From Rosenrot · 2005 · Track 7
Zerstören
«To Destroy»
More from the album · Rosenrot
In context
A child who travels the world destroying everything. It is one of the few songs with a political target declared by the band.
- Destruction
- Politics
- Childhood as metaphor
- Origin
- From “Rosenrot” (2005). The working title was “Ankara”, and the sample that opens the song is taken from “Huma Kuşu” by the Turkish singer Devrim Kaya — both point in the same geopolitical direction. The Iraq War, under way since 2003, was the direct trigger.
- The German key
- “Zerstören” is to destroy, with no nuance or euphemism. The song holds the verb in the infinitive, as a function rather than a single act.
- What the band has said
- Paul Landers explained its origin bluntly: the song is about George W. Bush, who goes around the world destroying everything like a small child.
- Live
- 45 performances between 2016 and 2 January 2019.
Our reading
When it finally entered the setlist — on 26 May 2016, more than a decade after the album came out — the staging made explicit what the lyrics hinted at: Till came out in a costume with a Middle Eastern look and ended by revealing a prop explosive vest.
The archive's interpretation, not an official account.
A kid destroying the world
Paul Landers explained the lyric’s origin bluntly: the song is about George W. Bush Jr., who runs around the world destroying everything, just like a little kid. The Iraq War, underway since 2003, was the direct trigger. The working title, “Ankara,” and the sample that opens the track — taken from “Huma Kuşu,” by Turkish singer Devrim Kaya — point in the same geopolitical direction.
Staged, eleven years later
The song wasn’t played live until 26 May 2016, more than a decade after the album came out. When it finally entered the setlist, the staging made explicit what the lyric only implied: Till Lindemann came out in Middle Eastern-styled costume and ended up revealing a prop suicide vest that simulated explosions, before leaving the stage on a sliding platform. It was performed 45 times through 2 January 2019.
Context
Seventh track on Rosenrot, recorded in 2003 at El Cortijo Studio in Málaga, Spain, released 28 October 2005.
Notes by Rammstein Colombia, for the purpose of analysis. The original lyrics belong to their authors and are not reproduced in this entry.