Du hast

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"Du hast"
Song

"Du hast" German, "You have", whose title is a play on the homophones "hast" and "hasst" ("have" and "hate"), is a song by German industrial metal band Rammstein. It was released as the second single from their second album Sehnsucht (1997). It has appeared on numerous soundtracks for films, most notably The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture, and is featured in the music video games Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 3.

The main guitar riff of the song shows a strong resemblance to Ministry's song "Just One Fix"; the band themselves have cited Ministry as one of their primary influences.

Overview

There are two versions of the song: the original version completely in German, and a second version partially in English. In the second version, the first chorus and the verses are in English and the last chorus is in German. The lyrics to the English version are not a direct translation from the German due to the use of a homonym between the German verbs haben (to have), and, hassen (to hate), in the original song. When conjugated in the second person singular form (i.e. "you"), the verbs haben and hassen become respectively hast and hasst. There is no phonetic difference between these two words. Due to the translational impossibility of retaining the homophone in English, the English version was changed from Du hast, meaning "you have," to Du hasst, meaning "you hate." The song is a play on German marriage vows.

The refrain "Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage?" translates to "Do you[singular] want, until death separates you[plural], to be faithful to her for all time?" Instead of answering with "ja" (yes), the singer says "nein" (no), finally breaking his silence earlier in the song: "Du hast mich gefragt, und ich hab' nichts gesagt." This is in the present perfect and transliterates to "You have asked me, and I have said nothing," but is usually translated in the past tense to, "You asked me, and I said nothing."

One time in the song, the refrain is sung with different words ("Willst du bis zum Tod, der scheide, sie lieben auch in schlechten Tagen?"). This translates as "Do you[singular] want, until the death that divides, to love her even in bad days?". Again, the singer responds with "Nein!".

Music video

The video begins with Christoph Schneider and actress Astrid Meyerfeldt arriving in a Volga GAZ-21 car near a desolate nondescript small warehouse in the countryside. Schneider reaches into the backseat to get a bag and takes out a handgun, tucking it into the back of his pants as he walks into the building. Inside, the rest of the band are standing around wearing Cupid masks, cut off below the nose. The band take off their masks seeming pleased to see Schneider and start drinking, but the mood turns negative as evidenced by Lindemann hitting Schneider's character from a camera view. A shot showing a syringe being administered seems to be the reason for slurred views of the band's faces, all emphasizing the song chorus to the face of Schneider's character, presumed to be lying on the ground. A match is lit, lighting up a gasoline trail and a standing human figure is engulfed in flames. The entire band then walks outside, including Schneider completely unscathed as seen by Meyerfeldt waiting by the car. Schneider glances at Meyerfeldt, checks his watch and the car explodes behind the band walking in a line, unfazed by the explosion and not looking back.

Live performances

The first known performance of the song dates from 15 May 1997 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Over the years, several stunts have been used during the live performances of "Du hast", ranging from the dildo used in "Bück dich", to the bow used in "Du riechst so gut". In their Reise, Reise and Liebe ist für alle da tour, flames shoot several feet into the air and Till Lindemann shot with a different bow into the air, "starting" a chain reaction that fired rockets over the audience. Being a fan favorite, it has been played in almost every concert to date since its initial performance.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rammstein

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Du hast (Single Version)"	3:54
2.	"Bück dich (Album Version)"	3:21
3.	"Du hast (Remix by Jacob Hellner)"	6:44
4.	"Du hast (Remix by Clawfinger)"	5:23

The UK version of the single does not include "Bück dich".

Covers

• Heavy metal band Black Warrant covered the song in which appeared on their 2006 release Recover II.
• Ukrainian pop singer Verka Serduchka covered the song in 2007 for Ukrainian TV.
• Hannibal performed "Du hast" live at the first Scorpions Festival 2007 (18 June 2007) at Karaiskaki Stadium, Piraeus, Athens.
• Turkish rap rock band Manga performed the song live in Istanbul in 2006.
• Battery did a cover of the song, which is found on the Feuer Frei! single.
• Viva Vox Choir, Serbia, Belgrade did a live non-instrumental voice cover on May 11, 2011.

In popular culture

• Featured in The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture.
• Featured in the 2001 film for How High.
• Appeared in Gilmore Girls (TV Series, 2001) 2x06 'Presenting Lorelai Gilmore'
• Appeared in Bam Margeras CKY2K movie.
• Appeared in an episode of the HBO series Entourage, in reference to character Ari Gold on a warpath.
• Featured in Harmonix's game Rock Band 3
• Appeared in an episode of the MTV series Daria, Episode 301 "Through a Lens Darkly", just the intro of the song is played
• Featured on Episode 2 of the Garry's Mod Machinima, Gmod Idiot Box, during the Gravity Cat Skit.

Chart performance

"Du hast" hit #20 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States. It is the highest charting German language song in the history of that chart.

Chart (1997)	Peak position
German Singles Chart	5
Austrian Singles Chart	10
Canadian RPM Alternative 30	2
Swiss Singles Chart	33
UK Singles Chart	186
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	20