Pappas låt [English translation]

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