Haifisch
Encyclopedia
"Haifisch" is the third single from the 2009 album Liebe ist für alle da
by the German band Rammstein
. Right before announcing the video premier, the info letter from Rammstein's website left this quote regarding the song: "the shark not only has teeth – he’s got tears as well. But since it lives in the briny deep, no one sees them. A shame. After all, this cartilaginous fish is one of the oldest of the world’s many misunderstood creatures. A bit more sympathy couldn’t hurt!"
The chorus to the song is an allusion to the lyrics to Mack the Knife
, a song written by Berthold Brecht for his play the Threepenny Opera
. Haifisch reached 33 in the German charts, but fell off the very next week.
page.
The video features the band at lead singer Till Lindemann
's funeral along with some other mourners, one of whom is Marilyn Manson
. A fight breaks out between two women who have had Till's children. Meanwhile, the rest of the band contemplate on who should replace Till as the singer (Henry Rollins
and James Hetfield
are shown as suggestions, with Hetfield presumably being picked, as his picture was shown more than once, as well as being pointed to by one of the band members). As the video continues, Till is lowered into his grave enscripted "endlich allein" (German: "finally alone") and many scenarios are shown of how Till died, which are all based on previous Rammstein videos: being beaten and set on fire by Schneider
(Du hast
), having his tether cut while rock climbing by Richard (Ohne dich
), having his oxygen pipe removed from his space suit by Ollie
while on the moon (Amerika
), and a fat Till being suffocated with spaghetti force-fed to him by Flake
(An homage to the movie Se7en
and also Keine Lust
). Lorenz also imagines Paul
being spanked by Till in a Snow White costume (Sonne). Later in the video the band begins to fight amongst themselves and Flake finds himself falling into the grave and breaking Till's coffin open, revealing that there is no body inside. Till, having grown a mustache, is then shown alive and well in Oahu, Hawaii, where he sends a postcard to the band that reads "Viele Grüße vom Arsch der Welt" (German
: "Greetings from the ass of the world") and shows that he has caught a Tiger Shark
on what appears to be 14 February 2010.
It is the first Rammstein video for Liebe ist für alle da not to premiere on the adult site Visit-X.
, who hadn't performed the stunt in years) surfs the crowd in a rubber dinghy - a feat that previously had been performed during Stripped, Seemann and, occasionally, Heirate Mich. The band member will then proceed to wave a flag of the country that the show is being performed in. Due to this boat ride, the song may reach the 10 minutes mark, almost three times the length of the studio version.
Limited CD single
12" Limited and Numbered Blue Vinyl
7" Limited and Numbered Blue Vinyl
Digital download
Liebe ist für alle da
Liebe ist für alle da is the sixth studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, which was released in most of Europe on 16 October 2009, the United Kingdom on 19 October 2009 and the United States on 20 October 2009.- History :The album title was confirmed on 1 September 2009, in a...
by the German band Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
. Right before announcing the video premier, the info letter from Rammstein's website left this quote regarding the song: "the shark not only has teeth – he’s got tears as well. But since it lives in the briny deep, no one sees them. A shame. After all, this cartilaginous fish is one of the oldest of the world’s many misunderstood creatures. A bit more sympathy couldn’t hurt!"
The chorus to the song is an allusion to the lyrics to Mack the Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...
, a song written by Berthold Brecht for his play the Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
. Haifisch reached 33 in the German charts, but fell off the very next week.
Music video
The music video was released on 23 April 2010 on the band's MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
The video features the band at lead singer Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann is a German musician, actor and poet who is the frontman for the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Biography:...
's funeral along with some other mourners, one of whom is Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
. A fight breaks out between two women who have had Till's children. Meanwhile, the rest of the band contemplate on who should replace Till as the singer (Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
and James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
are shown as suggestions, with Hetfield presumably being picked, as his picture was shown more than once, as well as being pointed to by one of the band members). As the video continues, Till is lowered into his grave enscripted "endlich allein" (German: "finally alone") and many scenarios are shown of how Till died, which are all based on previous Rammstein videos: being beaten and set on fire by Schneider
Christoph Schneider
Christoph "Doom" Schneider is a German musician. He is the drummer of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Early life:...
