Weil ich alles für dich sein will und auch kann

Because I want to and can be everything for you – "Ich bin dein Mann" by Max Raabe

Have you ever wished you could be “everything” to a loved one or significant other? Singer Max Raabe takes this premise to humorous new heights (and depths) in the song “Ich bin dein Mann” (“I am your husband”), where he describes his ability to be everything his wife could ever need – including a lengthy list of animals. 

Max Raabe is unique in the German music scene, as, accompanied by his own Palast Orchester, he primarily performs music in a jazzy style reminiscent of the 1920’s and -30’s. In “Ich bin dein Mann”, Max gives us a fun list of animal vocabulary, as well as a chance to look more closely at German’s nominative case.

Ich bin ein Fisch im Ozean
I’m a fish in the ocean
Und wenn du willst ein Pelikan
And if you want, a pelican
Ein Wolf im Rudel
A wolf in a pack
Oder dein Pudel
Or your poodle
Ich bin ein Bieber oder Bär
I’m a beaver or bear
Oder Dinosaurier
Or dinosaur
Ich bin ein Löwe
I’m a lion
Oder ‘ne Möwe
Or a seagull

Du schaust mich an und fragst: “Wo piept’s denn?”
You look at me and ask: “Are you crazy?”
Weil ich alles für dich sein will und auch kann
Because I want to be everything for you – and also can be
Doch am aller allerliebsten
But most of all
Bin ich immer noch dein Mann
I’m still your husband
Bin ich dein Mann
I am your husband

“Ich bin dein Mann” contains a wealth of German vocabulary related to animals. (In fact, it was this very song which brought me to the realization that Justin Bieber’s last name is the German word for beaver.) You can check out the song’s full list of animals mentioned below.

However, the song also gives us the opportunity to take a quick look at German’s nominative case – perhaps the most user-friendly of German’s four cases. 

The nominative (or “naming”) case in German is used for the main subject of a sentence, but also for any direct object occurring after the verb sein. Blessedly, any noun in the nominative case (subject or direct object) doesn’t require any special declination-related adjustments, as most often occurs with other cases such as accusative or dative. Nouns in the nominative case are free to remain au natural, with their God-given (?) direct articles der, die, or das (or, as seen in our song, the indirect articles ein or eine). 

Here’s an example from “Ich bin dein Mann”:

Ich bin ein Fisch im Ozean.
I am a fish in the ocean.

Ich = main subject of the sentence, first-person pronoun in accusative case
ein Fisch = direct object occurring after the verb sein (conjugated to the first-person form bin), also in the nominative case.

Note that if we wanted to instead say “I have a fish” (“Ich habe einen Fisch”), our direct object der Fisch would take on the accusative case, as indicated by the use of the declined article “einen” rather than “ein”. (Don’t worry, we’ll save the full explanation of the accusative case for another day.)

But since this sentence – along with many other lines in “Ich bin dein Mann” – uses a form of the verb sein (bin), our fish is free to remain in the nominative case. 

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive explanation of the nominative case, here are a few resources for further reading:

Easy Deutsch: The German Nominative Case
German with Laura: German Nominative Case

Here are a few additional (animal!) words from “Ich bin dein Mann” to add to your vocabulary list:

der Fisch – the fish
der Pelikan – the pelican
der Wolf – the wolf
der Pudel – the poodle
der Bieber – the beaver
der Bär – the bear
der Dinosaurier – the dinosaur
der Löwe – the lion
die Möwe – the seagull
der Hirsch – the deer
der Hahn – the rooster
das Kamel – the camel
der Schwan – the swan
der Orang-Utan – the orangutan
der Truthahn – the turkey
der Wiesel – the weasel
der Wal – the whale
der Kranich – the crane