Till Lindemann's 'Messer' Translation - COMPLETE

YES. I DID IT. ALL 54 OF THEM. *cries with joy and pride*

EDIT: oh my god sta.sh is a fucking idiot. Fixed broken links or links that led to 3 x Fisch or whatever poem everything was bundled into. Copying error, I assume.

List of Translated Poems: COMPLETE (13th June 2012)
Messer
Ich Habe Dich Im Traum Gesehen
Drei Wochen Liegt Sie Ohne Regung
Tod Nach Noten
Immunschwäche Sehr Positiv
Ich Sehe Eine Sternenschnuppe
Viva Andromeda
Zum Sein Von Schlechten Eltern
Nebel
Meine Mutter Ist Blind
Auf Dem Friedhof
Auf Dem Friedhof (2)
Andacht
Durch Dick Und Dünn
Ich Weiß
Häßlich
Endlich
Ich Will Meer
Tänzerin (2)
Mädchen Tot
Sautod
3 x Fisch
Der Alte Mann Trägt Ein Brett
Ich Hätte Kerzen Angebrannt
Unter Vollmond Und Girlanden
Abgewiesen
Großmutter
Guten Morgen
So Hat Das Kind In Not Gelogen
Fernweh
Nele
Nele (2)
Pappel
Mißfall
Absicht?
Da Saß Es
Tänzerin
Bäume
Fausthaus
Ich Legte Meine Angst In Ketten Und Gab Ihr Den Brief
Tot Singt
Mein Gutes Schiff
Der Tod
Sucht
Komm Ich Koch Dir Eine Suppe
Bald
Die Muse Schläft Nur So An Mir
Abtrieb
Big in Japan
Für Conrad Ferdinand Meyer
Aberglaube
Fütter Mich
Freiheit
Glück

All poems come with interpretations, annotations, and me fessing up to which lines I'm less sure of. They're not perfect translations - they're interpretive/poetic and keep to the spirit and flow instead of literal meaning - and I'm sure that native German speakers would probably be rather amused by my amateur efforts. But for somebody who has less than a year worth of German experience, I reckon I did okay. Now for the 'I'm so happy and this is so amazing and it's all thanks to you guys' speech - which is crossposted from my blog so I don't barf all over again! XD

Yep, you read that right. it's over. I've done it. All fifty-four poems of 'Messer', translated and collected and posted to the best of my ability. For an eighteen-year old student who started learning German from scratch in October 2011 and hasn't been into Rammstein for anywhere near as long as many fans, and for a single-person project, I don't reckon this is too bad at all.

It wasn't easy, I won't lie. It's not perfect, either, and I won't claim that it is. Till's prose was at points too much for a beginner like myself to handle, hence the abundant italics and confused notes at the bottom asking what in the world he meant. Till's fondness of using archaic words and things that he felt like making up for the hell of it... admirable and enviable skill for a writer, but damn it if it's not hard to translate! x_x Oh, all those references I used... my well-worn dictionary, other literary works, Rammstein lyrics, dict.cc, in the case of 'Sautod' trying to learn Waidmannssprache to understand what I was trying to translate, searching archaic dictionaries, cross-referencing with other translations floating around ('Ich Will Meer' had me looking up a French translation and translating back from that when it comes to the 'seasonal flowers' line - being a polyglot helps! x.x)... yes, it was hard. But it was worth it. It's done wonders for my German and my comprehension of the ethereal being that is Till Lindemann.

The translation project will keep getting sporadic updates, however. My goal is to eliminate all italics in all poems eventually, even the incomprehensible ones. Any ties or links I can find with Rammstein songs/lyrics or literary works, I will also mention in notes. I also plan to rework some of the translations that I'm not too happy with. So I've still got quite a bit to do, and it's not the last that you've seen of me, that's for sure! XD

I've got years to go yet before I can 'feel' German as intimately as native Germans do. It took me ten years of learning English as a second language and living in England for years to get to that level, and I'm still learning. So there will be a lot of nuances that I doubtless missed - plus, it's poetry. Poetry thrives on alternate interpretations. This blog simply aims to be the easiest-to-reach collection of every Messer poem translated in understandable and annotated form (aka not Google Translate) without the need for fellow fans to search around continuously.

Lastly, if you haven't done so while keeping up with the translations - please buy the actual book as well! My translations cannot do the real poems and their illustrations justice, no, not in the slightest. You cannot get a feel for Till's soul as intimately without an actual copy of 'Messer' in hand. My own copy is quite battered now and filled with annotations from those hours of translating - but it's one of my most prized possessions. XD

Thank you for keeping up with me, the many readers out there. Thank you for the keyhole to your soul, Mr. Lindemann.

A lot of my traffic came from deviantart and tumblr. Thank you for constantly keeping up. I doubt I'd have been able to finish this half as quickly without your support. And now you have a complete collection of English-translated and constantly updating 'Messer' right here for reference without needing to Google Translate or hunt online!

-17th Feb 2012 - 13th Jun 2012-