"Amerika" is a song by German

Neue Deutsche Härte Neue Deutsche Härte (; "new German hardness"), sometimes abbreviated as NDH, is a subgenre of rock music that developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and during the early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Well ...

band

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

. It was released on 6 September 2004 as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''

Reise, Reise ''Reise, Reise'' (; a German '' military wake-up call'', literally "(a)rise, (a)rise") is the fourth studio album by Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released on 27 September 2004 through Universal Music in Germany and followed shortl ...

'' (2004). The song peaked at number 2 in Germany and entered the top 5 in Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland.

Content

The song deals with the worldwide cultural and political imperialism of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The song's text and most video images point unambiguously toward a critique of America's

cultural imperialism Cultural imperialism (sometimes referred to as cultural colonialism) comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" often describes practices in which a social entity engages culture (including language, traditions, ...

, political propaganda and self-assumed role as global police force. The two verses are sung in German with a chorus in

Denglisch Denglisch is a term describing the increased use of anglicisms and pseudo-anglicisms in the German language. It is a portmanteau of the German words german: Deutsch, label=none (''German'') and german: Englisch, label=none. The term is firs ...

: ''We're all living in Amerika, Amerika ist wunderbar, We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, Amerika'' and ''We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, sometimes war''. The band views it as a satirical commentary on

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the America, United ...

, and the lyrics refer to such things considered American as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Wonderbra The Wonderbra is a type of push-up underwire brassiere that gained worldwide prominence in the 1990s. Although the Wonderbra name was first trademarked in the U.S. in 1955, the brand was developed in Canada. Moses (Moe) Nadler, founder and major ...

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, and

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

. Uncharacteristically for Rammstein, the song incorporates an interlude in which the lyrics explicitly state the band's intentions: ''This is not a love song, This is not a love song, I don't sing my mother tongue, No this is not a love song''.

Video

The video shows the band in Apollo-era space suits on the Moon, with shots of other cultures acting like stereotypical Americans, satirizing

. These shots include Africans eating pizza and making Christmas wishes to

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

eating

hamburgers A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or c ...

, South East Asians,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Native Americans,

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

, an Indian Sikh man smoking a cigarette and a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

man worshipping in front of an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

after removing his

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

sneakers. Near the end, various ethnic groups sing and dance along. The end of the video shows that the band have actually been in a fake moon set in a studio,"How to Fake your own Moon Landing"
,

Ethan Siegel Ethan R. Siegel is an American theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, who studies the Big Bang theory. In the past he has been a professor at Lewis & Clark College and a blogger at ''Starts With a Bang'', on ScienceBlogs and also on For ...

. Science Blogs. June 7, 2009. Accessed June 7, 2011 complete with film crew, an allusion to the

Moon landing conspiracy theories Moon landing conspiracy theories claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA, possibly with the aid of other organizations. The most notable claim is that the six crewed ...

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records w ...

, Rammstein's lead singer, wears a space suit with the name "Armstrong" on it, a reference to

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

. The video ends with a band photograph left behind on the moon's surface while the recording of

Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo ...

's quote " Houston, we've had a problem here" is being played.

Live performance

As with every song from ''Reise, Reise'' (except "Ohne dich"), "Amerika" debuted live in three consecutive concerts for members of the Rammstein fan club. During the live performances of this song on tour,

Flake Flake or Flakes may refer to: People * Floyd H. Flake (born 1945), A.M.E. minister, university administrator, former U.S. representative * Jeff Flake (born 1962), American politician * Christian "Flake" Lorenz, German musician and member of ...

is often seen riding around on a

Segway PT The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human trans ...

with confetti cannons firing red, white and blue confetti in a parody of a

ticker-tape parade A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in an urban setting, characterized by large amounts of shredded paper thrown onto the parade route from the surrounding buildings, creating a celebratory flurry of paper. Originally, actual ticker tap ...

. It was the last song of the band's main set, and was played at every concert of the ''Reise, Reise'' tour. During a concert in

Gothenburg, Sweden Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

on July 30, 2005, frontman

suffered a knee injury when keyboardist

accidentally ran into him with the Segway PT; this caused concerts scheduled in Asia to be cancelled.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control Anti-American sentiment in Germany 2004 singles 2004 songs Macaronic songs Protest songs Rammstein songs Satirical songs Songs about the United States Songs written by Richard Z. Kruspe Songs written by Paul Landers Songs written by Till Lindemann Songs written by Christian Lorenz Songs written by Oliver Riedel Songs written by Christoph Schneider Songs of the Iraq War Universal Music Group singles