wow, I gotta say, this is a poor translation of this song. Please check out the band's website for the Jeremy Williams translations, they are much better. btw, Mensch is better translated as person, and is used more commonly in the german language than in english.
So my understanding of this song is this: a small child is put to rest, although his soul seems to remain. This spirit is portrayed perfectly as a child singing a children's song. It is obvious that the soul is not ascending to heaven (und kein Engel steigt herab) and the fact that no one is 'crying' on the grave gives a feeling of loneliness.
As the song nears it's ending, someone finally hears the child and saves it. At this point it becomes apparent that the child is being used metaphorically, to show that although a person might want to be alone, he/she might find him/herself lonely and afraid, especially of death. Rammstein's clever way of changing the song's meaning at the very end.
Definately one of my favorites though :P
wow, I gotta say, this is a poor translation of this song. Please check out the band's website for the Jeremy Williams translations, they are much better. btw, Mensch is better translated as person, and is used more commonly in the german language than in english. So my understanding of this song is this: a small child is put to rest, although his soul seems to remain. This spirit is portrayed perfectly as a child singing a children's song. It is obvious that the soul is not ascending to heaven (und kein Engel steigt herab) and the fact that no one is 'crying' on the grave gives a feeling of loneliness. As the song nears it's ending, someone finally hears the child and saves it. At this point it becomes apparent that the child is being used metaphorically, to show that although a person might want to be alone, he/she might find him/herself lonely and afraid, especially of death. Rammstein's clever way of changing the song's meaning at the very end. Definately one of my favorites though :P