Rammstein’s “Zick Zack” Lyrics Meaning

As pointed out by Genius, the title of this song is meant to emulate the sound of something being cut, whereas we in the English-speaking world would say “snip-snip” instead of “zick-zack”. The reason such a notion serves as the theme of this piece is because what the lyrics actually focus on is plastic surgery and other extreme means – such as liposuction, rib removal or what have you – that some people go through in the name of beautifying themselves.

The vocalist does not actually criticize such practices. Instead, the way he puts it is that “whoever wants to be beautiful needs to suffer”. But the mood of the lyrics are such that the ‘suffering’ he is referring to would be the types of aforementioned procedures. And usually, when someone decides to go under the knife for a reason like filling their lips, flattening their stomach or tightening loose skin, we don’t actually refer to it as ‘suffering’. 

So the insinuation of course is that Rammstein is mocking individuals who do this to themselves, more or less implying that they are overly vain. This is just further proof that the homeys really don’t give AF, as the types of people who are commonly known to partake of such operations are the likes of Rammstein’s own celebrity peers.

Facts about “Zick Zack”

Rammstein released this track via Vertigo/Capitol (aka Vertigo Berlin) on 7 April 2022. It is part of “Zeit”. “Zeit” is the title of the German band’s eighth studio album. Actually this song was the second single to be released from the album. The album’s first single is also titled “Zeit” – a song which scored Rammstein a number 1 in Germany.

Rammstein is a sextet consisting of the following musicians:

• Richard Z. Kruspe
• Paul Landers
• Till Lindemann
• Christian “Flake” Lorenz
• Oliver Riedel
• Christoph Schneider

All of them receive individual credit for writing “Zick Zack”. Furthermore, all 6 of them are collectively recognized as the track’s co-producers. They achieved that task with Olsen Involtini.

Joern Heitmann, who has already directed 10 other Rammstein videos, also served such a role for the release of “Zick Zack”. 

In fact Rammstein’s people have invested a lot in marketing this song, which for instance has come out alongside an entire 30+ page “Zick Zack Magazine”. And the first announcement of this track, which itself was an interactive affair, came just a few days before its release.