I think the lack of imagination is at your end. Repetitive, sure, but how many songs do you hear in Swedish about medieval German abbesses? At least allow that the lyrics are imaginative, even if you don't like the sound.
Fredriley, where do I click to give your comment a "thumbs-up"?
I think the lack of imagination is at your end. Repetitive, sure, but how many songs do you hear in Swedish about medieval German abbesses? At least allow that the lyrics are imaginative, even if you don't like the sound.
Repetitive but interesting. I like hearing world beat as long as it doesn't beat me up too badly, but early Sunday, could be a bit much. I'd love a great classical piece at that time.
The other comments were actually more entertaining than the song.
Every once in a while I come back to give you another chance and you immediately ruin it with this ululating crap. The four people who like it had better be giving you a lot of money. I love the wide-variety AAA content, but when you go world-music, especially for breakfast, you send me away for months at a time.
Slip needs some more reading. Just like others have pointed out Hildegard is refering to the healing Balm, which is perfectly applicable in the historical context of the lyrics. The expression "Balm for the soul" is the same in Swedish "Balsam för själen" (or as "Balsam för öronen" if Romeotuma had been a swedish guy..) Hint: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsam
I have never heard 'balsam' being used in the context you are implying in everyday language. The only possible except I could agree to is in some very old and antiquated literature. So I guess you theoretically could be correct when directly translating from english, but 'balsam' in swedish is de-facto seldom, if ever, used as anything else than referring to hair balm. And as you pointed out, this is further confirmed by the reference to the scent of this mentioned 'balm'.
Ergo, utterly hideous lyrics.
(shrug) The more poetic translation posted by dggeek earlier looks pretty good to me, very sweet and evocative. Translation is a dark art as what works well in one language sounds stupid/dull in another. For example, the last time I visited Venice, many years ago, the vaporetto (water bus) stops had the sign, by a yellow stop line: "Non oltrepassare durante l'attesa", and below had an extremely literal English translation "No overtaking during the wait", which is ludicrous and meaningless yet accurate. A good translator would have written "Don't cross the line whilst waiting (for the bus)".
The role of a translator, and her/his real skill, is to translate the meaning of the original words into the target language. I bow to your knowledge of Swedish, of which I know zip, but whilst 'balsam' might literally mean 'soap balm' in everyday Swedish it plainly does not mean that in the context of the song, and to translate it as such is to be over-literal.
Sorry, I've done a little translation and interpretation in my time, so felt I had to butt in with a comment.
That was a public information broadcast. We now return you to your usual 'it sucks/blows/rocks' comments ;)
I have never heard 'balsam' being used in the context you are implying in everyday language. The only possible except I could agree to is in some very old and antiquated literature. So I guess you theoretically could be correct when directly translating from english, but 'balsam' in swedish is de-facto seldom, if ever, used as anything else than referring to hair balm. And as you pointed out, this is further confirmed by the reference to the scent of this mentioned 'balm'.
Are you are saying there is another word in Swedish for this? Considering the Latin religious chant that threads through this song like vertebrae, this is almost certainly what the songwriter was getting at.
lwilkinson (North Am-Home of the Last of the Rugged Individualists)
Posted: Dec 05, 2010 - 12:22
Baby_M wrote:
The lyrics could be Swedish income tax regulations for all I care—I just like how it sounds and I love her voice.
Hmmm ..... mystical Income Tax incantations ..... maybe Obama should pay attention ... he could do his chants while playing golf.
I promise never to delete a song comment again! This is good. 6
Baby_M (a 100+-year old building in downtown Akron, Ohio)
Posted: Sep 17, 2010 - 07:07
slippery wrote:
"solens värme rör vi mig, som doften av balsam" = "the suns warmth is touching me, like the scent of hair balm" Wtf?
This has almong the most worthless lyrics ever written by any swede. No joke. Bill, if you would understand what they are saying you wouldn't play it again - please spare me the pain!
/Slip'
The lyrics could be Swedish income tax regulations for all I care—I just like how it sounds and I love her voice.
That opening line, "O Euchari In leta via" is part of a chant written by the nun Hildegard von Bingen over 800 years ago. I've got a cd of her chants remixed with modern and world music. It's superb - I had a second grade class that was completely obsessed with her and would say every class, "Put on Hildegard!"
Could you tell me the name of that CD! I heard a choral program of von Bingen's music one night on our national publicly owned radio station years ago and have tried to find it ever since without success! I wonder if your CD is the same thing. Oh and thanks, "slippery" for your info below!
That opening line, "O Euchari In leta via" is part of a chant written by the nun Hildegard von Bingen over 800 years ago. I've got a cd of her chants remixed with modern and world music. It's superb - I had a second grade class that was completely obsessed with her and would say every class, "Put on Hildegard!"
slippery (Cold north on the other side of the puddle)
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 - 04:48
kaybee wrote:
Thanks dggeek for the great translation. It makes me appreciate this piece even more. Does anyone (a_genuine_find?) know what language the original is? Old High German? Middle German? It looks like a cross between Latin and some Teutonic language.
I'm not sure of what you mean by "original", but the language spoken in this version played here on RP is nothing more than plain everyday swedish. If you are searching for a bit more poetical and older swedish I recommend looking after Lars Winnerbäck, foremost his old stuff but actually all the way up to his Daugava -album. Also Lisa Ekdahl make use of seldomly used and somewhat vanished swedish in here newer albums. If you like those two, Tomas Andersson Wij could be a way to go in the swedish jungle, foremost his older stuff.
slippery (Cold north on the other side of the puddle)
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 - 04:23
Shamsiel wrote:
Woah, easy there. Hair balm? If we are translating, lets do it correctly... Balsam means just balm, and it could in this context mean for example "balm for the soul" as an abstract idea of somethng soothing, and not neccesarily hair balm (hårbalsam). Agreed? Alltho, the scent of balm implies my version is not correct, but that was just an example to show that it doesnt have to specify hair balm.
slippery wrote:
"solens värme rör vi mig, som doften av balsam" = "the suns warmth is touching me, like the scent of hair balm" Wtf?
This has almong the most worthless lyrics ever written by any swede. No joke. Bill, if you would understand what they are saying you wouldn't play it again - please spare me the pain!
/Slip'
I have never heard 'balsam' being used in the context you are implying in everyday language. The only possible except I could agree to is in some very old and antiquated literature. So I guess you theoretically could be correct when directly translating from english, but 'balsam' in swedish is de-facto seldom, if ever, used as anything else than referring to hair balm. And as you pointed out, this is further confirmed by the reference to the scent of this mentioned 'balm'.
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