Kevyempi kantaa [English translation]

You are very small

you are very fragile

These are the first words you hear every day

but you won't listen to anyone else

but the one

who tells you: get lower my friend

and consumes you entirely

and yet further beats you

and says: you can do better than this

And once the feathered belt drops

an eternal night begins

You get to a greater time

You want to get away

you want to escape

I understand, but I don't want to

You want to get away

because after all you couldn't

fulfill all the expectations

You hold on to each other like a tongue to cold iron

Now I keep thinking, but I won't say it aloud

It is easier to carry you to grave

It enfeebles the feeling

and takes away its effect

(When you hear) the same words every day

I felt a tender grip

and saw a tired body

You were too afraid, too afraid my friend

You were beautiful, like a tiger

whose limbs were embellished

with stripes after stripes

And I want to believe

there is still hope

every morning I wake up

You wanted to get away

you wanted to escape

I understand, but I don't want to

You wanted away

because after all you couldn't

fulfill all the expectations

You held on to each other like a tongue to cold iron

Now I keep thinking, but I won't say it aloud

It is easier to carry you to grave

And I remember how you wanted to play board games1

And I remember how much, how much you wanted to keep trying

And when I look at the night sky which shines so bright

I know you finally made it to life2

You wanted to get away

you wanted to escape

And I'm trying to understand

You wanted away

because after all you couldn't

fulfill all the expectations

You held on to each other like a tongue to cold iron

Now I keep thinking, and I say it aloud

It is easier to carry you to grave

1. This line translates badly to English because it refers to a popular board game in Finland, and it could also be understood differently if you want to take it as a metaphor. However, I believe it just refers to a childhood/youth memory, when things were better. 2. I find this a rather brilliant play with words, since you can basically understand it in two ways, as in "you made it to final destination of life", or "you made it back to life".