Ohne dichLyrics

Made in Germany 1995–2011

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Deutsch — Original

Ich werde in die Tannen gehen.

Dahin, wo ich sie zuletzt gesehen.

Doch der Abend wirft ein Tuch aufs Land

Und auf die Wege hinterm Waldesrand.

Und der Wald, er steht so schwarz und leer.

Weh mir, oh weh.

Und die Vögel singen nicht mehr.

Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein,

Ohne dich.

Mit dir bin ich auch allein,

Ohne dich.

Ohne dich zähl ich die Stunden, ohne dich.

Mit dir stehen die Sekunden,

Lohnen nicht.

Auf den Ästen in den Gräben

Ist es nun still und ohne Leben.

Und das Atmen fällt mir ach so schwer.

Weh mir, oh weh.

Und die Vögel singen nicht mehr.

Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein,

Ohne dich.

Mit dir bin ich auch allein,

Ohne dich.

Ohne dich zähl ich die Stunden, ohne dich.

Mit dir stehen die Sekunden,

Lohnen nicht, ohne dich.

Und das Atmen fällt mir ach so schwer.

Weh mir, oh weh.

Und die Vögel singen nicht mehr.

Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein,

Ohne dich.

Mit dir bin ich auch allein,

Ohne dich.

Ohne dich zähl ich die Stunden, ohne dich.

Mit dir stehen die Sekunden,

Lohnen nicht, ohne dich.

Ohne dich, ohne dich, ohne dich, ohne dich.

English — Translation

I will go into the fir trees.

To where I last saw her.

But the evening casts a cloth over the land

And over the paths behind the forest's edge.

And the forest, it stands so black and empty.

Woe is me, oh woe.

And the birds sing no more.

Without you I cannot be,

Without you.

With you I am also alone,

Without you.

Without you I count the hours, without you.

With you the seconds stand still,

Are not worth it.

On the branches in the ditches

It is now still and without life.

And breathing falls so hard upon me.

Woe is me, oh woe.

And the birds sing no more.

Without you I cannot be,

Without you.

With you I am also alone,

Without you.

Without you I count the hours, without you.

With you the seconds stand still,

Are not worth it, without you.

And breathing falls so hard upon me.

Woe is me, oh woe.

And the birds sing no more.

Without you I cannot be,

Without you.

With you I am also alone,

Without you.

Without you I count the hours, without you.

With you the seconds stand still,

Are not worth it, without you.

Without you, without you, without you, without you.

✦Song Meaning

This song is essentially a breakup lament set against a dark, autumnal forest landscape. The narrator goes back to the woods where he last saw someone he loved, but everything feels dead and hollow now. Evening falls like a shroud over the land, the forest stands black and empty, and the birds have gone silent. Lindemann is using classic German Romantic imagery here, where the natural world mirrors the inner emotional state of the speaker. The forest is not just a backdrop, it is a reflection of grief.

The real gut punch is in the chorus, and it is a beautifully cruel paradox. He is saying he cannot exist without this person, but being with them was also a kind of loneliness. So he is trapped. Without her he is counting the hours, time drags and feels meaningless. But with her, time stood still in a way that also felt worthless. There is no good version of this situation. He is not mourning a happy relationship that ended, he is mourning something that was already broken and painful even while it existed.

The emotional tone is one of suffocating despair rather than anger. Even breathing feels heavy to him. Rammstein is not known for tender songs, so this one stands out for how genuinely mournful it feels. It draws heavily on the Romantic tradition of Weltschmerz, that German concept of a deep world-weariness and ache, and it lands with unusual sincerity for a band that often works in provocation and shock. This one just hurts quietly.