Information
Date: November 1998
Title: Perspective - Du hast mich gefragt - Why America Doesn't Ask
Source: Counterpoint
Translation: Dutch
Press Article
"You'd think the Nazis would have given up by now." My ears pricked up and I shifted my attention from the bowl of ramen before me. I focused on the speaker, a hairy shirtless oaf lounging near the frat house TV. Nazis? I thought, and steeled myself for the conversation ahead. A burst of German techno from the television interrupted my premonitions. I glanced at the screen, and the flashing lyrics of MTV's Say What? assaulted me. The words read "You hate me," and I nearly dismissed this as just another angry and meaningless snippet of industrial rock, but something seemed amiss. I listened to the German lyrics, and realized what bothered me: they didn't match the translation. "What is this?" I asked the half-asleep lout. "Ramsteen," he said. "It's really popular, but I think the Nazis are trying to take over again--it's all about hate."
Contrary to popular belief, Rammstein's Du hast is not, in fact, about hate. While the lyrics of this current teen fave contain their due quota of angst, most listeners would be surprised to learn their true meaning. Rather than "You hate me to say / And I did not obey," as MTV has spouted across the American music scene, the refrain of this song translates to "You asked me / And I said nothing." (Poor grammar, even.) It is possible that Rammstein intended a word-play with Du hast, since the verbs "to have" and "to hate" sound the same in certain conjugations, but no mention is made in the English translation of the true meaning of the whole sentence--a rather significant omission. But it would be unfair to place the blame entirely on MTV, since their translation matches that found on Rammstein's homepage, www.rammstein.com.
Why would Rammstein print erroneous English lyrics on their own homepage? Ignorance of the English language is an unlikely culprit; American travelers in Germany will find themselves frustrated in attempts to conduct conversations in the native tongue, once recognized as English-speakers. It is far more likely that Rammstein hoped to capitalize on their music's appeal to a certain audience through "interesting" lyrics, the mis-translation of which could almost appear accidental--unless one has any prior knowledge of German. These "translated" lyrics alter Rammstein's appearance significantly, changing the song from a light-hearted scoff at monogamy to a sexually hostile and hard-core proclamation of "nothing matters but me." The singer gains a callous, bad-ass image through his indifference to and objectification of the woman, an image which is not clear in the original text, if at all present.
But the grossest crime is yet to come. The crux of the issue is not Rammstein's misinforming non-German speakers, but rather America's blithe acceptance thereof. Greedily devouring anything foreign without stopping to dig beneath the surface, Americans' gullibility has undermined their public dignity before. The instant success of the dance smash hit Macarena is a notable example of Americans' cultural naivete. In a time when diversity is all the rage, Americans tend to fall over each other in their haste to absorb international tidbits.
In this case, Americans' intellectual clumsiness has ramifications beyond a grass-stain in their global jeans. By popularizing Du hast for its perceived hateful meaning, Americans support a rampant stereotype which Germans have been battling since World War II. Connections between Germany and hate, skinheads, and Nazis are all too quickly--and arbitrarily--drawn. While racial and religious discrimination receive great attention, more subtle negative generalizations regarding nationalism are also damaging and noteworthy.
Americans' acceptance of the world at face value conjures up the image of a bull led by the nose, docile, unquestioning, and helpless. It is time that America straightened up and developed some healthy skepticism. So take the initiative, pry a little, and the next time someone says "You asked me," don't let them finish with "and I said nothing."