Angus.

I think it refers to the six members of the band.

The video goes: Till dies, funeral, characters fro
other videos show up, 2 girls get into a fight, “deleted scenes” from the Du Hast
video, remaining band members get into a big fight, one of them falls on Till’s coffin and breaks it…. It’s empty. Till ran off with this one girl… He sends a postcard. who knows? Could happen…

Kind of similar to Rammlied – “bist du einsam und allein, wir sind hier, schalte ein!” Or something like that, my memory for German lyrics isn’t great since I don’t speak German that well :-/

@MOUZ: very good translation!
“And the shark cries these tears,
that run down from his face.
But as the shark lives in water,
these tears won’t be seen.

At those depths ‘t can be lon’ly,
and so many tears are cried.
And that’ll be the reason,
of the salt in (all) the seas.

Cheers,
Mouz”

I like the song even more because it was inspired by “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer”

and I agree, sounds a bit like DM

The Shark symbolizes Rammstein as a collective – they seem strong and dangerous, but they have a soft core and feel lonely sometimes… Till Lindemann seems like a withdrawn guy, always avoiding reporters and stuff, I can totally recognize him in the lyrics… In an interview he said:

Playboy: Is fire your passion?
Lindemann: No, not at all, but I hate it to be observed on stage. When a guitar solo was played in former times I stood liked glued to the microphone. I always thought: I have to do something against it or I will die of loneliness and boredom. Fortunately a friend of mine was a pyrotechnist.
[...]
Playboy: Why did those relationships never work?
Lindemann: Because the feeling was missing, I never dared to be bound. Therefore I always was the one who was left and I always was totally shocked. But every time I realized: she’s right! The only good thing about this was that every time I was left the pain was a big push for my creativity.

Wir halten das Tempo = We keep our rhythm (or tempo)

I was wondering if “schadlos halten” does not also have a double meaning here:

Man kann von uns halten You can think of us
was immer man da will Whatever you want
wir halten uns schadlos We think we are harmless
wir halten niemals still. We never keep still.

Is this alternative interpretation possible? German is not my mother tongue, so I can’t tell. However, it is a very logical interpretation that falls in perfectly with the surrounding lines (better than the direct meaning “We get compensation”)

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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.

@1984:

I think Rammstein has a lot in common with DM, especially on Rosenrot album. It´s synth samples remind me constantly from Ultra album from DM, and some older pre-Violator albums. But, as always, this is subjective.

My entire family is really into Rammstein, and when we heard this song the first time, we all said “Depeche Mode.” …Except for my dad, he said “Nephew.”

The chours text is an explicit reference to Kurt Weil’s song “Moritat” on text of Bertold Brecht :

“Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne und die trägt er im Gesicht und Macheath, der hat ein Messer doch das Messer sieht man nicht. …”

I totally agree that Haifisch is very DM-like song, which is definitely NOT a bad thing at all. What is surprising is that many have tried to copy the sound but Rammstein did it well, although they aren´t even a DMish band!

Very good song indeed.
This translation of the chorus might be (slightly) better as they can be sung in the same rhythm as the original song. The translation is a bit more free.

And the shark cries these tears,
that run down from his face.
But as the shark lives in water,
these tears won’t be seen.

At those depths ‘t can be lon’ly,
and so many tears are cried.
And that’ll be the reason,
of the salt in (all) the seas.

Cheers,
Mouz

Und der Haifisch, der hat Tränen
Und die laufen vom Gesicht=
The shark, he has tears
and they run of (its) face

You must be talking about “Ich Tu Dir Weh” That’s the greatest!