Heirate mich (song)

Heirate mich
Song by Rammstein from the studio album Herzeleid
GEMA:	3796008-001
ISWC:	T-801.861.116-1
Working title:	Kinski Heirate mich in Berlin
Composer:	Rammstein
Lyricist:	Rammstein
Recording:	March 1995 Polar Studios, Stockholm, Sweden
Producing:	Jacob Hellner Carl-Michael Herlöfsson
Mixing:	Ronald Prent Chateau du Pape, Hamburg, Germany
First release:	25 September 1995
Length:	04:44
Time signature:	4/4
Tempo:	95
Key:	E minor
Live debut:	2 Jul 1994
Last performed:	4 Oct 2022
Live count:	196
Stream / Buy:
Herzeleid tracklist
Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen? Der Meister Weisses Fleisch Asche zu Asche Seemann Du riechst so gut Das alte Leid Heirate mich Herzeleid Laichzeit Rammstein

Heirate mich is a song by Rammstein. It is the eighth track on the Herzeleid album.

Background

• The working title for this song was Kinski because the song uses a riff from the Magdalene Keibel Combo song Klaus Kinski. According to the GEMA database, another working title was Heirate mich in Berlin.
• The song didn't have a chorus until the band began the production for the album. "For Rammstein it wasn't anything weird. They didn't think in choruses, it was the guitars that played the chorus. It was one of the first concepts they had. I didn't understand a thing, just explained what a cool song they had, but not having a chorus is a big anticlimax." - Jacob Hellner

Versions

Studio

Title	Release	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Heirate mich	Herzeleid	04:44	1995	25 Sep 1995	Fades into Herzeleid.
Heirate mich (Edit)	Lost Highway	03:03		18 Feb 1997	Extended intro with transition from the previous track. Missing synth build-up section. Shortened main riff before first verse. Ends before guitar solo. Transitions into the next track.
Heirate mich	XXI	04:44		4 Dec 2015	2015 Remaster. Full fade-out.
	Herzeleid (XXI Vinyl)			8 Dec 2017
	Herzeleid (XXV Vinyl)			4 Dec 2020
Heirate mich	Herzeleid (XXV CD / Digital)	04:44			2020 Remaster. Full fade-out.
Heirate mich	6 Rough-Mixes/3 Mixes	04:42	1995	1995	Mix.

Live

Title	Release	Type	Length	Recorded		Released	Notes
Heirate mich	Rammstein Life	Video		27 Sep 1996	Arena Berlin, Berlin	24 Dec 1996
Heirate mich	Live aus Berlin	Audio	06:16	22 Aug 1998 23 Aug 1998	Wuhlheide, Berlin	30 Aug 1999
	Live aus Berlin (2CD)		07:47				Full intro.
	Live aus Berlin (VHS / DVD)	Video	07:46			14 Sep 1999
Heirate mich	Lichtspielhaus	Video		31 May 1998	Rock am Ring, Nürburg	1 Dec 2003

Live

Live Performance

Herzeleid Tour

In 1994, the song had a different structure. It did not feature any breaks inbetween the chorus and verses where "Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei)" was sung. In addition to this, an additional chorus line was sung after the verse that would end the song normally. Another minor difference is that the song featured slightly different guitar riffs for the main portion of the song, as well as the chorus.

In 1995, the song was finalized, but did not yet make heavy use of stage effects. The song would start off with Flake playing a long keyboard intro with choir voices and bells. Till would stand with his back towards the audience, while Paul and Richard would be crouched down on their sides of the stage. During the keyboard intro, Till would slowly turn around start facing the audience with his hands behind his back. Once the final bell synth was used, Till would raise his arms slowly before grabbing his microphone and starting to sing the first line. The lines of this intro would be sung very slow and abridged, after every line, Flake would make use of a synth while Till would either make a fist or make more slow arm gestures. After the intro, Till would stand still while the guitarists came to the front of the stage and started playing.

