One of this year’s summer hits in Sweden was Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja, a catchy little tune with a refrain that’s been stuck in my head for months now. The other day when it came on the radio I said to Olof that I liked it and he said, “What? This song with the depressing lyrics?”
I was a little suprised, because I’d never really listened to the words (a bad habit I have when it comes to Swedish songs), and the only line I really knew was the title line (“No-one wants to know where you bought your sweater”). That and the upbeat tempo left me imagining that it was a song about girly cliques and fashion rivalry or something. Boy was I wrong.
I asked Olof what lyrics were depressing and he sang the chorus for me, which, loosely translated, is “No-one will grieve when you die; no-one will miss the things you do; No-one wants to know where you bought your sweater, even though you’ve done everything you should, you’re polite, you’re cheerful, and you’ve done away with your stupid dialect.” Egad.
Now that I know the words I can’t return to the blissful ignorance of hearing without listening. Trouble is, it’s still a catchy tune and a pretty well-crafted song at that, so I can’t just dismiss it. For the curious, I’m listing the Swedish lyrics below, with my translation to English:
Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja
by Raymond Och Maria
Bussen går halv-nio, men den brukar vara sen.
Har man otur blir det bråttom när män kommit fram.
Om man går genom tunneln kan man spara nån minut,
men då får man räkna med rödljusen vid korsningen.
The bus leaves at eight-thirty but it’s usually late.
If you’re unlucky you’ll have to hurry when you get there.
If you go through the tunnel you can save a minute,
but then you have to count on a red light at the crossing.
På jobbet vet jag att november kan bli svår,
minst vart fjärde samtal måste leda till ett köp.
Men alla verkar nöjda och vi har en ny bra chef.
Han kan allas namn och säger hej varenda morgon, men…
At work I know that November can be rough,
At least every fourth call must lead to a sale.
But everyone seems satisfied and we have a good new boss.
He knows everybody’s name and says “hello” every morning, but …
(chorus)
Ingen sörjer när du dör, ingen ska sakna det du gör,
ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja.
Och fast du gjort allt som man ska, du är artig, du är glad,
och du har tränat bort din dumma dialekt.
No-one will grieve when you die, no-one will miss the things you do,
No-one wants to know where you bought your sweater.
Even though you’ve done everything you should, you’re polite, you’re cheerful,
and you’ve done away with your stupid dialect.
Nästa lördag kanske vi ska titta på ett hus,
det finns några nya som de bygger vid stationen.
Gör man lite själv så blir det inte farligt dyrt
Och din man är händig, han har redan byggt en bastu, men…
Next Saturday maybe we’ll look at a house,
There are some new ones that they’re building by the station.
If you do some of the work yourself it’s not so expensive
and your husband is handy, he’s already built a sauna, but. …
(chorus x 2)
Förra sommar’n minns jag, den var faktiskt riktigt fin.
Sol varenda dag, vi hade hyrt ett torp i Värmland.
Hur vi gör i år det är ännu inte helt bestämt,
men vi har jobbat bra, så vi ska få extra semester.
Last summer I remember that it was actually really nice.
Sun every day, we rented a summerhouse in Värmland.
What we’ll do this summer isn’t really decided yet,
but we’ve worked hard so we’ll have extra vacation.
(chorus)
Och fast ni flyttat till ett hus som är öppet, fräscht och ljust
så kommer inga gäster minnas var det låg,
Och fast du lärt dig varje låt och fast du har en härlig båt,
så finns det ingen som vill röra vid din kind.
And even though you moved to a house that’s open, airy, and light
none of the guests will remember where it was.
And even though you learned every song and you have a great boat
there’s nobody who wants to touch your cheek.
(chorus)
***************
Christ, that’s bleak. It’s a good thing I’m in a happy place these days, or it might just do me in.