The best video to understand the lyrics is the translation made by EducatedMarine. This song got its name because the Dalai Lama was afraid of flying. About the lyrics: there is a child with his dad on the plane. The plane enters turbulence, everyone despairs and the child thinks that it is the "lords of the sky" who want to take their souls. The plot twist happens when the father hugs the child so tightly that he ends up killing his own son, making his soul one of the "children of heaven".
"Some of the Tills lyrics are inspired by classical German literature. Poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe." Goethe's famous ballad Erlkönig, for ex. translated: Who rides so late through the night and the wind? It is the father with his child. He holds the boy safely in his arms; he holds him tight, he keeps him warm.
This song is based on a poem by J.W.Goethe. In 1782, of course, there were still no airplanes. Here is the old original: Erlkönig - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (english translation by Mark Twain): ho's riding so late where winds blow wild It is the father grasping his child; He holds the boy embraced in his arm, He clasps him snugly, he keeps him warm. "My son, why cover your face in such fear?" "You see the elf-king, father? He's near! The king of the elves with crown and train!" "My son, the mist is on the plain." 'Sweet lad, o come and join me, do! Such pretty games I will play with you; On the shore gay flowers their color unfold, My mother has many garments of gold.' "My father, my father, and can you not hear The promise the elf-king breathes in my ear?" "Be calm, stay calm, my child, lie low: In withered leaves the night-winds blow." 'Will you, sweet lad, come along with me? My daughters shall care for you tenderly; In the night my daughters their revelry keep, They'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep.' "My father, my father, o can you not trace The elf-king's daughters in that gloomy place?" "My son, my son, I see it clear How grey the ancient willows appear." 'I love you, your comeliness charms me, my boy! And if you're not willing, my force I'll employ.' "Now father, now father, he's seizing my arm. Elf-king has done me a cruel harm." The father shudders, his ride is wild, In his arms he's holding the groaning child, Reaches the court with toil and dread. - The child he held in his arms was dead.
One of my favorite Rammstein songs!! It's based on the famous poem of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "der Erlkönig" you should have watched the fan made video with the translation of educated marine! It's fantastic and REALLY creepy!
The mood and rhythm of Goethe's poem are echoed in Rammstein's "Dalai Lama": An airplane lies in the evening wind On board is a man with a child They sit safely, sit warm And are lulled into falling asleep
In Goethe's poem, a ghostly apparition, the King of the Elves, whispers seductively to the child and seeks to abduct him into his realm. At the end of the ballad, the son dies in the arms of his father on horseback. In the song "Dalai Lama" the"King of the Winds" aims to claim the boy,who finally dies in his father's arms, held too tightly in anticipation of an airplane crash.
The best video to understand the lyrics is the translation made by EducatedMarine. This song got its name because the Dalai Lama was afraid of flying. About the lyrics: there is a child with his dad on the plane. The plane enters turbulence, everyone despairs and the child thinks that it is the "lords of the sky" who want to take their souls. The plot twist happens when the father hugs the child so tightly that he ends up killing his own son, making his soul one of the "children of heaven".
Video is it not on TH-cam
"Some of the Tills lyrics are inspired by classical German literature. Poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe." Goethe's famous ballad Erlkönig, for ex. translated:
Who rides so late through the night and the wind?
It is the father with his child.
He holds the boy safely in his arms;
he holds him tight, he keeps him warm.
This song is based on a poem by J.W.Goethe. In 1782, of course, there were still no airplanes. Here is the old original:
Erlkönig - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (english translation by Mark Twain):
ho's riding so late where winds blow wild
It is the father grasping his child;
He holds the boy embraced in his arm,
He clasps him snugly, he keeps him warm.
"My son, why cover your face in such fear?"
"You see the elf-king, father?
He's near! The king of the elves with crown and train!"
"My son, the mist is on the plain."
'Sweet lad, o come and join me, do!
Such pretty games I will play with you;
On the shore gay flowers their color unfold,
My mother has many garments of gold.'
"My father, my father, and can you not hear
The promise the elf-king breathes in my ear?"
"Be calm, stay calm, my child, lie low:
In withered leaves the night-winds blow."
'Will you, sweet lad, come along with me?
My daughters shall care for you tenderly;
In the night my daughters their revelry keep,
They'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep.'
"My father, my father, o can you not trace
The elf-king's daughters in that gloomy place?"
"My son, my son, I see it clear
How grey the ancient willows appear."
'I love you, your comeliness charms me, my boy!
And if you're not willing, my force I'll employ.'
"Now father, now father, he's seizing my arm.
Elf-king has done me a cruel harm."
The father shudders, his ride is wild,
In his arms he's holding the groaning child,
Reaches the court with toil and dread. -
The child he held in his arms was dead.
Finally! One of the coolest songs ❤
One of my favorite songs by Rammstein. I love everything about it the atmospheric music, Till's voice, the twist at the end...
One of my favorite Rammstein songs!! It's based on the famous poem of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "der Erlkönig" you should have watched the fan made video with the translation of educated marine! It's fantastic and REALLY creepy!
Slavoj Žižek wrote esey about this song in the time of Covid. He is fan too
The mood and rhythm of Goethe's poem are echoed in Rammstein's "Dalai Lama":
An airplane lies in the evening wind
On board is a man with a child
They sit safely, sit warm
And are lulled into falling asleep
In Goethe's poem, a ghostly apparition, the King of the Elves, whispers seductively to the child and seeks to abduct him into his realm. At the end of the ballad, the son dies in the arms of his father on horseback.
In the song "Dalai Lama" the"King of the Winds" aims to claim the boy,who finally dies in his father's arms, held too tightly in anticipation of an airplane crash.
It's as creepy as the original poem by Goethe :-)
For me this is creepiest Rammstein song, both lyrically and musically. Love it tho
The right translation of Erlkönig into english is Alder-king.
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🤝🇩🇪🤝👍👏👏👏👏