[1985]
Text och musik/Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Nio liv
Of his song "Tellus," Björn Afzelius wrote in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:
"Skriven en natt på Stadshotellet i Lidköping. Det var fullmåne, och det magiska ljuset och tystnaden i stan fick mej att känna mej nära kosmos och fylld av kraft och beslutsamhet. En oförglömlig stund"
"Written one night at the Stadshotel in Linköping. There was a full moon and that magic light and the silence in the city made me feel near the cosmos and full of strength and determination. An unforgettable moment."
This spiritual song is appropriate now for our time as it was when Björn Afzelius wrote it. The line in the song that says "Now I want to write songs that show the way" is so true for all of his writings.
Unfortunately the video of Björn Afzelius singing "Tellus" was removed due to copywright issues. The video by Annelie Sabel is a nice cover version.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, or Donibane Lohizune, referred to in the songtext, is a commune in the French Basque Country and a place known for »the sugar-and-egg-white macaroon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroon) offered to Louis XIV and his young bride, the Spanish princess María Theresa, on their wedding day, May 8, 1660, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Ever since, the macaroon has been a specialty of that Basque port at the mouth of the Nivelle.« (Mark Kurlansky, The Basque History of the World)
The right French spelling is "Renée", not "Renèe". Written stress marks can't be put at random in French ("é" shows closed pronunciation, "è" open pronunciation, as in Italian: "pèsca" = peach, "pésca" = fishing); so I've changed the stress throughout introduction, lyrics and translations. Of course, it's not your fault: I saw a lot of lyrics sites show "Renèe", and many people, both in France and Italy, use only one stress mark type. This is uncorrect, however.
Thanks for your corrections, Ricardo. I had no idea that the accent was wrong. I want these songs of Björn Afzelius to be correct. His work means a great deal to me.
Merci à tous les deux, Ceil and Juha. Je vous demande pardon si je suis décidément tatillon à propos de l'ortographe des langues utilisées dans ce site, mais c'est un peu ma façon de respecter les auteurs et les personnages des chansons, et les histoires qui y sont racontées. C'est peut-être aussi un souvenir de mon enfance, quand on m'a mis à l'école française de l'île d'Elbe à l'âge de six ans et on m'a appris le français à force de punitions lorsque je me trompais sur un accent ou sur un mot. Ce n'était sûrement pas une méthode très pédagogique, mais elle a été vachement efficace. Blagues à part, ne m'en voulez pas, et merci encore.
Thank you both, Ceil and Juha. I apologize if I'm definitely fussy about the spelling of the languages used in this site, but it's a bit my way of showing respect to the authors and characters of the songs, and to the stories that are told in them. It may... (continuer)
Funny that you mentioned learning French by punishment. My experience is exactly the opposite, i.e. learning by gentleness. I learned French for two years at the upper secondary school. Our teacher, an amicable young woman, was well aware of the fact that two years with an hour and a half a week was not enough to work wonders. Therefore, she chose another path. Besides and instead of grammar and things she taught us French songs most of which I still know by heart. She also decided to give us a glimpse of French culture by organizing tastings of French cheese and wine which, of course, was strictly out of line. But she was brave and wise and gentle. I remember one French class when we were all nervous about a test coming up in an hour and dealing with something called Church History. She came in and in no time she had realized how things were. This is what she said: "My father is a clergyman so forget about French, take your history books and start preparing."
The Swedish songtext above seems to be taken from one of those numerous lyrics pages that just copy each other's texts with all the flaws and mistakes included in the lyrics first submitted. Here's the Swedish original of my Finnish translation of »Vi lever ännu«, i.e. the wording of it as sung by Björn Afzelius at this YouTube page:
Hej Juha,
It would be so great to have your email address so we could discuss translations without it being on a public website. My email is ...
Besides listening to these songs everyday in my car, when I do a translation, I always check song texts on Björn’s website as well as in the album jackets. If there are errors in the Swedish texts, I would love to know as that affects translations as well. It is very important to me to do these translations correctly.
Thanks for putting the video on the Vi lever ännu page. It was very interesting.
