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Nun liebe Kinder…
During the composition of the album Mutter, Till first choosed "Sandmann" as the title of the song that was finally released under the name "Mein Herz brennt" in 2001. In this text, Till offers a personal version of the legendary Sandman that we all know. The text of the demo (played live once at the Knaack Klub in 2000, before the album release) tells the story of a man who kills the sandman and stole his scalp to fool children. Till's final text is more elusive and takes root in the classic German literature, inspired by the version of the Sandman given by Ernst T. A. Hoffmann, a romantic writer and composer of the early nineteenth century, in his novel "Der Sandmann".
The main character of this novel, Nathaniel, was marked in his childhood by the lawyer Coppelius that he identifies as the Sandman and the murderer of his father. Therefore, Hoffmann modifies the character of the Sandman, who terrorizes the children rather than just make them fall asleep. This inversion gave Till the idea of writing a text where a monster visits the children about to fall asleep, in order to steal their hot tears, and then inject them into his veins.
The comparison does not end there. If Till voluntarily occults a big part of Hoffmann's story, both texts have lexical fields and topics in common. First, the eyes, as Nathanael thinks that Coppelius wants to steal his own. The heart too: Nathanael falls in love with Olympia, a girl who lives across the street, and feels the need to "scratch his chest" in order to defend her. The gesture is the same in Mein Herz brennt, where the monster rip off his heart from his chest. Finally when Olympia (actually an automaton) is dismembered by its creators, the heart of Nathanael literally burns, and that lead him to madness and death. It reminds us the chorus and title of the song, "Mein Herz brennt" (My heart burns).
The evil beings also appear in both texts, wether they are Coppelius' owls or "schwarze Feen". Coppelius' shenanigans, presented as a demon, are often described as "infernal" by Nathanael. Moreover, when Olympia sings, Nathanael associates her with "ghosts". These "ghosts" resemble those of Mein Herz brennt, which interfere in children's dreams, like Olympia in the spirit of Nathanael.
Till gives in Mein Herz brennt a very personal vision of the Sandman, which is the narrator of the text, largely inspired by Hoffmann. Till was also inspired by other elements of the German culture, such as "Das Sandmännchen" (The Little Sandman), a 1950s German TV show for children. It systematically began with the sentence "Nun, liebe Kinder, fein Gebt Acht. Ich habe euch etwas mitgebracht", an expression very close to the chorus of Mein Herz brennt.
» Download the complete analysis of Mein Herz brennt (PDF)
Language : GERENG
Nun liebe Kinder gebt fein Acht
Ich bin die Stimme aus dem Kissen
Ich hab euch etwas mitgebracht
Hab es aus meiner Brust gerissen
Mit diesem Herz hab ich die Macht
Die Augenlider zu erpressen
Ich singe bis der Tag erwacht
Ein heller Schein am Firmament
Mein Herz brennt
Sie kommen zu euch in der Nacht
Dämonen Geister schwarze Feen
Sie kriechen aus dem Kellerschacht
Und werden unter euer Bettzeug sehen
Nun liebe Kinder gebt fein Acht
Ich bin die Stimme aus dem Kissen
Ich hab euch etwas mitgebracht
Ein heller Schein am Firmament
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Sie kommen zu euch in der Nacht
Und stehlen eure kleinen heißen Tränen
Sie warten bis der Mond erwacht
Und drücken sie in meine kalten Venen
Nun liebe Kinder gebt fein Acht
Ich bin die Stimme aus dem Kissen
Ich singe bis der Tag erwacht
Ein heller Schein am Firmament
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz brennt
Mein Herz
Mein Herz brennt
Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
I ripped it off my chest
With this heart I have the power
To blackmail the eyelids
I sing until the day awakes
A bright light on the heavens
My heart burns
They come to you in the night
Demons, ghosts, black fairies
They creep out of the cellar shaft
And will look under your bedding
Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
A bright light on the heavens
My heart burns
My heart burns
They come to you in the night
And steal your small hot tears
They wait until the moon awakes
And put them in my cold veins
Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I sing until the day awakes
A bright light on the heavens
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart burns
My heart
My heart burns
Sven Helbiginterview
We have been given the opportunity to talk with Sven Helbig, a musician and a composer who worked with Rammstein for a few years. You can hear him on the new version of Mein Herz brennt, that he arranged. We would like to thank him for this interview.