After the line "Ist seinerzeit dein Herz gewesen" would be a very short break where Schneider would have two heavy drum hits, for every drum hit, Till would hit his knee before continuing to sing. Till would also do a digging gesture to coincide with the word "graben" of the line "Geh ich nun graben jede Nacht". During the chorus, Till would sing "Heirate mich" and then alternate between turning backwards and forward again while Paul and Richard sang "Hei, hei, hei". Schneider would have the same two drum hits after line "Hat er den kalten Mund geküsst", while Till would be blowing kisses.

After the second chorus was sung, a guitar solo would follow, while Till remained in place. Shortly thereafter Till would start singing the "Heirate mich" chorus again, with more intensity than before. When the guitarists sung their part, Till would slowly say the last verse of the song with only keyboards and drums backing him. He would crouch down a bit more with every line and make wide arm gestures. A small break would again be played by Schneider hitting his hi-hats after the line "Die Nacht ist heiß und wir sind nackt". Till would then finish the song's outro by letting the audience yell "hackt" of the word "abgehackt".

Starting in 1996, some small alterations would be made to the song. The synth intro would remain the same as 1995, but now, during the short breaks after every line in Till's intro, a loud guitar strum would be played in addition to a synth. During the last verse, Till would use a phasing effect on his vocals for the first two lines, and yell "abgehackt" now as well, whereas the audience only did this before. These changes would be in effect as early as January 1996. The guitar strum would be played from January to March.

In June, this was replaced by additional drumming from Schneider. The band also started experimenting with stage effects for the song around this time. On 10 June, a small baby doll was attached to a pole and placed in the middle of the stage. After singing the intro, Till would crouch down and cross his arms over his chest while going away from the center of the stage. Flake would then activate an explosion via his keyboard and, corresponding with Schneider's drum hits, the doll would completely explode. Till would then slowly rise back up and return to the center of the stage. The rest of the performance would remain unaltered, but Till's phasing vocals on the last verse would not be present. He would, however, let the audience yell "nackt" and yell "abgehackt" himself.

A single day later, on 11 June, an altered version of the previous effect would start getting used. Two mannequin heads would be placed on poles and placed on either side of the stage. The mannequins would often be drawn on. They would also sometimes have hats placed on them. The mannequin heads would already be present on the stage during the previous song, which was Spiel mit mir at that point in time. During the transition between songs, Till would place the heads more to the front of the stage. Till would once again crouch down after the intro and Flake would trigger their simultaneous explosions. The mannequin heads would be used for the entirety of the month June, before getting replaced as stage effect.

During the next month, on 6 July, another stage effect was used at the start of the song. A technician installed multiple mannequin heads at the front of the stage during the song transition. When Till started to sing the heads caught on fire. Till would slowly move towards one, and at the end of the intro, he would pick up a sledgehammer that was present in front of the head and started smashing it. Till's smashing movements would be timed with Schneider's drum hits. During the instrumental break after the intro, Till went over and grabbed one of the lights present on the stage, held it above his head and threw it off. This concert also marked the first known use of the "abgehackt" synth at the end of the song, which would echo until the transition to the next song.

By 19 July, the mannequin effect was in complete disuse. In its place, a new effect premiered that would be used until the end of the tour. Instead of mannequin heads, one inflated sex doll would be attached to a pole and placed in the center of the stage. The doll would be dressed in a makeshift wedding dress and veil, made out of white fabric or paper. The doll and its outfit would look burnt and bloodstained. A technician would place the doll during the song transitions. Sometimes it would be lit on fire during the intro. Like the previous iterations, Flake would trigger its explosion at the end of the intro while Till crouched down.

The last notable event happened on the 100 Jahre Rammstein concert on 27 September. At the start of Spiel mit mir, a burning "Rammstein" signboard was ignited. The signboard kept on burning for the duration of the song, as well as the next, which was Heirate mich. After the sex doll exploded and Till kicked its stand down, timed with Schneider's drum hits, Till went to grab a tiny doll. He held on to the doll for the duration of the first verse, throwing it away after the line "Von dem Gesicht, was mir gelacht". After the chorus, the burning signboard fell down into the audience, injuring four people. Crew members kept the audience away and rushed to put out the board with fire extinguishers while Till and Richard looked at the damage. The band members continued to play the song instrumentally while Till jumped down into the audience in order to help the crew. After a while, Till went back to the stage and sung the last "Heirate mich" chorus. Before going backstage, he asked the audience if everyone was fine.

