S O N G ♫ T R A N S L A T I O N S
I love translating songs from Finnish to English, no matter how difficult it may be sometimes. I've just never had anyone interested in my translations... BUT NOW. I have people who are interested. 8D And even if they're not, I'll still translate, just for fun. This entry is for all the translations I make. SO. Let's get started.
No - Maija Vilkkumaa
Ei
Fairy of happiness
be so kind as to fly, kind as to fly*
do your magic
so that mother lets me go, lets me go
I'd like to, since everyone else is going
The ocean is warm and the sand is getting hot
I know mother is worried about me
but it's dreadful if you're left out
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
The years go by
and when the house is languid and her mother is languid
the daughter is wrenching the lock
but it won't open, no, it won't open
Nothing will expel this yearning
She's already almost sixteen and she
knows that magic won't help
She yells Let me out, goddammit!
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And one night in a certain July
the daughter wakes up, gets dressed
leaves through the window into the roaring of the world
In the other room, her mother falls asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, and soon wakes up in horror
and she screams, screams for her daughter
But her daughter is far away and
near the moon and
mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
*"Ole hyvä" also means "you're welcome" and, in this case, "please" - but I find it somehow more fitting if it's translated this way.
I had some troubles concerning the tense... In Finnish, future and present tense are basically the same, and present participles are often the same also... so I wasn't sure about which ones I should use. 8D
I also had a hard time deciding if I should use her mother, the mother or just mother, since Finns don't really divide words to definite and indefinite. In the song it's just Mother and Daughter but I thought it would sound better in English if I did it the way I did.
Even with all the troubles, translating the song was a whole lot of fun! I loooove translating Finnish songs into English. :DD
Speak In A Voice That I Can Hear - Happoradio
Puhu äänellä jonka kuulen
Which one are you afraid of,
noise or peace?
Which one do you avoid,
solitude or crowds?
Why do you cry
when someone's child is laughing next door?
You are deep water
a mountain I can't reach
A forgotten attic,
you're a titanium shell
Why do you cry
when someone's child is laughing next door?
Why do you cry
when someone sings about love on the radio?
Speak in a voice that I can hear,
with words I can understand
with poems I can comprehend
I'd need subtitles for you,
someone to explain the secrets;
an omniscient narrator
Speak in a voice that I can hear
I'm simple-minded, always in need of an explanation
You're a complicated map, a journey in foreign lands
Why do you cry when someone sings about love on the radio?
Speak in a voice that I can hear,
with words I can understand
with poems I can comprehend
I'd need subtitles for you,
someone to explain the secrets;
an omniscient narrator
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Something Else - Tiktak
Jotain muuta
You ask me why I'm leaving
and I cannot give you an answer
Surely I'm not a bad person if I just love life?
I wipe away your tears, but even then I won't regret, and I hope
that you'll be able to understand this one day too
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
The world is full of roads
And the roads are full of people, like leaves in the wind for a dreamer to collect
I want to fly far, dive in deep waters
To search even though I wouldn't find anything
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
And even though I'll stay for a moment longer
I won't doubt anymore, I can't look back
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
Amélie - Chisu
Amélie
This is the song that I used for the header image in my LJ. To make it clear which parts are where in the pic, I used italics for the lyrics around England, bold for the lyrics next to America and underlined for the lyrics next to Canada.
It's heartbreakingly cute, IMO.
Could there even be
anything more fun than this
Than throwing rocks into the water
(going) into the rain scantily clothed
I'd love to stay
here forever
I'd stop the moment
If I only knew how to
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
I'd like to lie here
And tell the clouds
All the things I did today,
Fall asleep under a birch tree
I'd compete one more time,
run to the field and see who's the first*
I'd cycle all the way to the town,
following my brothers.
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
*A difficult, difficult sentence to translate. I tried to hold onto the meaning, not the poetic structure here.
This whole song was certainly a challenge. It's a very poetic song, almost completely written in conditional mood, and there are lots of words left out that I had to add to the translation to make it clear what it means.
