Heidenröslein

In the poem I could only help but think it was a clever way to talk about a terrible act and a reflection of the extreme sexism in those times. The Rammstien version on the other hand put a twist on the story. In their version the girl uses her sex appeal to make the man do what she wants, rather then doing what he wants. While I think there lyrics are just as clever an poetic as the much older version I also think it is just as wrong. The Rammstien version is still putting forth a sexist message. In the poem the girl is raped as she is appealing to the man, in the Rammstien version the girl takes power because she is appealing. In both cases if the girl was not attractive to the men she would be nothing to them. Their twist on the story is still interesting none the less as a reflection of the changes and similarity between two very different times.