Du hast
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de:Du hast (Lied) "Du hast" is the title of a song by the German heavy metal group Rammstein. The title is commonly interpreted as "You Have", but is really a long play on words: du hast means "you have", while du hasst, pronounced with a sharper 's', means "you hate".
As an aside, it is interesting to note that a similar pun would have been possible in Early Modern English using thou, the now-obsolete cognate of German du. "You have" would be thou hast, while "you hate" would be thou hatest.
The pun is illustrated by a comparison of the German version, a literal English translation, and the band's non-literal English version of the song.
| German lyrics | Literal English translation | The band's non-literal English version |
| Du | You | You |
| Du hast | You have | You hate |
| Du hast mich | You have me | You hate me |
| Du hast mich gefragt | You have asked me | You hate me to say |
| Du hast mich gefragt und ich hab nichts gesagt | You have asked me and I have said nothing | You hate me to say and I did not obey |
| Willst du bis der Tod euch scheidet | Will you until death does you part | Will you until death does sever |
| Treu ihr sein für alle Tage | Be faithful to her for all days | Be upright to her forever |
| Nein | No | Never |
| Willst du bis zum Tod, der scheide | Will you until death which would separate* | Will you 'til death be her rider |
| Sie lieben auch in schlechten Tagen | Love her also in bad days | Her lover too, to stay inside her |
| Nein | No | Never |
(*) Tod, der scheide (without capital and with a comma) means death which would separate, whereas Tod der Scheide (with a capital S and without comma) means death of the vagina.
The whole song is a play on German wedding vows (Wollt Ihr einander lieben und achten und die Treue halten, bis dass der Tod euch scheide? - Do you want to love and respect each other and to remain faithful, until death separates you?). Instead of answering with "Ja" (yes), the singer says "Nein" (no) , finally answering the question he said "nothing" to in the beginning.
"Du hast" was part of the soundtrack for the 1999 feature film The Matrix. It is from the album Sehnsucht as track #5. It can also be heard on the single Du Hast.