For the rest of the October 1996 concerts, the song's performance would remain the same. The sex doll would explode at the start of the song, the digging and kissing gestures would remain in place and Till would let the audience always yell "nackt" and an echoing synth would get used on the word "abgehackt". Paul and Richard would provide backing vocals, and Paul could also often be seen jumping place during this song's performance.

Sehnsucht Tour

On the first concert of the Sehnsucht tour, on 9 April 1997, the song was performed the same way as in 1996. In May 1997, changes would start being made to the performance. The exploding sex doll at the start of the song was no longer present, and no similar effect replaced it. However, during the chorus, fire fountains would now shoot out flames from the stage. First, two flames would launch from either side of the front of the stage then two flames would launch from either side of Schneider's drum set. Flake would now wear a black hoody with Rammstein on the back and breast during the song's performance. Sometimes he would put it on during a song before Heirate mich, but sometimes he would don it during the song's performance itself. At the end of the song, Flake would leave his post and he would be replaced with a mannequin wearing the exact hoody with hood pulled up. Till would head over to this mannequin while singing the last line and knock his head off when singing "abgehackt". His voice would then echo while sparks would fly out from a sparkler fountain inside the neck stump of the mannequin.

Starting from July to the end of August, exploding sex dolls would return as a stage effect to the song's performance. There are now be multiple dolls, usually four, dressed in black skirts as well as creepy white masks. The dolls would be put in pairs, one pair on the lower part of the stage and another at the the top part next to Schneider. Similar to the previous sex dolls, these would be set to explode after Till's last line during the intro. The dolls would be set up during the synth intro of the song, due to this, the synth intro during this time period was extended even more. Till would enter the stage already on his knees, shuffle to the dolls, bow and then continue to shuffle to the center of the stage. Till would continue performing whilst on his knees for the duration of the entire intro, only standing up to start the first verse.

Another new addition was that after the guitar solo that followed the second chorus, Till would add another small break before the bridge. The "Heirate mich" chorus would be sung here, in a very slow manner, before starting to sing the bridge in the normal tempo once more. During this break, Till would once again get on his knees and perform in this manner.

From 27 September until 29 November 1997, a majority of the stage effects were dropped. Till and the others' stage antics would remain the same but there would be no stage effect associated with song's intro. Because of this, the church bell synth intro was also dropped completely. The song would thus start off simply with the drums normally played after this intro. The rest of the song would be performed in the same manner as before, but the fire fountains would be replaced by smoke bursts shooting up from the stage. The outro's echoing vocals would also remain the same, but a guitar outro now gets performed at the same time of the echoing vocal outro as a song transition during September and October. The guitar outro would get dropped in November of the same year.

In April of 1998, the song's synth and spoken intro returned, but still no stage effects were used for the intro. The rest of the performance would remain the same, although the smoke bursts were also dropped by this point. The short break before the bridge was still present, but altered a bit. Instead of Till, Richard and Paul singing immediately, they would let the audience sing first. Till would watch while on his knees and after a while he and the others would quietly start singing along as well. While Paul and Richard where located at their microphones, Till would shuffle towards them, often ending in him shortly cuddling with the person he reached. Paul would often play his guitar whilst lying down on the stage at this point. From June 1998 onwards, after singing the intro, two minor explosions would go off at either side of the stage. On 16 August, a couple was married during the song's performance. Flake said their wedding vows during the song's bridge.

When the Family Values Tour started on 22 September, Heirate mich was present but was once again stripped of any stage effects. The song was played on every September date until the start of October, when it was dropped off the setlist. The song was only performed three times in 1999, without any stage effects.

In January and February of 2001, the song returned during the Big Day Out festival performances. A small explosion would go off somewhere on stage after Till's intro. During the instrumental break before the bridge, instead of letting the audience sing, the rubber boat previously used during Seemann would be brought up. Paul would enter the boat and surf over the crowd for the short duration of the break while Schneider and Flake played instrumentally. After a while, Till would start singing the chorus again and Paul would be brought back to the stage. Everyone would then play together and replace the outro by singing an extra chorus line.