Music Box - Movetron
Soittorasia
The Trojan horse stands in its place
Next to a row of a Matryoshka group
Back onto the edge of the shelf I place
a wooden soldier to guard his troops
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
The journey of these bronze shoes has ended
They gave you the pace for your first steps
I carefully lift a dried rose
It has withstood the knocks of the removal vans
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
You brought all this into my life
If you go away it'll be as if I hadn't lived
I wouldn't want the flames
to burn the pages of the(/my) diaries
I open an ebony music box
to find the atmosphere from days long ago
That song was just for us two
When I got to slowly dance to it
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
You brought all this into my life
If you go away it'll be as if I hadn't lived
I wouldn't want the flames
to burn the pages of the(/my) diaries
I Disappear - Maija Vilkkumaa
Häviän
Why can't you
hear me
I call "have a fun night"
So many
shoes
I can't find mine
The staircase's light
won't turn on
I sneak in just my socks
In the dark
(S)he's laughing*
(S)he is yours
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
Like today, too
I talked
I talked like mad to you
I praised the food
And the living room
The sofa's upholstery
The ground glows
ice
Winter has come
Inside
(S)he's laughing
(S)he is yours
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
In the corner a boy is asking for a light for his cigarette
The sky sneezes sleet on me
And I act like it's nothing
Like I didn't hope
And like my tears weren't lurking
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
* Yes, Finnish language uses the same word for 'him' and 'her'. :D
Oh Baby - Raptori
Oi Beibi
Oh baby I love you so much
Why on earth must your father be a priest
If he wasn't, we'd be kissing each other
Driving into the sunset
You're beautiful and I'm strong
Ah, you have a lovely toe!
I'd love to take off your shirt
To see your lovely tan stripes
I want to kiss you so much
Why on earth must your father be a priest
It's a beautiful summer night
We don't have to worry about schoolwork
I'll always remember you
I hope you'll remember me, too
Baby, I'll do anything for you
I'll freeze my grandmother, fly to you
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
When I see you, something throbs in my pants
Oh baby, check out this cannon
Ah~ The hormones are secreting
Why must your father be a mormon?
Ah, how lovely are your figures
I'd love to have you all to myself
I would like to have sexual intercourse with you
But I don't really want to kill
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
I'd like to make love to you
If I don't, I'll hear the call of the gas stove
Or the rope or the razor blade
Come here baby, let's have a round
Ah, how lovely is your smell
I wonder how your dad realized
What we were doing in the bathroom back then
When we took each others' virginity
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
Oh Baby, I think I got it now
We could try group sex
Let's invite your father to join us
I'm bored with just the pussy anyways
When I was little, my uncle used to rape me
If I didn't comply, he threw me into a wall
Maybe that's why I'm like this
Baby, you're the love of my life
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
If you would like to request a translation, feel free to do so in this entry~! :D
(The link to this entry can be found in the sidebar.)
No - Maija Vilkkumaa
Ei
Fairy of happiness
be so kind as to fly, kind as to fly*
do your magic
so that mother lets me go, lets me go
I'd like to, since everyone else is going
The ocean is warm and the sand is getting hot
I know mother is worried about me
but it's dreadful if you're left out
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
The years go by
and when the house is languid and her mother is languid
the daughter is wrenching the lock
but it won't open, no, it won't open
Nothing will expel this yearning
She's already almost sixteen and she
knows that magic won't help
She yells Let me out, goddammit!
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And one night in a certain July
the daughter wakes up, gets dressed
leaves through the window into the roaring of the world
In the other room, her mother falls asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, and soon wakes up in horror
and she screams, screams for her daughter
But her daughter is far away and
near the moon and
mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
And her mother's eyes are already hazy
she says The world is a reef of dangers
the same world took your sister
I'll say the last word and it's NO
*"Ole hyvä" also means "you're welcome" and, in this case, "please" - but I find it somehow more fitting if it's translated this way.
I had some troubles concerning the tense... In Finnish, future and present tense are basically the same, and present participles are often the same also... so I wasn't sure about which ones I should use. 8D
I also had a hard time deciding if I should use her mother, the mother or just mother, since Finns don't really divide words to definite and indefinite. In the song it's just Mother and Daughter but I thought it would sound better in English if I did it the way I did.
Even with all the troubles, translating the song was a whole lot of fun! I loooove translating Finnish songs into English. :DD
Speak In A Voice That I Can Hear - Happoradio
Puhu äänellä jonka kuulen
Which one are you afraid of,
noise or peace?
Which one do you avoid,
solitude or crowds?
Why do you cry
when someone's child is laughing next door?
You are deep water
a mountain I can't reach
A forgotten attic,
you're a titanium shell
Why do you cry
when someone's child is laughing next door?
Why do you cry
when someone sings about love on the radio?
Speak in a voice that I can hear,
with words I can understand
with poems I can comprehend
I'd need subtitles for you,
someone to explain the secrets;
an omniscient narrator
Speak in a voice that I can hear
I'm simple-minded, always in need of an explanation
You're a complicated map, a journey in foreign lands
Why do you cry when someone sings about love on the radio?
Speak in a voice that I can hear,
with words I can understand
with poems I can comprehend
I'd need subtitles for you,
someone to explain the secrets;
an omniscient narrator
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Speak in a voice that I can hear
Something Else - Tiktak
Jotain muuta
You ask me why I'm leaving
and I cannot give you an answer
Surely I'm not a bad person if I just love life?
