Wednesday 15 August 2001

Pic of the day: I found this old album with Björn Afzelius at work. There's a mix of angsty love songs and radical political songs. I usually play the political ones, which are great fun. But occasionally I listen to the others. I intended to write an essay called "Nobody loves me" but I think today I'll just enjoy the pitiful whining. I wish I could render them well into English, but I had to compromise between following the melody or the text. The world is a poorer place for not having a billion people listening to Afzelius. Just look here:

Angsty Swedish songs

För när vännerna försvinner, eller kärleken tar slut,
ser man allt med lite andra ögon.
Man övar sej, og långsomt blir man bettre på att se
skillnad mellan sanningar och lögnar

Tusen Bitar, Anne Linnet, Swedish lyrics Björn Afzelius.

Translation attempt:
When the friends are disappearing, or when the love must end,
everything is seen with other eyes.
And you train yourself, and slowly it gets easier to see
the difference between the truth and falsehood.

***

Ett ljus for dom sjelar jag sårat
för vännarna som jag försmått,
och för tårarna som dom har gråtit
for min skull;
et annat för att jag skall finna
en kärlek som orkar bestå
och en kvinna som en gång kan elska mej
som jag är.

Två ljus, Björn Afzelius.

Translation attempt:
A candle for souls I have wounded
for all of the friends that I scorned
and for all of the tears they've been weeping
for my sake;
another to pray I'll be finding
a love that can bear to go on
and a woman who someday can love me
as I am.

(Incidentally, he's dead now. Too bad about that woman and stuff.)

***

*sigh* I translated one more, but I think it's a bit too ecchi. The guy was Swedish, after all. Besides, it wasn't quite angsty enough. Though "love me now" is certainly a good title. I could use that for a novel. Uhm, about a super porcupine ...

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I know it's not a real journal entry today! I was writing one but it did not ripen as it should. I could not use it like that. Basically I'm researching love again. How come that I'm utterly unconcerned that nobody loves me? (Well, nobody that knows me at least.) Is it really because I have enough with the holy divine love from Heaven, or is it that I am fed up with fickle emotions and just don't care? I have to research it further.

I guess these songs were a cul-de-sac. Blind alley. False trail. I still don't know whether people really take love that seriously or just like the melodies. I'm sure it must be possible to find out somehow.