“Your Love is a Curse and a Blessing”

deine Liebe
Ist Fluch und Segen
(Deutschland) meine Liebe
Kann ich dir nicht geben
(Deutschland)

— “Deutschland” by Rammstein on the album “Rammstein (2018)”

“Your Love is a Curse and a Blessing”

Rammstein is one of those German rock bands that you know their driving and intense music, but you are unsure what the meaning of the songs really are.  Knowing the German language helps one understand the song’s message, but like any good artists the themes are commonly misunderstood or taken to mean different things to the audience listening.  These musicians from Eastern Germany have fans across the political spectrum from far left and right believing their lyrics represent their political agendas.  Much of their music and companion videos have driven much media controversy due to the violent, sexual, and politically incorrect messages; yet, their popularity has not waned through the years.

This author was late to the Rammstein fan club only discovering their self-titled album in 2018; being an avid music consumer in the 1990s, Du Hast was a well known song, but there was never an interest to learn more about the catalog.  Their first single “Deutschland” and its companion video took the world by storm as it announced the return of the industrial rock band that had been on hiatus for 10 years.

The creative and extremely rich video examines the different eras of Germanic history from early interactions with the Romans to the Weimar Republic 1920s and Nazi Reich to Berlin in modern Europe.  Compounding the video experience is the lyrical journey of explaining to the listener the importance of homeland and how it comforts one spirit and makes one identity.  

Till Lindemann sings brilliantly that “One can love you, but want to hate you.  “Not only is the song in my “Running Time” Playlist on Apple Music, this song’s beat and lyrics are extremely moving to me, preparing me for whatever event that needs to be accomplished; be it running at high intensity or preparing for a speech or presentation.  

The song’s message rings to my heart as someone who has sacrificed much of my freedoms to serve the country that is my home.  For many years, the military has enveloped my life and has reduced various opportunities for my life experience.  At the same time, I have livered overseas for almost a seven years being an ambassador to the people around the world of the U.S. experience.  Encountering non-Americans overseas in their homeland, makes one evaluate how the people and their actions back in the homeland speak for you across the world.  

I witnessed the events at the U.S. Capitol in 6 January 2021 on my couch at night while my spouse and I were texting family members stateside.  The following days, our non-American friends constantly asked my thoughts to which my first response was utter shame and embarrassment.

In August 2021, my U.S. colleagues and I watched as the withdraw from Afghanistan blundered its way through end.  At the time, I was serving on an international coalition headquarters and many of my non-American colleagues asked many questions on how events deteriorated so quickly.

My African friends have asked me about U.S. history and treatment of slaves and black/white segregation.  During those conversations, one can feel the entire actions of previous generations on one’s shoulders but also realizing those people do not speak for you or your actions.

I truly love the country that allowed a lower middle class white kid from nowhere to study, earn multiple college degrees, join and succeed in the military, and see the world.  At the same time, there is much resentment, anger, and frustration for a people who do not understand their responsibilities nor how lucky their place in life really is.  These are the emotions that I feel when my non-American and American friends force a response to actions.

Only if you have lived overseas and integrated into those countries, will one receive a different perspective of one’s own homeland and one’s fellow countrymen and women.  These reflections make one realize how they need to just be a better person.  This song delivers just that message to this author.

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