Mutter Tour

Heirate mich was not part of the setlist from the start, but it returned on the North American leg of the tour. It was first played on 14 July 2001, with new stage effects. After Till's intro, a small explosion would go off and a row of flames would launch up from the front of the stage. Paul would not surf around in the boat as before, but the outro would still be replaced with the additional chorus. The song would continue being played until September of 2001, albeit without the flames shooting up from the front of the stage.

Stadium Tour

It would be 18 years before the song would get played again. Till would no longer perform the song while on his knees. After singing the line "Schläft jede Nacht bei ihrem Stein", he sometimes add "Ramm... stein" once. During the chorus, the roof of the stage and all the present towers would should flames upwards, timed with every "Hei, hei, hei". The song's performance would now also include the outro again. After the outro, when Till screams "abgehackt" multiple air bursts shoot upwards from the stage.

Variations

Type	Description	First played	Last played
Early version	Different structure Slightly different main and chorus guitar riffs	3.12.1994	31.12.1994
Intro	Extended synth intro	21.06.1997	30.08.1997
Intro	Lacks spoken intro as well as synth intro	27.09.1997	29.11.1997
Intro	Unique intro with spoken intro	22.08.1998	23.08.1998
Outro	Lacks outro, replaced by additional chorus	18.01.2001	4.08.2001

Professional recordings

Date	Type	Location	City	Country		Notes
2 Jul 1994	Video	Kunsthaus Tacheles	Berlin	Germany		Two singlecam recordings exist.
15 May 1997	Video	Tor 3	Düsseldorf	Germany
17 Aug 1997	Video	Bizarre Festival	Cologne	Germany
22 Nov 1997	Video	Odjazdy Festival	Katowice	Poland
29 Nov 1997	Audio	Melkweg	Amsterdam	Netherlands		Broadcasted via radio.
29 May 1998	Video	Rock im Park	Nuremberg	Germany
26 Jan 2001	Video	Big Day Out	Sydney	Australia

Lyrics

Album version

Man sieht ihn um die Kirche schleichen Seit einem Jahr ist er allein Die Trauer nahm ihm alle Sinne Schläft jede Nacht bei ihrem Stein Dort bei den Glocken schläft ein Stein Ich alleine kann ihn lesen Und auf dem Zaun, der rote Hahn Ist seinerzeit dein Herz gewesen Die Furcht auf diesen Zaun gespießt Geh ich nun graben jede Nacht Zu sehen was noch übrig ist Von dem Gesicht, das mir gelacht Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Mit meinen Händen grab ich tief Zu finden was ich so vermisst Und als der Mond im schönsten Kleid Hab deinen kalten Mund geküsst Ich nehm dich zärtlich in den Arm Doch deine Haut reißt wie Papier Und Teile fallen von dir ab Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) So nehm ich was noch übrig ist Die Nacht ist heiß und wir sind nackt Zum Fluch der Hahn den Morgen grüßt Ich hab den Kopf ihm abgehackt

Pre-release mix

Man sieht ihn um die Kirche schleichen Seit einem Jahr ist er allein Die Trauer nahm ihm alle Sinne Schläft jede Nacht bei ihrem Stein Dort bei den Glocken schläft ein Stein Ich alleine kann ihn lesen Und auf dem Zaun, der rote Hahn Ist seinerzeit dein Herz gewesen Die Furcht auf diesen Zaun gespießt Geh ich nun graben jede Nacht Zu sehen was noch übrig ist Von dem Gesicht, das mir gelacht Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Mit meinen Händen grab ich tief Zu finden was ich so vermisst Und als der Mond im schönsten Kleid Hab deinen kalten Mund geküsst Ich nehm dich zärtlich in den Arm Doch deine Haut reißt wie Papier Und Teile fallen von dir ab Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Heirate mich (hei, hei, hei) Nehm ich was noch übrig ist Die Nacht ist heiß und wir sind nackt Zum Fluch der Hahn den Morgen grüßt Ich hab den Kopf ihm abgehackt

