I'm going to go into the fir trees
There where I last saw her
But the evening is throwing a cloth upon the land
and upon the ways behind the edge of the forest
And the forest it is 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 alone too
Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still
They aren't worth it

On the branches in the ditches
it's now silent and without life
And breathing becomes oh so hard for me
Woe is me, oh woe
And the birds sing no more

Without you I cannot be
Without you
With you I am alone too
Without you
Without you I count the hours without you
With you the seconds stand still
They aren't worth it without you


Lyrics submitted by Shoot_Me

Ohne Dich (English) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

31 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    General Comment

    I definitely think it's a symbolic death rather than a literal one. He feels as if he is dead without her.

    Songmeaningsuseron May 10, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I read in an interview that this song was written about his mother after her death.

    crimenpunishmenton August 30, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think he kills himself in the forest but not because he lost the love of his life but because he IS in love. I think the lines "ohne dich kann ich nicht sein...mit dir bin ich auch allein" (Without you I cannot be... With you I am alone too) show that the person he loves is still alive. But he commits suicide because he cannot bear the feeling of being so addicted to somebody (like you are if you are in love)

    sumkinda_monsteron June 26, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The most beautiful and chilling Rammstein song off of any album. I do agree with Shaftman on it's meaning and it makes it all the more haunting every time you listen to it. I let my fiance listen to this song and she fell in love with it immediately. Makes it all the more chilling since her and I broke up recently and the lyrics ring all the more chilling now with every listen.

    Dozer87on June 10, 2008   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    this is my favourite song along with Nebel. to me, both are beautiful xx

    ecodayon May 06, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    How do you interpret the video of the song with the christian cross on top of the mountain where the guy dies? This can't be related to suicide. I think that because this is happening in the end of the song it means the way he has travelled to find the true and strongest love which makes him overcome the despair of losing his beloved person and to reject finally the idea of suicide (that's the reason his death comes by itself as the most logical way to end his life when he has achieved everything and is not provoked by him). Besites why do they go back to save their friend? If they were desperate it wouldn't make sense making all this efforts. This demonstrates their strong determination to regain the lost love without which they couldn't live ( and why isn't the man alone when the text is in 1st person? - because they're all struggling for this love and they help each other ). They are together from the beginning as if this is a march which they all need to do. They're not making a collective suicide neither it's about a desperate man wanting to die. It could be just that way only if the cross wasn't there. :)

    pyfkaon July 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Sounds reasonable that it's about his mother dying. I'm a bit puzzled on how to translate the "mit dir"-pieces. The most common translation found on Ze InterWebs is "with you" (as opposed to "without you"), but could it also mean something like "just like you"? In which case the interpretation would be "Mit dir bin ich auch allein = I'm alone now just like you" and "Mit dir stehen die sekunden, lohnen nicht = just like you have come to a stand-still, so has time, and it's just not worth it anymore". The suicide-interpretation seems like projecting your own teenage angst on these quite grown-up guys - most people overcome sadness, even very deep sorrow, without dying from it... But I could be wrong, ofcourse. Unlike Shaftman, I don't believe in a single "true meaning" for any song...

    TameVikingon November 23, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Easily one of my favs off the new album

    LurkerAbysson November 27, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is the first true love song rammstien did, as in the classic I miss you I love you deal

    LadyMageon November 30, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is my personal favourite off of the new CD. For some reason it reminded me a lot of nebel, perhaps because of how much softer it is, and differs from the rest of the songs on the album.

    Emoqueakon December 09, 2004   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.