From Sehnsucht · 1997 · Track 5
Du hast
«You have / You hate»
More from the album · Sehnsucht
In context
Rammstein's best-known song is built on an ambiguity that exists only in German: for almost its entire length the listener cannot tell whether they are being told “you have” or “you hate”. When the phrase is finally completed, it turns out to be the start of a question, and the song ends by answering no.
- Wordplay
- Commitment
- Rejection
- Origin
- Released on “Sehnsucht” (1997), it was one of the singles that opened up the English-speaking market to the band, helped in part by its appearance on the soundtrack of “The Matrix” (1999).
- The German key
- “Du hast” (“you have”) and “du hasst” (“you hate”) are pronounced the same. The song holds that doubt until the phrase is completed and reveals its literal meaning, and its structure imitates the formula of German wedding vows — the very formula the lyrics end up rejecting.
- What the band has said
- The band has been deliberately ambiguous about the meaning and has never settled the reading in public.
- Live
- A pillar of the live set since 1997, almost always in the closing stretch of the show and with heavy pyrotechnics. In Bogotá in 2010 it was one of the most sung-along moments of the night.
Our reading
The real subject is not what the lyrics literally say but the oscillation: the German ear wavers between “have” and “hate” throughout the song, and that unresolved tension is the content. Translated into any language, the song loses precisely what it is about.
The archive's interpretation, not an official account.
Original (German)
Du Du hast Du hast mich
Translation
You You have You have me
Verse cited for the purpose of analysis.
Read the full lyrics at a licensed source
The pun
“Du hast” is the perfect example of why Rammstein rewards those who learn German. The title sounds identical to “du hasst” (“you hate”), and the song exploits that ambiguity. The full phrase — “du hast mich gefragt” — finally reveals the literal meaning: “you have asked me”. The structure mimics marriage vows, which the song ultimately rejects.
Context
Released on Sehnsucht (1997), it was one of the singles that opened the English-speaking market to the band, partly thanks to its appearance on the Matrix soundtrack (1999). It is, probably, the song more people around the world have sung along to in German without understanding a word.
Interpretation
The band has been deliberately ambiguous about its meaning. The most accepted reading is a rejection of commitment (“till death do us part”), but the genius is that the German ear oscillates between “have” and “hate” throughout the song. That tension, not the literal lyric, is the real theme.
Live
It has been a staple of the live set since 1997, almost always in the home stretch of the show, with intense pyrotechnics. In Bogotá 2010 it was one of the most sung moments of the night.
Translation and notes by Rammstein Colombia, for the purpose of analysis. The full original lyrics belong to their authors.