Regie translates to "direction" or "directing," as in the artistic control of a film or play. It's a less common word to find in everyday song lyrics, making it stand out.
In the song, Johannes Oerding uses it metaphorically when he sings, "So wie 'n Film ohne Regie" (Like a film without direction). This powerful image conveys a sense of being lost and without purpose, highlighting the profound impact of the person's absence.
Johannes Oerding builds "Wenn Du Gehst" ["When You Leave"] out of a list of things defined by what they're missing: an old man without his cane, a plane without wings, a beach without sand. Verse one turns that list toward someone else: "Der Mensch ist irgendwie komisch" ["People are kinda weird"], he sings, because they forget what they have until they're suddenly alone. Verse two hands the exact same list back to the singer himself — guitar without strings, song without melody — swapping "Der Mensch" for "Ich bin irgendwie komisch" ["I'm kinda weird"]. Both verses arrive at the same plain confession, "Weil ich eigentlich schon weiß, du fehlst mir" ["Because I actually already know, I miss you"], so the song makes its point through repetition before the chorus ever says it outright.
Johannes Oerding was born in Münster in 1981 and grew up in Geldern-Kapellen on the Lower Rhine, where he started out in a school band called Groovekeller. People outside Germany's club circuit first heard him in 2009, when he opened for Simply Red on tour, the same year his debut album Erste Wahl came out.
Every album since has charted higher than the one before: Boxer reached number 11, Für immer ab jetzt number 4, Alles brennt number 3 and Kreise number 2, until Konturen gave him his first number 1 in 2019. Plan A and Hotel went to the top as well. His biggest song is An guten Tagen. He came second at the 2013 Bundesvision Song Contest with Nichts geht mehr, coached on The Voice of Germany in 2021, and has hosted Sing meinen Song since 2020. His trademark is a hat, and in 2019 he was even named Hutträger des Jahres.