(Du hast
Du hast
"Du hast" German, "You have", whose title is a play on the homophones "hast" and "hasst" , is a song by German industrial metal band Rammstein. It was released as the second single from their second album Sehnsucht...
), having his tether cut while rock climbing by Richard (Ohne dich
Ohne dich
"Ohne dich" is a power ballad by German band Rammstein from the album Reise, Reise. It is seen as expressing mourning over the loss of a loved person. It was released as the third single from the album on 22 November 2004 in Germany , Switzerland and Austria. Other countries' releases followed up...
), having his oxygen pipe removed from his space suit by Ollie
Oliver Riedel
Oliver "Ollie" Riedel is a German musician, notable for being the bassist for the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Early years:...
while on the moon (Amerika
Amerika (song)
"Amerika" is a song performed by German band Rammstein, released as the second single from their album Reise, Reise. It deals with the worldwide influence of the culture of the United States of America. The song's two verses are sung in German with a chorus in English: We're all living in Amerika,...
), and a fat Till being suffocated with spaghetti force-fed to him by Flake
Christian Lorenz
Christian "Flake" Lorenz is a German musician, notable as the keyboardist for the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. He is also known for his role in the band Feeling B.-Early years:...
(An homage to the movie Se7en
Se7en
Seven is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R...
and also Keine Lust
Keine Lust
"Keine Lust" is a song by the German band Rammstein. It was released as a fourth & final single from the album "Reise, Reise" on 28 February 2005 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as a maxi-single, a limited edition digipak single, a 7" vinyl single, a 12" Vinyl single, and as a...
). Lorenz also imagines Paul
Paul Landers
Paul H. Landers is a German musician, notable as rhythm guitarist for the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Early life:...
being spanked by Till in a Snow White costume (Sonne). Later in the video the band begins to fight amongst themselves and Flake finds himself falling into the grave and breaking Till's coffin open, revealing that there is no body inside. Till, having grown a mustache, is then shown alive and well in Oahu, Hawaii, where he sends a postcard to the band that reads "Viele Grüße vom Arsch der Welt" (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: "Greetings from the ass of the world") and shows that he has caught a Tiger Shark
Tiger shark
The tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo. Commonly known as sea tigers, tiger sharks are relatively large macropredators, capable of attaining a length of over . It is found in many tropical and temperate waters, and is...
on what appears to be 14 February 2010.
It is the first Rammstein video for Liebe ist für alle da not to premiere on the adult site Visit-X.
Live
"Haifisch" made its live debut, as most of Rammstein's songs, during fan exclusive concerts held in Berlin in October 2009, segueing out of Sonne and followed by Ich Will, separating the common duo that has been a feature in the encores since 2001. When played live, the break is extended and a band member (usually FlakeChristian Lorenz
Christian "Flake" Lorenz is a German musician, notable as the keyboardist for the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. He is also known for his role in the band Feeling B.-Early years:...
, who hadn't performed the stunt in years) surfs the crowd in a rubber dinghy - a feat that previously had been performed during Stripped, Seemann and, occasionally, Heirate Mich. The band member will then proceed to wave a flag of the country that the show is being performed in. Due to this boat ride, the song may reach the 10 minutes mark, almost three times the length of the studio version.
Track listing
All songs by Rammstein.Limited CD single
- Haifisch - 3:46
- Haifisch (Haiswing Remix by Olsen Involtini) - 3:40
- Haifisch (Remix by Hurts) - 3:45
- Haifisch (Remix by Schwefelgelb) - 4:24
12" Limited and Numbered Blue Vinyl
- Haifisch - 3:46
- Haifisch (Remix by Schwefelgelb) - 4:24
7" Limited and Numbered Blue Vinyl
- Haifisch - 3:46
- Haifisch (Haiswing Remix by Olsen Involtini) - 3:40
Digital download
- Haifisch - 3:46
- Haifisch (Haiswing Remix by Olsen Involtini) - 3:40
- Haifisch (Remix by Hurts) - 3:45
- Haifisch (Remix by Schwefelgelb) - 4:24
- Haifisch (Remix by Paul Kalkbrenner) - 3:28
- Includes Digital Booklet