Tier is a song by Rammstein. It is the third track on the Sehnsucht album.
Background
Demo Version
This song was about or exactly the 6th song written by the band, and has existed in some form since 1994.[3]Flake is known to have mentioned in 1997 that Tier is among the band’s first songs, referring to this earlier form of the song.[4]
The 1994 version of the song is extremely different to the released version, bearing almost no resemblance to it whatsoever, neither lyrically nor musically.[5] In 1995 a demo of this version was recorded onto a cassette for internal reference purposes.[3][1]
An audience recording of the 31 December 1994 performance of the song was circulated for years, mislabeled as Biest, which is a completely fanmade title.[6]
Including the early version on Herzeleid was once under consideration, but it was ultimately rejected from the album because Jacob Hellner thought that the chorus wasn't strong enough.[3]
During the production of Sehnsucht, the decision was made to rework the demo version, as the band felt they did not have enough material ready for a second album at the time. The result of this process is ultimately what was released on the album.[3]
Similar to Alter Mann[7], an entirely new instrumental was introduced to the song. The new instrumental for Tier originates from another song idea.[3]
This is likewise analogous to the situation of the 2008 demos of Pussy and Was ich liebe. Initially entirely separate, the instrumental of the latter was used to replace the original instrumental of the former. The original instrumental of Pussy then went to receive new lyrics and was released as Gib mir deine Augen.
Album Version
The working title for this song was Sadist.[2] Originally, this referred to the demo version of the song since at least 1995[3], but is likely to have been used throughout the song's 1994 lifespan too. It continued to be used internally to refer to the rewritten version as well, even up into 1997.
The riff used in the final version of the song is almost the same as in The Dawning Of Doom by Die Krupps. Because of this, Jürgen Engler is credited as one of the writers of the song.
The song also uses a drum sample that comes from the 4th track on the "Datafile Three" sample library by Zero-G.
In 1997 Till was asked about the meaning of the lyrics in Zillo:[8]
Animals like dogs or rats mate with each other, but there is no incest in this sense. That is nature. But man has the possibility to think consciously, and if a father becomes horny at the sight of his daughter, whom he himself has fathered, then that is no longer natural, but sick. That's what this song is about, that you draw the line between urge and reason on the blackboard. If someone goes to the child prostitution, then that's disgusting, but if someone turns bad at night to his own daughter in the room, then I have the line in my head: Du bist doch nur ein Tier.
When a man sexually abuses a child, he puts himself on the level of an animal. Incest, rape and sexual abuse are the most despicable crimes. The subject really gets to me. I was shocked when I heard about the abused girls in Belgium who were murdered by this child molester. I have a twelve-year-old daughter myself. If I could imagine something like that happening to my daughter, I don't know what I would do.
Animals mate with each other, there is no incest as we understand it. A bitch that is mated and perhaps also gives birth does not become ill. But a little girl to whom her father says “You're not holding the cutlery properly” or “You've got a bad mark at school” will become mentally ill if her father abuses her. It's disgusting when someone goes on a child prostitution spree, but when someone sneaks into their own daughter's room at night, I have the line in my head: You're just an animal.
Was macht ein Mann
Was macht ein Mann
Der zwischen Mensch und Tier
Nicht unterscheiden kann, was?
Er wird zu seiner Tochter gehen
Sie ist schön und jung an Jahren
Und dann wird er wie ein Hund
Mit eigen Fleisch und Blut sich paaren
Was tust du?
Was fühlst du?
Was bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Tier, Tier, Tier)
Was macht die Frau
Was macht die Frau
Die zwischen Tier und Mann
Nicht unterscheiden kann
Sie taucht die Feder in sein Blut
Schreibt sich selber einen Brief
Entseelte Zeilen an die Kindheit
Als der Vater bei ihr schlief
Was tust du?
Was fühlst du?
Was bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Tier, Tier, Tier)
(Tier, Tier, Tier)
Was tust du?
Was fühlst du?
Was bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
Was tust du?
Was fühlst du?
Was bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
Was (Tier) tust du?
Was (Tier) fühlst du?
Was (Tier) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
Was (Tier) tust du?
Was (Tier) fühlst du?
Was (Tier) bist du?
Doch nur ein...
Note: some live performances have slight differences
Was macht ein Mann
Was macht ein Mann
Der zwischen Mensch und Tier
Nicht unterscheiden kann, was?
Er wird zu seiner Tochter gehen
Sie ist schön und jung an Jahren
Und dann wird er wie ein Hund
Mit eigen Fleisch und Blut sich paaren
Was (was) tust du?
Was (was) fühlst du?
