My dad packed his bags and left
Gave up his dreams of a revolution
Seeing my grandma's tears flowing
Got to get out of here, people are disappearing
The whole city in flames, the country is burning
But the fire became ashes that spread across the world, Carried by the winds
Ember fell from the sky
It was you, Sweden, opened its gate
Dragging heavy bags through the snow
Packed with sorrows that gave sleepless nights
Dad was a hero, used to mop flors
Cleaning corridors and offices of rich people
Thought of his homeland, heard their screams
Pretending that the silence around was music to his ears
Didn't know the language, didn't know a word
But always food on our table, and never holes in our velcros
Pride, 'blattar' 1 you get it
Proud to be your son, your blood in my veins
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
I've never seen my father cry
Even when he had the right to
Never seen him steal, it never ever happened
Only seen him toiling and taking care of his family
But media enjoys to paint another picture
It's easy to give up when the struggle is hard
And all I've said is also true for my wonderful mother2
But this is something rarely mentioned in our talks
Silence in our songs because many of fathers left, but some stayed
You're one of them, now you're old
White hairs, you overcame the place you ended up in
Born in Sweden, they call us second generation 3
Don't grant me the honour of being called an immigrant
I haven't done what my dad did
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
Taught me tales, daddy you were Atlas
I was your world, you carried me on your shoulders
Looked out at the world beyond, a small, big city kid
With a superhero by my side on the sidewalk
Hard to explain all this face to face 4
Lots of words I want to say, but I can't (say them)
The gratitude becomes too great
It becomes a lump in my throat, like the nitrogen in my throat5
Cutting of the words I'd like to say
All I carry within my chest
I remember you having all the answers when I was a kid
Would like to go back in time, how many days do we still have left
But I'm grateful for you being here and I know you gave it your all
Anyone can make a baby, but to be a dad you need a man
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
It's an old man, with whitening hair
Coloured by the sorrows of life
Daddy your blood in my veins
Daddy you gave it your all
Gracias Papa!
Niggers stand up 6
Listen constable REVA 7
It's people like these that you detain 8
In the subway every morning when they're heading for work
1. Swedish slang word, usually used for Immigrants that are of non-european ethnicity, used to be quite derogatory (it still sort of is, depends on context); but can also be used as a sort of 'self-identification'. Similar to "kanake" in German, or even "nigger" in English2. 'vacker' means "beautiful", but "wonderful" fits better with the context3. talking about himself here, meaning the "second generation immigrants"4. 'man till man' = "man to man"5. pretty sure that he sings this (it's what it sounds like), just by reading I thought it was "kväver min röst" which would be "muffling my voice", but it soundslike he sings nitrogen...6. again, "svartskalle" literally translates to 'black head /schwarzkopf' and is a very derogative word. Bears the same meaning and charge/connotations as 'nigger' does, hence why I used it in the translation (even though "nigger" would be 'neger' in Swedish; which btw is just as derogative)7. long story short: REVA was a project held by the police & the immigration office in Sweden, where Swedish citizens where stopped on the streets/subways and such and were asked for identification. The aim being to find illegal immigrants. It was criticized for being too influenced by the innate racism of the officers of the law that made these 'arrests' (since they tended to target people who didn't look "Swedish"). Some people thought it was the correct thing to do, others didn't. They received both praise and blame for their efforts.8. also: obstruct/stop among others