I wipe away your tears, but even then I won't regret, and I hope
that you'll be able to understand this one day too
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
The world is full of roads
And the roads are full of people, like leaves in the wind for a dreamer to collect
I want to fly far, dive in deep waters
To search even though I wouldn't find anything
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
And even though I'll stay for a moment longer
I won't doubt anymore, I can't look back
I want something else
Something greater
I want to see everything and I'm ready to pay
to feel the rain and the wind and the sun
I want something else
No need to wait (for me)
If I return to your doorstep some day you can do anything
But now I have to go, for my heart is restless
Amélie - Chisu
Amélie
This is the song that I used for the header image in my LJ. To make it clear which parts are where in the pic, I used italics for the lyrics around England, bold for the lyrics next to America and underlined for the lyrics next to Canada.
It's heartbreakingly cute, IMO.
Could there even be
anything more fun than this
Than throwing rocks into the water
(going) into the rain scantily clothed
I'd love to stay
here forever
I'd stop the moment
If I only knew how to
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
I'd like to lie here
And tell the clouds
All the things I did today,
Fall asleep under a birch tree
I'd compete one more time,
run to the field and see who's the first*
I'd cycle all the way to the town,
following my brothers.
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
I'd make a garland out of flowers
(and I'd) fly a kite
But mom told me to go straight home
*A difficult, difficult sentence to translate. I tried to hold onto the meaning, not the poetic structure here.
This whole song was certainly a challenge. It's a very poetic song, almost completely written in conditional mood, and there are lots of words left out that I had to add to the translation to make it clear what it means.
Music Box - Movetron
Soittorasia
The Trojan horse stands in its place
Next to a row of a Matryoshka group
Back onto the edge of the shelf I place
a wooden soldier to guard his troops
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
The journey of these bronze shoes has ended
They gave you the pace for your first steps
I carefully lift a dried rose
It has withstood the knocks of the removal vans
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
You brought all this into my life
If you go away it'll be as if I hadn't lived
I wouldn't want the flames
to burn the pages of the(/my) diaries
I open an ebony music box
to find the atmosphere from days long ago
That song was just for us two
When I got to slowly dance to it
If you leave, also take all these memories with you
But if you'll stay, I want to keep them with me.
You brought all this into my life
If you go away it'll be as if I hadn't lived
I wouldn't want the flames
to burn the pages of the(/my) diaries
I Disappear - Maija Vilkkumaa
Häviän
Why can't you
hear me
I call "have a fun night"
So many
shoes
I can't find mine
The staircase's light
won't turn on
I sneak in just my socks
In the dark
(S)he's laughing*
(S)he is yours
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
Like today, too
I talked
I talked like mad to you
I praised the food
And the living room
The sofa's upholstery
The ground glows
ice
Winter has come
Inside
(S)he's laughing
(S)he is yours
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
In the corner a boy is asking for a light for his cigarette
The sky sneezes sleet on me
And I act like it's nothing
Like I didn't hope
And like my tears weren't lurking
And whatever I might do, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
No, it's not enough
I'll never be like him/her
(S)he says a word or two
And so I disappear
* Yes, Finnish language uses the same word for 'him' and 'her'. :D
Oh Baby - Raptori
Oi Beibi
Oh baby I love you so much
Why on earth must your father be a priest
If he wasn't, we'd be kissing each other
Driving into the sunset
You're beautiful and I'm strong
Ah, you have a lovely toe!
I'd love to take off your shirt
To see your lovely tan stripes
I want to kiss you so much
Why on earth must your father be a priest
It's a beautiful summer night
We don't have to worry about schoolwork
I'll always remember you
I hope you'll remember me, too
Baby, I'll do anything for you
I'll freeze my grandmother, fly to you
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
When I see you, something throbs in my pants
Oh baby, check out this cannon
Ah~ The hormones are secreting
Why must your father be a mormon?
Ah, how lovely are your figures
I'd love to have you all to myself
I would like to have sexual intercourse with you
But I don't really want to kill
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
I'd like to make love to you
If I don't, I'll hear the call of the gas stove
Or the rope or the razor blade
Come here baby, let's have a round
Ah, how lovely is your smell
I wonder how your dad realized
What we were doing in the bathroom back then
When we took each others' virginity
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
Oh Baby, I think I got it now
We could try group sex
Let's invite your father to join us
I'm bored with just the pussy anyways
When I was little, my uncle used to rape me
If I didn't comply, he threw me into a wall
Maybe that's why I'm like this
Baby, you're the love of my life
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
I want to be with you like that
You know what I mean by that
I'd love to touch you so, but
What if your father hears about it?
If you would like to request a translation, feel free to do so in this entry~! :D
(The link to this entry can be found in the sidebar.)