[1979]
Text och musik / Lyrics and music / Testo e musica / Paroles et musique / Sanat ja sävel: Björn Afzelius
Album / Albumi: Bakom kulisserna
Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes about this song in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:
Björn Afzelius scrisse le seguenti note su questa canzone nel suo libro “95 Sånger” (95 canzoni):
"Kerstin, en ung ensamstående mor från betongghettot Hammarkullen utanför Göteborg, berättade en natt sin historia för mej."
"Kerstin, a young single mother from the hot concrete of Hammarkullen outside Gothenberg, told her story to me one night."
“Questa storia mi è stata raccontata una sera da Kerstin, una giovane ragazza madre che viveva nei casermoni di cemento di Hammarkullen, nei dintorni di Göteborg.” [CH]
Björn Afzelius often expressed his empathy and concern for the outcasts and forgotten members of society in his songs. The tragic story told in this lovely ballad occurs today as well as when it was written.
[1985]
Text och musik/Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Nio liv
Björn Afzelius wrote the following in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book about his song:
"Mikael Wiehe anser att denna sång avgjorde riksdagsvalet 1985 till socialdemokraternas favör. Även om det är överdrivet blev den de unga svenska arbetarnas allsånglåt under vår sommarturné i folkparkerna, och därefter deras kampsång under valrörelsen. Olof Palme var ytterst belåten när Mikael och jag spelade sången för honom i Visby, och moderatledaren Ulf Adelsohn sa i ett radioprogram att han personligen skulle döda mej. Han visste då inte att han låg ute i sänding"
"Mikael Wiehe believes that this song made the parliamentary elections in 1985 favor the Social Democrats. Although it is exaggerated, it became the young Swedish workers's song during our summer tour in small parks and afterwards their fight song during the electoral... (continuer)
[1985]
Text och musik/Lyrics and Music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Nio Liv
"I maj 1984 hyrde Mikael Wiehe och jag oss var sitt litet hus i Sydfrankrike, för att skriva sånger till vår gemensamma platta. Varje morgon när jag steg ut på terrassen såg jag en bonde stå och hacka i den röda jorden, någon kilometer ut i vinfälten. Han stod där hela dagarna, också under middagshettan och slet. Till slut inträdde jag i ett märkligt själsligt tillstånd, där tillvaron bara bestod av tre element - den gödande solen, den hårt arbetande bonden och den tyst betraktande främlingen. Detta är den sång jag själv tycker mest om av alla jag skrivit"
"In May, 1984, Mikael Wiehe and I rented our little house in South France, to write songs for our record. Every morning when I stepped out on the terrace, I saw a farmer stand and hoe the red earth a few kilometers out in the field. He stood there the whole sat... (continuer)
Björn Afzelius kirjoittaa tästä laulustaan: Toukokuussa 1984 vuokrasin Mikael Wiehen kanssa pienen talon Etelä-Ranskasta. Tarkoituksenamme oli tehdä lauluja yhteiselle levyllemme. Joka aamu, kun menin ulos terassille, näin talonpojan kuokkimassa punaista maata muutaman kilometrin päässä viiniviljelmillä. Hän raatoi siellä kokonaisia päiviä edes iltapäivän kuumuudesta piittaamatta. Lopulta minut valtasi outo mielentila, jossa olemassaolo koostui kolmesta elementistä, porottavasta auringosta, pellolla raatavasta miehestä ja häntä ääneti tarkkailevasta vieraasta. Tämä on kaikista lauluistani se, josta itse pidän eniten.
[1979]
Text och musik/ Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Bakom kulisserna
Björn Afzelius wrote the following in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book about his song "The American Way:"
"Min gode vän från Seattle, trubaduren Jim Page, berättade historien för mej under en gemensam turné i Sverige 1978. Händelsen inträffade då han bodde kvar i San Fransisco. Han läste om den i tidningen en morgon"
"My good friend from Seattle, troubador Jim Page, told me the story during a tour in Sweden in 1978. The story happened when he still lived in San Francisco. He read about it in a newspaper one morning."
Unfortunately these events still happen in America often.
