What is Rosalía’s Song “Berghain” About? Lyrics, Context, & Themes

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Everything you need to know about the Spanish pop icon’s new single

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: November 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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Lyrics & Translation

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Lyrical Analysis

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Background & Context

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Video Meaning

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About Björk & Yves Tumor

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Video

Rosalía has made tsunami-sized waves in the pop music scene with her orchestral single “Berghain,” which comes ahead of her hotly anticipated new album, Lux. The Spanish pop star is known for pushing the envelope, and she continues to as she sings in both German and Spanish on the single in a bold, operatic style. But what is “Berghain” about, and what is Rosalía saying? We’ll show you the translated lyrics and give you our full analysis of the single, as well as its music video and the song’s background.

What is “Berghain” about?

“Berghain” is a song about an all-consuming love that isn’t sustainable. Rosalía sings about giving so much of herself to another person that she loses herself. The song title is a reference to the Berlin nightclub Berghain, but Rosalía hasn’t explained the connection, and there aren’t many clues in the song itself.

Section 1 of 5:

Berghain Lyrics and Translation

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English lyrics On “Berghain,” Rosalía sings in both German and Spanish, with the featured artists, Björk and Yves Tumor, singing in English. The original lyrics are powerful on their own, but are also moving when translated into English:^{[1]
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- Choir (German): His fear is my fear / His rage is my rage / His love is my love / His blood is my blood.
- Rosalía (German): The flame penetrates my brain / Like a lead teddy bear / I keep many things in my heart / That's why my heart is so heavy^{[2]
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- Choir (German): [Repeat]
- Rosalía (Spanish): I know very well what I am / Tenderness for coffee / I'm just a sugar cube / I know that the heat melts me / I know how to disappear / When you come, that's when I leave
- Choir (German): [Repeat]
- Björk (English): The only way to save us is through divine intervention / The only way I will be saved (Is through) divine intervention
- Yves Tumor (English): I'll f*ck you till you love me / I'll f*ck you till you love me / I'll f*ck you till you love me / Till you love me / Till you love me [Repeats]
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Original lyrics Here are the original, untranslated lyrics:^{[3]
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- Choir (German): Seine Angst ist meine Angst / Seine Wut ist meine Wut / Seine Liebe ist meine Liebe / Sein Blut ist mein Blut
- Rosalía (German): Die Flamme dringt in mein Gehirn ein / Wie ein Blei-Teddybär / Ich bewahre viele Dinge in meinem Herzen auf / Deshalb ist mein Herz so schwer
- Choir (German): [Repeat]
- Rosalía (Spanish): Yo sé muy bien lo que soy / Ternura pa'l café / Solo soy un terrón de azúcar / Sé que me funde el calor / Sé desaparecer / Cuando tú vienes es cuando me voy
- Choir (German): [Repeat]
- Björk (English): The only way to save us is through divine intervention / The only way I will be saved (Is through) divine intervention
- Yves Tumor (English): I'll f*ck you till you love me / I'll f*ck you till you love me / I'll f*ck you till you love me / Till you love me / Till you love me [Repeats]

Section 2 of 5:

Berghain Lyrical Analysis

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On “Berghain,” the chorus gives high drama to a passionate relationship. The chorus on Berghain is sung by a choir singing in German. They sing, “His fear is my fear / His rage is my rage / His love is my love / His blood is my blood.”^{[4]
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Research source} It’s a bold, feverish, and overwhelming declaration of a powerful kind of love, one that makes the people involved inseparable, nearly the same person. What one feels, the other feels as well.
- So many voices singing make the vibe epic and full of drama, elevating the song way past normal pop aesthetics.
- Of course, when two people are so infatuated and devoted to each other, it can be a recipe for disaster, as we’ll see in the verses.
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Rosalía’s verses reveal a one-sided relationship unraveling. While the chorus sings of a powerful connection, Rosalía’s own words reveal another story. She sings in a grandiose, flamenco-inspired operatic style, saying that her heart is “like a lead teddy bear,” heavy and full of emotion, but also locked and repressed. In her next verse, she sings of fire and heat that melts her like a sugar cube in coffee, quickly disappearing, and that when the other person comes, “that’s when I leave.”
- This suggests a one-sided relationship that’s passionate and fiery, but lopsided. The speaker feels suffocated or invisible while the other person is present and dominating, and the speaker takes a backseat and draws into themself while the other person blazes bright.
- Rosalía also suggests that she lives in service of the other person, comparing herself to a sugar cube in coffee, giving herself up to make their life sweeter and better, even while the speaker herself fades away.
- This links back to the chorus. The speaker has dedicated herself so much to her love that she’s become her love, and also lost herself in the process.
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Björk and Yves Tumor’s verses are desperate attempts to save the love. Björk’s voice cuts through the choir, singing that the only way to save the relationship is through “divine intervention,” suggesting that it’d take a miracle for things to improve. It’s a desperate plea that matches the grandeur of the choir behind her, as though begging God to step in and do something before the speaker fades away altogether.
- Yves Tumor has a single, uncomfortable line that’s chopped and remixed: “I’ll f*ck you till you love me.” It serves as a final desperate plan to save the relationship through sex, as though if the speaker offers up enough of herself, things will be alright.
- Tumor’s line is remixed and warped, suggesting that the idea isn’t exactly a viable one, but instead a twisted and misguided attempt to save a sinking ship.