Live demo versions
2 July 1994	3 December 1994
Dort bei den Glocken schläft ein Stein Und Ich alleine kann ihn lesen Und auf dem Zaun, der rote Hahn Ist seiner Zeit dein Herz gewesen Die Furcht auf diesen Zaun gespießt Geh ich nun graben jede Nacht Zu sehen was noch übrig ist Von dem Gesicht, das mir gelacht Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Mit meinen Händen grab ich tief Zu finden/(küssen?) was ich so vermisst Und als der Mond im schönsten Kleid Hat er den kalten Mund geküsst Ich nehm dich zärtlich in den Arm Doch deine Haut reißt wie Papier Und Teile fallen von dir ab Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir So nehm ich was noch übrig ist Die Nacht ist heiß und wir sind nackt Zum Fluch der Hahn den Morgen grüßt Ich hab den Kopf ihm abgehackt Dort bei den Glocken schläft ein Stein Und ich alleine kann ihn lesen Und auf dem Zaun, der schwarze Hahn Ist seiner Zeit dein Herz gewesen Dort bei den Glocken verbring’ ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken das einsame Tier Tagsüber lauf’ ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal und letzten Mal	Man sieht ihn um die Kirche schleichen Seit einem Jahr ist er allein Die Trauer nahm ihm alle Sinne Schläft jede Nacht bei ihrem Stein Dort bei den Glocken schläft ein Stein Ich alleine kann ihn lesen Und auf dem Zaun, der rote Hahn Ist seinerzeit dein Herz gewesen Die Furcht auf diesen Zaun gespießt Geh ich nun graben jede Nacht Zu sehen was noch übrig ist Von dem Gesicht, das mir gelacht Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Mit meinen Händen grab ich tief Zu finden was ich so vermisst Und als der Mond im schönsten Kleid Hab deinen kalten Mund geküsst Ich nehm dich zärtlich in den Arm Doch deine Haut reißt wie Papier Und Teile fallen von dir ab Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal entkommst du mir So nehm ich was noch übrig ist Die Nacht ist heiß und wir sind nackt Zum Fluch der Hahn den Morgen grüßt Ich hab den Kopf ihm abgehackt Dort bei den Glocken verbring ich die Nacht Dort zwischen Schnecken ein einsames Tier Tagsüber lauf ich der Nacht hinterher Zum zweiten Mal und zum letzten Mal

Épouse-moi
Official French translation by Mathilde Bonnefoy
Là-bas près des cloches dort une pierre Et moi seul sait la lire Sur la haie le coq rouge Fut autrefois ton coeur La peur sur cette haie plantée Je viens pour creuser chaque nuit Et voir ce qui demeure encore De ce visage qui me sourit Là-bas près des cloches je passe la nuit La parmi les vers; animal solitaire Le jour je passe à traquer la nuit Car tu te dérobes une seconde fois Épouse-moi Avec mes mains je creuse profond Pour trouver ce qui me manque tant La lune alors apparaissant J'ai embrassé ta bouche froide Je te prends tendrement dans mes bras Mais ta peau, papier, se déchire Et des lambeaux tombent de toi Tu te dérobes une seconde fois Là-bas près des cloches je passe la nuit La parmi les vers; animal solitaire Le jour je passe à traquer la nuit Et tu te dérobes une dernière fois Épouse-moi Alors de toi je prends les restes La nuit est chaude et nous sommes nus Maudit, le coq salue le jour Le cou je lui ai tordu

Poem Rammstein book
	Official English translation of the Rammstein book poem by Gert Hof
Im Spätwinter 1993 starb mein Vater an Magenkrebs. Er ist auf einem kleinem Dorffriedhof im Schatten einer wunderschönen neuromanischen Kirche beigesetzt. Seit der Beerdigung bin ich nie wieder an seinem Grab gewesen.	In the late winter of 1993 my father died of stomach cancer. He was buried in a small village cemetery. overshadowed by a beautiful pre-gothic church. Since the funeral I have not been back to see his grave.