Her latest song ‘Berghain’ has gone viral online, with fans speculating about the artist’s unusual language choice. So why does Rosalía sing in German in her new single, and what does she say?
Spanish superstar Rosalía has grabbed the spotlight with her latest single “Berghain,” which is the first track to drop from her forthcoming album “Lux”.
The track, which strikes a markedly different tone from the experimental pop songs that the singer has become known for, features the London Symphony Orchestra as well as Icelandic artist Björk and American experimental musician Yves Tumor.
But perhaps even more surprising, is that the song has a German language verse and refrain sung in operatic style.
Why is a Spanish popstar singing in German?
In German social media circles, Rosalía’s new single was met with instant and widespread excitement. People ran to translate the German lyrics for English audiences and speculate as to why the singer chose to sing in German – and why she named the track after Berlin’s most notorious nightclub, Berghain.
There was some initial speculation that the language choice had something to do with the singer’s personal life. Some fans suggested that Rosalía’s language choice may have been influenced by her alleged relationship with German actor and singer Emilio Sakraya. The pair has reportedly been seen together in multiple locations including Barcelona and Munich this year.
But in a recent interview with the New York Time podcast Popcast, Rosalía revealed that she actually sings in 13 different languages in her forthcoming album including Latin, Sicilian and Ukrainian among others.
She told Popcast that the album was a product of her “love and curiosity”, and that her choice to feature so many languages foreign to her came from “wanting to understand the other better” because “through understanding the other better maybe you can understand yourself better, and you can learn how to love better”.
Notably, this is not the first time Rosalía has publicly spoken German. She has addressed a Berlin crowd in German during her MOTOMAMI tour in 2022.
READ ALSO: Rosalía – Five things to know about Spain’s greatest musical export
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What are the German lyrics?
The song Berghain (video below) begins with a dramatic classical symphony music, and a chorus comes in with a biting refrain:
Seine Angst ist meine Angst (His fear is my fear)
Seine Wut ist meine Wut (His anger is my anger)
Seine Liebe ist meine Liebe (His love is my love)
Sein Blut ist mein Blut (His blood is my blood)
Then Rosalía sings in operatic style:
Die Flamme dringt in mein Gehirn ein (The flame penetrates my brain)
Wie ein Blei-Teddybär (Like a lead teddy bear)
Ich bewahre viele Dinge in meinem Herzen auf (I keep many things in my heart)
Deshalb ist mein Herz so schwer (That’s why my heart is so heavy)
The next verse is sung by Rosalía in Spanish, followed by parts sung by Björk and Yves Tumor.
The Lux album is set to be released on November 7th.
You can watch the Berghain music video here.
