Your local frustratee.

[kyrasantae]

[On the second close encounter of the Antonuk kind in two days] Oh no, not again! (In this case I immediately hid myself in the nearest clasroom. It's hard not to feel paranoid over someone who scares you / you are afraid of.)

I don't know why I've been so irritable lately. Every little rejection or negative comment in my direction sets me off. Maybe it's my nitpicking or people as an extension of the quest for the reperpetration of truth and correctness. Maybe I'm too tired of trying to help but not ony unrecognized, but negatively dismissed for it. Maybe I'm tired also of people wasting my time by repeating the same criticisms over and over while it's the other singers who need to hear it because I've been doing it right. I guess mostly this 'drifting' feeling I've had. Drifting around to find a place to fit in, where people express their appreciation for others' advice and corrections.

Comments

[hollower.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm sorry to intrude into your personal journal, but you were asking about the lyrical defferencies between Candlemass' Samarithan and Trio Nislakaukaus' version of it in a community I'm in (finland). I noticed that nobody gave you an answer in the communities you cross-posted to, so I thought you might appreciate one even if it came two days late. I came to your journal, because I figured you might not have e-mail notification on.

Anyway, you are indeed correct in suspecting that the lyrics have been changed in the Finnish version. Typically for Trio Niskalaukaus, or indeed to us Finns ;), the song is not about helping a beggar and going to heaven to fly about, but about a person who hurried away from the beggar and after death ends up in his own hell, as lowly as a dog in the dark. Roughly translating, of course. I could even try to write some kind of a translation of the Finnish lyrics if you want to know exactly what Timo is singing.

Hope this helps!

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

Kiitos!

I knew there was something different about the lyrics, looking at the words I did recognize - helvetissain? Umhmm, yeah. I did manage to scribble down a quick transliteration of the text, but I have trouble hearing the differences between a and ä and short vs. long vowels, so I dare not post it. Besides, I'm sure they'll post the lyrics eventually on their website.

I'd appreciate a translation, and if you have time, maybe a copy of the lyrics? I wonder how good my ear is for Finnish anyway ;)

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

D'oh!
That should be 'helvettissäin,' shouldn't it :P

[hollower.livejournal.com]

Helvetissäin, it's those bratty double consonants, always causing trouble. *grin*

Sorry for not replying sooner, pesky RL has been keeping me busy. I've done lyrics translations of Finnish bands before for friends, but I always get the feeling that not only am I doing unjustice to the lyrics, I'm also ungraciously raping both Finnish *and* English in the process... But I'll try to do a passable job.

Could I perhaps e-mail them to you or would you prefer I post them here?

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

Sure, if you're afraid of butchering lyrics in public then email them to me. Just use the email in my profile :)

Here it is *at last*

[hollower.livejournal.com]

How embarrassing, I was finally about to send you the lyrics, but when I checked your profile, I couldn't find any kind of contact information listed. So what the hell, I'll just paste them here and bear the blame for the clumsy hatchet job I did. I was going for the more literal translation rather than to try to bollocks it up completely by attempting a more refined approach.


Samarialainen

Kauan sitten tai kauemmin
kerjäläisen tapasin
kuin koira apua anoi
silloin nousi mieleeni
yltäkylläinen kotini
hyvä huoli minussa sanoi

Vaikka jakaisit kaikkesi
päästäisit hänet pöytääsi
silti sinulle kylliksi jää
Muistan viime sanansa
en voi mitään korvata
mutta taivas kaiken hyvittää

Niin paikalta pakenin rakkaitten luo
en kerjäläisiä sentään kotiini tuo
ja onneni käsitin näin miettien
laupias olen vaan en samarialainen

Monta vuotta myöhemmin
kuolinvuoteella makasin
kun kolme enkeliä näin
uskoin vielä taivaisiin
minut sinne johdettiin
missä kaikki kääntyy nurinpäin

Kuin koira nyt vaellan helvetissäni
pimeästä kuljen pimeään päin
ja viel' murtaa käärme kuiskuttaen
sinä et ole mikään samarialainen


Samaritan

A long time ago or longer
I met a beggar
cried out for help like a dog
then to my mind rose
my overabundant home
the concern in me said

Even if you gave all you've got
(even if) you allowed him to your table
you would still have enough to spare
I remember the last words
I cannot repay you
but heaven will reward everything

So I ran away to my loved ones
I wouldn't bring beggars to my home
and I understood my happiness thinking thus
I'm merciful, but I'm not a Samaritan

Many years later
I laid on my deathbed
when I saw three angels
I still believed in heavens
they took me there
where everything turns upside down
like a dog I now wander in my hell
I travel from darkness to darkness
and still the snake tells with a hiss
you ain't a Samaritan

Re: Here it is *at last*

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

Actually, you should have been able to see my email address in my profile, that's funny. It's the address I have for my MSN account and stuff. What the hey, don't feel worried about it; hardly anyone reads my journal anyway, let alone off-topic comments on one of my posts :P

[hollower.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I'm a bit uncertain what Timo is singing in the second to last line of the last verse. I couldn't think of anything other than "vielä murtaa" and the second opinion I sought couldn't help me any better. So let's just put that under "uncertain".

The verb 'murtaa' of course commonly means 'to break something', but it has a more obscure usage as something akin to 'to say' verb. I believe it's archaic and only appears in some some rural dialects today. Otherwise it's 'to break' or 'to speak with a dialect'. Hope this explanation isn't *too* confusing. :)

Hello again.

[kyrasantae.livejournal.com]

Well it's like they've *finally* posted the lyrics on their site, so I've highlighted the differences between your transcription and their official copy, is there any meaning changed or does it clarify anything?:

kauan sitten tai kauemmin
kerjäläisen tapasin
kuin koira apua anoi

silloin nousi mieleeni
yltäkylläinen kotini
hyvä puoli minussa sanoi:

"vaikka jakaisit kaikkesi,
päästäisit hänet pöytääsi,
silti sinulle kylliksi jää"

muistan viime sanansa:
"en voi mitään korvata,
mutta taivas kaiken hyvittää"

niin paikalta pakenin
rakkaitten luo
en kerjäläisiä sentään
kotiini tuo
ja onneni käsitin
näin miettien:
"laupias olen vaan en
samarialainen"

monta vuotta myöhemmin
kuolinvuoteella makasin,
kun kolme enkeliä näin

uskoin: vievät taivaisiin
minut sinne johdettiin,
missä kaikki kääntyy nurinpäin

kuin koira nyt vaellan
helvetissäin,
pimeästä kuljen
pimeään päin
ja kiemurtaa käärmeet
kuiskuttaen:
"sinä et ole mikään
samarialainen"

Re: Hello again.

[hollower.livejournal.com]

Well, d'uh! I can now slap myself and consider acquiring a hearing aid. Some things make a *lot* more sense now. Thanks for letting me know.

"Hyvä puoli minussa sanoi:" would be "my good side said:".

"Uskoin: vievät taivaisiin" translates as "I believed: would take [me] to heaven".

"Kiemurtaa käärmeet" is then "slither snakes".

I almost lost sleep on that last one when I did this ages ago (perfectionist tendencies). *grin* I just didn't hear a K in there, but instead a V and an L... Oh well.

My apologies, I would've replied to you earlier, but it's been party time since last Friday here. Midsummer's fest, perhaps you're familiar with it? In these parts of the world it's the biggest celebration after Christmas. Oww... I'm crawling back to bed to recuperate. ;p