(no subject)

[varjohaltia]

It is time for dawn, I want to sleep
In my hand I hide the butterfly that came to see me
There's gold on her wings, and she shivers
I lift her on my palm, I don't want to hurt her
[...]
It's dusk and I close my eyes
But before I go to sleep I want to open my hand
And release the most beautiful of butterflies
It's good to go to bed when you've seen the sun

Okay. What I really wanted to do was to translate some of the lyrics that have been tugging at my heartstrings, and I've discovered that it'll take a whole lot more effort than I'm capable of giving it right now. As it is, for the benefit of rather few people, here's what makes me crank up the volume and shout my throat hoarse as I drive through the night.

Dingo:
Kunnian kentät (see above)
Nahkatakkinen tyttö

Yö:
Joutsenlaulu
Rakkaus on lumivalkoinen
Ihmisen poika
Hän tanssi kanssa enkeleiden

Maija Vilkkumaa:
Ingalsin Laura
Ei

Anssi Kela:
1972

Hector:
Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen

CMX:
Ruoste

Päivi Mäkinen:
Niin kaunis on maa

Comments

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

What groups and such are these?

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

They're all Finnish groups.

Dingo is ancient history, from my grade school days--the first Finnish megaband, really. They had some really nice songs for a few years before they broke up. Pop/rock, essentially. Kunnian kentät is set somewhat vaguely, but the most obvious interpretation would be from the viewpoint of someone who has gone to war and left their love behind, expecting to return, and how eventually the fields of glory (heaven) is where they will meet again.

Nahkatakkinen tyttö (The girl in a leather jacket) is about an average girl who made mistakes, slipped into drugs, got pregnant, and is now probably in her late teens or early twenties and has to face all the consequences alone. Sort of a cautionary tale, but with enough teen-angst that it was an immediate and enduring hit.

Yö is somewhat difficult to categorize. I believe their setup is basically that of a metal band, but they mostly did ballads, and they're all pretty and depressing as all.

Maija Vilkkumaa is a rebellious young female singing songs about rebellious young girls. She rocks. Ingalsin Laura is about a girl who's being asked to conform in school, just like Laura Ingals (a random name), Ei is about a girl who's fighting her mother who is trying to smother her to death with care after she lost her first child.

Anssi Kela I've only heard two songs from. 1972 is a song about the dreams people had in school and how they turned out, sort of set at a class reunion. The other song was some sort of awful rap that I couldn't stand.

Hector is a Finnish legend who's been famous for over three decades--his lyrics have been read as standalone poetry. I guess "folk" or such would be close as far as genre goes, the soundscapes are very simple, essentially a guy with a guitar and perhaps drummer playing at a bar, singing about everything from one's infatuation with Marilyn Monroe to really depresso tales (Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen -- Snowangel in the hall) of broken homes leaving orphans behind. Regardless, he captures reality in a way that few can.

CMX is, I believe, one of countless pretty good metal bands hailing from the Kemi-Oulu axis in northern Finland. They're mostly famous for a few of their ballads, including Ruoste (rust). It's also about things falling apart, somewhat more literally.

Päivi Mäkinen is more of a classical singer, and Niin kaunis on maa (The earth/land is beautiful) is a traditional song about the beauty of the country, though as usual ends up being very melancholic despite the words having nothing such about them.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Cool -- thanks! Um ... you told me that's ... that's ... kiitos, right?