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Tier, Tier) Tier (Tier)
Was macht die Frau
Was macht die Frau
Die zwischen Tier und Mann
Nicht unterscheiden kann
Sie taucht die Feder in sein Blut
Schreibt sich selber einen Brief
Entseelte Zeilen an die Kindheit
Als der Vater bei ihr schlief
Was (was) tust du?
Was (was) fühlst du?
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Tier, Tier) Tier (Tier)
Ein Tier (Tier, Tier) Tier (Tier)
Was (was) tust du?
Was (was) fühlst du?
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Was)
Was (was) fühlst du?
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Was)
Was (was) fühlst du?
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein Tier
(Was)
(Was)
Was (was) bist du?
Doch nur ein...
(Official English translation by Rob Hoare)
What is a man
What is a man
Who's between man and beast?
Can't separate the man
What
He will go to his daughter so late
She is young and she's such sweet bait
Just as if he were a dog
With his own flesh and blood he will mate
What do you
Feel in you?
What are you?
You are a beast!
What is a woman
What is a woman
Inbetween beast and man?
Can't separate the man
She dips the feather in his blood
Writes herself so many lines
A lifeless letter from her childhood
As her father slept by her side
What do you
Feel in you?
What are you?
You are a beast
Note: These lyrics could contain errors, since not everything could be understood completely.
Der allerletzte Blick für mich
gleich eine Schwalbe mir gesandt
fängt Vergänglichkeit im Flug
und leise weinend teilt das Beil
Es ging nie um Beständigkeit
mein Zeuge sei der Duft der Rose
klaut mir vor Wahrheit aus verwelktem Mund
der nie geküsst und wohl belogen
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Verbrenn die Flügel ihr am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
Die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet, ja
Es ging nie um Beständigkeit
mein Zeuge sei der Duft der Rose
klaut mir vor Wahrheit aus verwelktem Mund
der nie geküsst und wohl belogen
Es lebe hoch das wilde Tier
schmilzt doch das Auge jede Stunde
und deshalb Leben dir abgezogen wird
und Ankunft meldet, man trägt den Tadel
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Verbrenn die Flügel ihr am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
Die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet, ja
Verbrenn die Flügel ihr am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
Die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern...
Der allerletzte Blick für mich
gleich eine Schwalbe mir gesandt
fängt Vergänglichkeit im Flug
und leise weinend teilt das Beil
Es ging nie um Beständigkeit
mein Zeuge sei der Duft der Rose
klaut mir vor Wahrheit aus verwelktem Mund
der nie geküsst und wohl belogen
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Verbrenn die Flügel ihr am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet, ja
Es lebe hoch das wilde Tier
schmilzt doch das Auge jede Stund
und deshalb Leben dir abgezogen wird
und Ankunft meldet, man trägt den Tadel
Bewegst dich in der Finsternis
mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
der allerletzte Blick für mich
und leise weinend teilt der Keil
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Tier! Tier! Tier!
Verbrenn die Flügel ihr am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet, ja
Verbrenn die Flügel am Tage noch
und in der Nacht vergeb ich dir
weil unten vor Verlangen zuckend
die Bestie sich zur Hochzeit rüstet
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern die im Dunkeln leuchten
Mit Schleiern...
(Tier!)
Trivia
For 24 years, the only available recording of the 1994 demo version was a very low quality audience recording of the 31 December 1994 concert. It would not be until late 2018 that a separate recording of the song would surface, this time from the concert on 3 December 1994. Later, a third recording surfaced online, this time being the earliest known Rammstein live recording, from 2 July 1994. For now, these are the only three publicly available live recordings of the song.
Before Sadist was confirmed to be a working title for Tier, it was incredibly unclear which song it was, leading to the rise of many conflicting fan theories and speculation. However, the possibilities were progressively narrowed down as the years went on, such that it was only a matter of time before the proper conclusion was reached.
The 1994 version was played in 4/4 time in the key of Am and had a BPM of 100. It ran for around five minutes on average.
↑ 1.01.1metal1.info Interview with Jacob Hellner. “Dann war da ein anderer Song, der später auf dem zweiten Album [„Sehnsucht“, A. d. Red.] gelandet ist … „Sadist“ hieß der damals noch.”
↑ 2.02.1Metal Hammer Interview with Jacob Hellner by Alec Chillingworth. “Isn’t Sadist on Sehnsucht? Isn’t it Tier? It could be. Tier was always one of my favourites. I think so, but I might be wrong. I don’t think Sadist is unused. There’s always a bunch of working titles that get changed once Till gets his lyrics done.” ‘‘(When presented with Engel, Tier, Klavier, Eifersucht, Küss mich (Fellfrosch) or Kokain):’’ “No, that is for sure. Of those songs, it’s Tier. These ones had their titles quite early.” (Thank you Alec!)
