Wednesday, September 29, 2021

You Have Milk

It's 1997. Rammstein's most popular song has debuted, and I know just enough German to be dangerous. 

My friends and I hear the music on the radio for the first time, and we start headbanging. Then the lyrics begin, and I start laughing so hysterically that I have difficulty breathing. 

When I've recovered my composure enough to explain to my friends why I'm pissing myself with laughter, I explain "Du Habst Milch" in German translates to "You Have Milk" in English. 


Not once do I ask myself "Why would a hardcore German metal band write a song proclaiming that someone has milk?"  No, I just take it as a given, because in my world this makes perfect sense. 

Needless to say, I was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED to learn that the actual lyrics were "Du Hast Mich" which, translated, means "You Have/Hate Me". *

I still prefer my version of events.


* Before anyone gets all "Well, akshually" on me, let me explain that the song is more complex than people realize. 

  • Du Hast = You Have
  • Du Hasst = You Hate 
Hasst and Hast sound a lot alike, especially when sung aloud. 

Also consider that the chorus, Willst du bist das tod euch scheidet, treue sein fur alle tagen, which means "Will you stay true to each other for all of your days until death separates you," is the German version of wedding vows, including "Till death do you part." 

Put it all together and it's pretty clear that, as someone said on Facebook, the song is clever wordplay regarding the dichotomy of love and hate in marriage. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Fine Print


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Creative Commons License


Erin Palette is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.