The band always knows exactly what they want and don´t want.
I wanted to take all the scary aspects away and make you feel Till´s longing and desperation.
I can´t get enough of Till in this video. I am very surprised about the emotional impact.
- Hi Sven! How are you? Could you introduce yourself to the Rammstein fans, who may not know who you are?
- I am a composer. I write mainly orchestra music. My first solo-album will be released in February next year. It's called Pocket symphonies.
- You worked with Rammstein on their last three studio albums. What exactly does your work with the band consist of?
- I just add little extra instruments here and there. The band always knows exactly what they want and don´t want. I don´t add much, but to find the little things that work well in the song takes long. The effort is much higher than the five notes might suggest.
For example, for the little yodel in Roter Sand, I had to walk days thru the mountains of Appenzell [a mountainous region, ed] in Switzerland until I found a 92 years old grandfather, who still can do this old, sad yodel. He took me to the cowshed and started yodelling for me. I recorded it. It's on the orchestral version of Roter Sand on Liebe ist für alle da.
- Please Sven, tell us the story behind this new version of Mein Herz brennt. What were the main objectives of the band at the beginning?
- The band wanted to have a piano-remix. I did two remixes for them before, Mann gegen Mann [Musensohn remix, ed] and Ohne dich [Sacred mix, played with a church organ, ed].
This time they wanted to have more like a re-interpretation of Mein Herz brennt. It was not easy, since it is such an energetic song.
Ohne dich was a ballade. The church organ did not really change the character of the song. This was by the way a wonderful experience. I was allowed to use the church organ between 1 and 5 am in the night, and we could not find the switch for the light. So we recorded with candles. Great!
For the Piano version I just printed the lyrics and took them with me everywhere. While reading, the texture of some piano music appeared. I just had to write it down at a certain point out of my head.
- As a composer, what were the difficulties and traps to avoid to make a good piano version of such a powerful and loved song?
- The piano cannot get as powerful as the guitars of Rammstein. So, I was looking for another character of the person, who is the narrator. Not too dangerous, much more sad and quiet. I wanted to take all the scary aspects away and make you feel Till´s longing and desperation. I think true pain is quiet. This is why I choose to play the main melody so soft. Pure pain.
- At the end, how did the recording take place? Were Piano and voice recorded separately? Both of you realized a great performance!
- I did a demo of my version and the band loved it exactly the way it was. So we kept it and Till had to sing on it. Till was intrigued by the music and so he got it right at first take. I recorded the piano with another player, because I thought my playing would not be good enough.
Then the producer of Rammstein, Jacob Hellner, called me and said Something is lost!
. This is why I am playing now on the record. I did not play piano on a record or in front of an audience before.
- With hindsight, are you personally satisfied with this piano version? And the band, what does he think about it? Overall, the fans have been surprised but love it.
- What the band thinks is easy to see. It's very unusual to decide that the remix becomes the A-side! They decided to do a video. How great! That says anything.
- You have probably already seen the video for Mein Herz brennt (Piano version) directed by Zoran Bihać. It's a wonderful one, isn't it?
- It´s overwhelming. I can´t get enough of Till in this video. I am very surprised about the emotional impact. Even I get goose bumps after all that work.
- Will there be a chance to hear you again on a Rammstein record? The band (through the voice of Paul Landers) has already discussed the possibility of working on a Rammstein orchestral album. What is your opinion on such a project?
- I would love it. But with Rammstein you never know.
If you want to know more about Sven Helbig, you can visit on its official website or follow him on Facebook. You can also listen to a first sample of his upcoming album, Pocket Symphonies.
Interview via email, December 2012.
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