The Björn Afzelius website has recently been updated in March, 2018. On the home page, there is a link to the recording of the English version of "The American Way" under Okända Inspelingar från vårt rikholdiga arkiv. (Unfamiliar recordings... (continuer)
[1997]
Text och musik/Lyrics and music Björn Afzelius
Album: Tankar vid 50
"Ifall dom många går ihop" is on the Tankar vid 50 (Thoughts at 50) album, released 2 years before his death at the age of 52. A passionate cry for change, it is thematically consistent with the protest songs he wrote throughout his career,
[1999]
Text och musik/Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Elsinore
"Duncan Brady" is on the final album of Björn Afzelius released in 1999. As with other Afzelius songs including "Morristown" and "The American Way," it effectively expresses the tragedy of death due to guns in America.
Polisman Duncan Brady kunde inte komma ihåg (continuer)
Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes about his song "Måne över Corsica" in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book.
"Fransmännen betraktar Korsika som en sommarinvestering - en plats där man kan rumla och bära sej åt hur som helst under semestern. Man vill ha ren luft och rent vatten i havet, alltså byggs inga industrier - därav en massarbetslöshet på ön. Fransmännen tar t.o.m. med sej hotell- och restaurangpersonal från fastlandet, samt egna staber att sköta tennisbanorna och campingplatserna. När säsongen är över försvinner såväl folk som pengar, och korsikanerna får hanka sej fram best de kan till nästa sommar. Dette har lett till etablerandet av den militära motståndsrörelsen FNLC, som under vinterhalvåret spränger franska semesteranläggningar, restauranger och resbyråer i luften. När jag upptäckte dessa missförhållanden gav texten sej själv"
("The French view Corsica like a summer investment... (continuer)
[1997]
Text och musik / Lyrics and music / Testo e musica / Paroles et musique / Sanat ja sävel: Björn Afzelius
Album / Albumi: Tankar vid 50
Björn Afzelius was influenced musically by Elvis and The Beatles, among other groups from the 1950's and 1960's. In this very short song, he accuses America of being responsible for the deaths of these important musicians.
Elvis Presley died of a heart attack on August 16, 1977 in Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee. John Lennon was shot to death on December 8, 1980 outside the Dakota apartment building where he lived with Yoko Ono. He was shot in the back 4 times by Mark David Chapman and died at Roosevelt Hospital.
Björn Afzelius è stato influenzato musicalmente da Elvis Presley e dai Beatles, tra gli altri gruppi degli anni '50 e '60. In questa brevissima canzone, Björn accusa l'America di essere stata responsabil della morte di questi importanti... (continuer)
[1987]
Text och musik/Lyrics and Music: Björn Afzelius
Album: Riddarna kring runda bordet
Björn Afzelius occasionally wrote songs which criticized America for high rates of violent crime. Morristown, NJ is an example. However, crime rates have dropped significantly in that city, and elsewhere, since 1987 when this song was written.
Björn Afzelius wrote the following in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book about his song "Morristown;"
En hybrid av två av mina favoriter: Seriefiguren Fantomen och sången "Fever" med Elvis Presley.
(A hybrid of two of my favorites: The comic figure Phantom and the song "Fever" with Elvis Presley.
Man brukar aldrig veta när han kommer, (continuer)
[1990]
Text och musik/Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Album / Albumi: Tusen Bitar
Björn Afzelius wrote the following comments about this song in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:
Björn Afzelius commentò cosí la canzone nel suo libro “95 Sånger” (95 canzoni):
"När spanjorerna 1492 kom till Karibien grundlades ett terrorvälde mot indianerna i nästan hela Latinamerika som man tydligt kan se följderna av än idag. Sången skrevs inför 500-årsminnet av detta förödande europeiska plundringståg."
"When the Spaniards in 1492 came to the Caribbean, they founded a Terrorist Empire against the Indians in almost all of Latin America which one can clearly see the consequences of even today. The song was written before the 500 year's anniversary of this devastating European foray."
“Quando gli spagnoli nel 1492 arrivarono nei Caraibi, fondarono un impero del terrore contro gli Indios in quasi tutta... (continuer)
Text och musik/Lyrics and music: Björn Afzelius
Record (single): Kamrater Bodenarbetare (1978)