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"Dalai Lama"
Song

Dalai Lama is the third song from the album Reise, Reise. It is an adaptation of "der Erlkönig," a poem written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) in 1782 and subsequently set to music by many composers, including Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1815. The band apparently considered calling the song "Erlkönig" in homage to Goethe's poem. "Flugangst" ("fear of flying", literally "flight-fright") was also considered as a name before Rammstein settled on "Dalai Lama" in reference to the current Dalai Lama's well-publicised dislike of air travel. Other than this somewhat oblique reference, the song does not have anything to do with Tibetan Buddhism or the Dalai Lama.

The song replaces Goethe's travelling man and child on horseback with a man and child on an aircraft, and the Erlkönig himself with the "king of all the winds." As in the poem, the travelers are menaced by a mysterious spirit which "invites" the child to join him (though only the child can hear the spirit's invitation). Rammstein's version differs markedly from Goethe's original in describing the fate of the child. In the poem, the child cries out that the Erlkönig is abducting it. The alarmed father rides for help, holding the child in his arms, only to find that his son is dead; Rammstein replaces this with a typically morbid twist: after running into a storm sent by the "king of all the winds" which threatens all the passengers, the terrified father suffocates the child by holding him too tightly and the child's soul joins its "brothers" in the winds.

Lyrics[]

Ein Flugzeug liegt im Abendwind',
an Bord ist auch ein Mann mit Kind'.
Sie sitzen sicher, sitzen warm,
und gehen so dem Schlaf' ins Garn.

In drei Stunden sind sie da,
zum Wiegenfeste der Mama.
Die Sicht ist gut, der Himmel klar.

Weiter, weiter ins Verderben,
wir müssen leben bis wir sterben.

Der Mensch gehört nicht in die Luft,
so der Herr im Himmel ruft
seine Söhne auf dem Wind':
Bringt mir dieses Menschenkind!

Das Kind hat noch die Zeit verloren,
da springt ein Widerhall zu Ohren.
Ein dumpfes Grollen treibt die Nacht,
und der Wolkentreiber lacht,
schüttelt wach die Menschenfracht.

Weiter, weiter ins Verderben,
wir müssen leben bis wir sterben.

Und das Kind zum Vater spricht:
Hörst du denn den Donner nicht?
Das ist der König aller Winde,
er will mich zu seinem Kinde.

Aus den Wolken tropft ein Chor,
kriecht sich in das kleine Ohr:

Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind gut zu dir!
Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind Brüder dir!

Der Sturm umarmt die Flugmaschine,
der Druck fällt schnell in der Kabine.
Ein dumpfes Grollen treibt die Nacht,
in Panik schreit die Menschenfracht.

Weiter, weiter ins Verderben,
wir müssen leben bis wir sterben.

Und zum Herrgott' fleht das Kind:
Himmel, nimm' zurück den Wind,
bring' uns unversehrt zu Erden!

Aus den Wolken tropft ein Chor,
kriecht sich in das kleine Ohr:

Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind gut zu dir!
Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind Brüder dir!

Der Vater hält das Kind jetzt fest,
hat es sehr an sich gepresst,
bemerkt nicht dessen Atemnot.

Doch die Angst kennt kein Erbarmen,
so der Vater mit den Armen
drückt die Seele aus dem Kind'.
Diese setzt sich auf den Wind und singt:

Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind gut zu dir!
Komm' her, bleib' hier,
wir sind Brüder dir!

An airplane is in the evening wind,
on board is also a man with child.
They do sit safe, do sit warm,
and so they fall into the trap of sleep.

In three hours, they will be there,
for the mama's birthday.
The view is good, the sky clear.

Onwards, onwards into ruin,
we must live until we die.

Mankind doesn't belong into the air,
so the lord in the sky calls
his sons onto the wind:
Bring me this child of man!

The child has still lost time,
then an echo jumps to the ears.
A muffled rumbling drives the night,
and the driver-of-the-clouds laughs,
does shake the human cargo awake.

Onwards, onwards into ruin,
we must live until we die.

And the child speaks to the father:
Don't you hear the thunder?
That is the king of all the winds,
he wants me to be a child to him.

From the clouds drops a choir,
crawling into the little ear:

Come here, stay here,
we are good to you!
Come here, stay here,
we are brothers to you!

The storm embraces the flying machine,
the pressure falls quickly in the cabin.
A muffled rumbling drives the night,
in panic, the human cargo screams.

Onwards, onwards into ruin,
we must live until we die.

And to God the Lord, the child pleads:
Heaven, take back the wind,
bring us unharmed (down)to earth!

From the clouds drops a choir,
crawling into the little ear:

Come here, stay here,
we are good to you!
Come here, stay here,
we are brothers to you!

The father now holds onto the child,
pressed it tightly against himself,
doesn't notice its struggle to breath.

But the fear knows no mercy,
so the father, with his arms,
squeezes the soul out of the child.
Which takes its place upon the wind and sings:

Come here, stay here,
we are good to you!
Come here, stay here,
we are brothers to you!


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