A road to lyrics

Note to self: three shifts of work, three days of school and bunch of other duties every week doesn't go well for a lazybutt like me. The first half of the semester is coming to an end so hopefully soon I'll be able to think more of inner thoughts and less of official thoughts.

I've carried on with my quest to find out why I like lyrics so much. I think I can explain it with the way Finns make music. When it comes to melody, Finnish songs can be a bit boring. The key in good Finnish songs are in the lyrics mostly and I think that might explain why karaoke is so popular here. Let me demonstrate this by an example.

Neljä Ruusua (four roses) have a song called Tie Ajatuksiin (a path to thoughts). It's not much if you just listen to it and don't understand what is being said. This is my best effort on translating the lyrics.

"I want to lick you clean from the dents of life
take you by the hand and take you with me
I want to forgive you all your sins
and lead you to the direction towards peace of mind

Sometimes the power (energy) gets cut off or one has too much of it
but will can lift a tightrope dancer in the air

In my eyes the world seems foggy and beautiful
if future fullfills my dreams
I'll stay and rest, and never want to be reborn again

I want to take you on a voyage to my thoughts
and teach you what I've realised
I want to open your eyes, make you see with fresh gaze
and smother the despair

Sometimes the power gets cut off or one has too much of it
but will can lift a tightrope dancer in the air

In my eyes the world seems foggy and beautiful
if future fullfills my dreams
I'll stay and rest, and never want to be reborn again

A path to thoughts, come with me

A path to thoughts, come with me"

Most of the great Finnish songs have a certain nickcavean flair to it. And they are usually melancholic. Songs about walking in fathers shoes and killing the family, suicide, darkness, snow, despair, losing loved-ones and drinking. Mostly drinking.

They are also about how tied we are to our ancestors, they point out problems and shows us that singing about them might not make them go away, but it can make us feel better. Lyrics have always been the way for me to feel I belong; that there is someone else in the universe feeling as I do and that I'm not alone.

Lyrics can encourage or help carry a burden. Lyrics can say the stuff you would like to, but you just can't or you don't have the words. They say so much more of human communication is done without words but I don't think that just makes the words any less valuable. What makes humans special compared to any other animals is that we talk, we sing and we dance (and we bury our loved-ones). Lyrics are as essential as the rhythm or the melody. What's so great about music is that it combines the essence of being a human. It includes the talking (words, lyrics), the singing (melody) and the dancing (rhythm). A world without music would be a grim place and I'm happy I'm not in one.

The stink

For long time I've thought the song that represents my love life will always be this one:

"If you fall, I'll catch. If you love, I'll love."

"Make me cry for your love like you've done many times."

"Lady pain, make me strong. Can't we be together without them forever."

"The words I write can only hurt you. Sorry for the rain. Thank you, my only one you gave me this pain."

I'm a bit of a poet but when I think of writing, I remember someone putting it better than I ever could. The pain, the broken heart, the eternal wait, the utter misery and hopelessness are all so well describe that I have no business in it.

Right now, there are no shadows in my life. If I'd have to describe my love life with a song, it wouldn't be The Misery by Sonata Arctica but this one:

No shadows, just boredom. I'm getting the hang of my work and now I only have to perfect it. I keep oversleeping in the mornings and I think it's because I know there won't be any challenges waiting for me that day. My motivation for school has gone hiding. I think it's lurking somewhere but I just can't find it right now. Everything stinks.