What do you think Spieluhr means?

Rammstein: Spieluhr Meaning

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Album cover for Spieluhr album cover

Spieluhr Lyrics

Ein kleiner Mensch stirbt nur zum Schein
wollte ganz alleine sein
das kleine Herz stand still für Stunden
so hat man es für tot befunden
es wird verscharrt in nassem Sand
mit einer Spieluhr in der Hand

Der erste Schnee das Grab...

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  1. anonymous
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     Jul 20th 2018 !⃝

    Knowing rammstein, they have more reasons and deep messages in their songs than just write a fairytale from a book. To me, this song represents those who struggle with too much baggage and isolate themselves to be able to pull themselves together and think. Like the little girl, she tried to avoide people by playing dead. Her reason would be to get away, because she wants to be alone. After some time when she’s ready to face the world again, she calls for help, but no response. Sometimes people who go through some tough times are unheard, we need help but we don’t show it or people don’t notice. And time passes and we call again and again, and sometimes you get that one person who notices the pain and situation you’re stuck in and will help you just in time. The story Rammstein painted is surprising since they ended it happy, but I feel they thought about letting the girl die from nobody being there to help. Which would also represent those who can’t be helped and eventually commit suicide or emotionally die from their struggle.

    Rammstein is probably the most unique band when it comes to song lyrics and deep meanings. Which is why I refuse to believe they just copied some old fairy tale.

  2. anonymous
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     Jun 19th 2012 !⃝

    Its almost as cruel and morbid as a el german childrensong.
    xept the death is there only happyend

  3. anonymous
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     Jan 4th 2012 !⃝

    The song is most probably based on a German fairy tale called Das Eigensinnige Kind (the wayward child) about a child that speaks back to its mother and therefor God makes the child so sick that it dies. It's a very short tale.

    The tale was meant to teach children not to be unruly - educational goal at the time when the tale was written down was to break the will of children. There are psychological analysis of the tale, which go deeper into it (http://www.psychiatrie-erfahrene.de/eigensinn/eigensinn.htm).

    Till gives the tale a different twist though. In Spieluhr the child regains power over its own life, its will is not broken, instead it makes its own rules and lives by it - keyword here is it lives.

    I love how they turned around the really very negative and threatening tenor of the tale and turned it into something positive. :)

  4. anonymous
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     Oct 23rd 2011 !⃝

    Awesome song, and i like that they used Khira Li Lindmann (Richard's daughter, DON'T mistake her for Till's ;)) as a guest singer, she had a really cute voice here :) She's 9 months older than me, so clearly both of us are grown up now, but i think that Mutter was released in 2000 so she and i would have been 9 and 8. Wonder what her singing sounds like now that she's 20.

  5. Ruski
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     Mar 8th 2011 !⃝

    I agree with you both on the meaning so that would be my interpretation as well. In case if anyone wondered the "Hoppe hoppe Reiter" phrase, repeated often in "Spieluhr" (music box) came from a popular German nursery rhyme and Totensonntag ("Dead Sunday") is a Sunday in November when German Protestants remember the dead.

  6. anonymous
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     Oct 30th 2009 !⃝

    I am German and think you are right. This is possibly the best RAMMSTEIN song of those few which do not have a deeper meaning. It's just a tale. And guess what: It does have a Happy End!!

  7. Jenkins
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     Sep 5th 2009 !⃝

    I think Till wrote about a child who was believed dead because of catalepsy and buried alive, but thanks to the carillon someone noticed and dug him up.
    Do you think there's some hidden meaning?


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