Section 3 of 5:

Berghain Background & Context

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Berghain is a famous nightclub in Berlin. The Berlin nightclub is notoriously difficult to get into and has a “no photos” policy. It’s a hotspot for Berlin nightlife, and has earned for itself quite the reputation in the electronic and dance music scenes.^{[5]
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Research source} Why the song is named after the club is up for debate. It could be a metaphor for the speaker’s whirlwind experience with love, like being on a breathless, dark, thumping dancefloor, tossed about by the music, crowd, and emotion.
- Writing for Ara, Magda Polo Pujadas describes the club as “a temple of techno music…[which] serves as an opportunity for Rosalía to experience something that goes beyond metamorphosis, transfiguration and mutation (as she did with Motomami), as she seeks salvation from an irreparable wound in the heart.”^{[6]
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- “Berghain” means “mountain grove” and is a portmanteau of the names of the nightclub’s adjoining neighborhoods, reflecting the song’s own clashing, patchwork nature. The club’s reputation as a “temple” fits into Rosalía’s religious imagery, including her nun’s habit on the cover of Lux.
- That said, Rosalía herself hasn’t spoken on the meaning of the song title, and there aren’t many direct clues in the lyrics themselves. This one’s up to fan interpretation!
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The song might be about Rosalía’s recently called-off engagement. During an interview with Le Magazine du Monde, Rosalía expressed admiration for Saint Rosalía, a hermit who canceled her wedding the day before, which Rosalía (the singer) said was an “incredible” coincidence, but didn’t say why. Fans speculate it’s because Rosalía may have also called off her wedding to Rauw Alejandro. Nobody knows the specifics (yet), but what has been confirmed is that the two of them are no longer together.^{[7]
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The song is a part of Rosalía’s bigger project on her new album, Lux. The singer’s new album is super hyped at this point, and for good reason. Rosalía is an experimental artist determined to show us new horizons, and she’s aiming for just that with this album. She told NPR, “I've experienced different things through all these years of traveling and being exposed to other music and being exposed to other cultures. And all of that I think I carry with me with so much love, and I'm like, I want this to be part of this album.”^{[8]
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- On the album, Rosalía sings in 13 different languages and borrows mystical motifs from many different religions and spiritual practices.
- In the same interview, Rosalía indicated that the album would be anchored by the idea of “feminine mysticism” and ways women across time and space have “navigated love, lust, and mortality.”

Section 4 of 5:

Berghain Music Video Meaning

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The Berghain music video depicts how emotions can be overwhelming. In the music video, we see Rosalía enter an apartment wearing black, like she’s in mourning. She opens the curtain to reveal an orchestra that follows her and plays while she irons a skirt, scrubs a tub, makes a twin bed, and takes the bus to a doctor’s office and a jeweler’s.
- The orchestra is thundering and loud, but still Rosalía pays it little attention as she tries to go about her day, crowded with people and noise.
- The orchestra juxtaposed with everyday tasks can represent how emotions can haunt and follow you, even when you’re trying to live normally—especially emotions like heartbreak and romantic anxiety.
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Rosalía depicts herself as part of a modern fairy tale. When Rosalía returns to her apartment, it’s dark and transformed into a woodland scene. Rosalía herself wears a red bow, like Snow White, and animals come from the shadows to interact with her before they begin to shift and mutate into contorting dancers.^{[9]
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- This might suggest that Rosalía’s fairy tale romance is falling apart. What was once cheerful and whimsical is now a nightmare.
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The video is dripping with religious iconography. Near the start of the video, we see a rosary wrapped around Rosalía’s foot. An icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hangs on the wall, echoing the dented heart locket Rosalía tries to get fixed. At the tub, Rosalía kneels before a cross-shaped window, as if in prayer. The video is full of small references like these that hint at a more elevated, religious experience that the speaker in the song might be experiencing.^{[10]
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- In her interview with NPR, Rosalía explained, “Mysticism is the inspiration. It's not trying to fit too much into specific codes, but more of what is my truth, what is my faith, and how can I explain this and put it into words, which is so hard?”^{[11]
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Section 5 of 5:

Who are Björk & Yves Tumor?

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Björk is a legendary experimental and electronic musician. Björk, born 1965, is an Icelandic pop artist known for pushing boundaries and trailblazing new sounds. She gained popularity in the band Sugarcubes, then went on to release solo music, starting with her album Debut in 1993, which resulted in several hit singles. Björk is known for her fusion of genres like jazz, electronic, industrial, folk, and many, many more.^{[12]
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- Speaking with the New York Times, Rosalía said, “[Björk] is my favorite woman and artist. I thought that she was the most fascinating human I’ve ever met because her train of thought was so different than I’ve ever seen before. It was just an instant crush of admiration.”^{[13]
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- Rosalía went on to say, “We stayed in touch and I just felt like with this album, if this was such a strong, demanding musical exercise, if I was doing it good enough, maybe, I would send it to her, and if it was in the right level, maybe then she couldn’t say no.”^{[14]
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Yves Tumor is a bold and daring experimental pop artist. Tumor, whose real name is sometimes listed as Sean Bowie and other times as Rahel Ali, is an enigmatic figure in the music scene. They were raised in Tennessee and cut their teeth in LA’s experimental music scene. They blend elements of industrial and R&B to make a thoroughly strange, sometimes ugly, often beautiful music catalogue.^{[15]
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- Tumor, while marking a dramatic tone shift for “Berghain,” also makes perfect sense, as their music, like Rosalía’s and Björk’s, is both intricate, trailblazing, and mystical.