"Du hast" is a song by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released as the second single from their second albumSehnsucht. It has appeared on numerous soundtracks for films, most notably The Matrix: , How High, and the home video CKY2K. It is featured in the music video gamesGuitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 3. The song's title is a play on the homophonesdu hasst and du hast.
Overview
There are two versions of the song: the original version completely in German, and a second version partially in English. In the second version, the first chorus and the verses are in English and the last chorus is in German. The English lyrics are not a direct translation of the German; the original lyrics take advantage of a pair of German homophones: when conjugated in the second person singular form, the verbs haben and hassen become respectively du hast and du hasst, which sound identical. It has been rumoured that the song is based on the track "Just One Fix" by Ministry, or that the guitar riff in the song was cut and sampled directly from "Just One Fix" due to the similarity in the guitar riffs of both songs, but the members of Rammstein are quoted as saying that they were simply highly influenced by Ministry.
Live performances
The first known performance of the song dates from 9 April 1997 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Over the years, several stunts have been used during the live performances of "Du hast", ranging from the dildo used in "Bück dich", to the bow used in "Du riechst so gut". In their Reise, Reise and Liebe ist für alle da tour, flames shoot several feet into the air and Till Lindemann fired with a different bow into the air, "starting" a chain reaction that fired rockets over the audience. Being a fan favourite, it has been played in almost every concert to date since its initial performance. When performed live, the intro is always a bit longer than in the studio version.
Track listing
Chart performance
"Du hast" peaked at number twenty on the BillboardMainstream Rock Songs chart in the United States. It is the most successful German language song in the history of that chart.
