Meaning of “PUPPE” by Rammstein

First off it should be noted that “puppe” translates into English as “doll”. And there is indeed a doll present in this song, though it only serves for the most part as a symbol. The true characters of the track are actually a boy (the singer) who the doll belongs to and his sister.

The doll is actually a gift given to the singer by his sister. She has given it to him to keep him company while she “go(es) to work”. And her occupation is obviously streetwalking (the oldest profession), which she engages in the room right next to the boy. In fact he seems to occasionally “watch through the keyhole”, which brings us to the climax of the story.

The boy bears witness to someone, presumably a john, ‘clubbing his sister to death’. And in frustration, he “tear(s) off the doll’s head” and “bite(s) off the doll’s neck”, upon which he finally finds relief. It has been put forth that at the end of the song, the doll is actually “a metaphor for the sister’s killer”. In other words, when the boy sings of destroying the doll he is actually referring to killing the person who clubbed his sister. 

However, if such is indeed the case, it is not made abundantly clear by the lyrics. Rather on the surface this track reads as one in which the singer is obviously disturbed by the actions of his sister but is not able to adequately express his frustrations until she is murdered.

Facts about “PUPPE”

• “Puppe” was released on 17 May 2019 with the rest of Rammstein’s self-titled seventh album.
• This song was written by the members of Rammstein. Therefore all six members of the band receive writing credits.
• The track was also produced by the band in collaboration with music producer Olsen Involtini.
• Like was mentioned above, the word “puppe” is German for the English word “doll”. So whenever the singer mentions the word “puppe” in the song, he is basically saying “doll”.
• The tale featured in “Puppe” is actually based on a poem Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann wrote circa 2014 entitled “Wenn Mutti spät zur Arbeit geht”, which translates to “When Mom Goes to Work Late”. In fact for the most part, the song is a faithful retelling of the poem, the main differences being that the titular mother has been replaced with the narrator’s sister, and there is no doll in the poem.            

Was “PUPPE” released as a single from the album Rammstein?

No. The album produced only two singles. They are: “Radio” and “Deutschland“.