Carola Standertskjöld

March 17, 2009 9:13 PM

Finnish female singer Carola Standertskjöld -- All Alone Am I::Kielletyt leikit::Perfidia::chain of fools '69::::Exotic Carola
posted by vronsky (7 comments total)

Laila Kinnunen - I Will Follow Him
posted by vronsky at 9:28 PM on March 17, 2009

Thanks, vronsky. Her voice was maturing well with time, (not that she got very old, Alzheimer's at 56!) - stirring rendition of a Black Panther song.
posted by tellurian at 11:31 PM on March 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow. As a Finn, I instinctively cringe any time someone posts something old and music-related from Finland, since it inevitably tends to be one of those well-circulated "They Just Don't Get It, Do They?" type of disco era embarrasments.

But these? Amazingly, I'd never even heard of her (too much before my time, I guess), and I must say these are something else entirely. Thanks for the post!
posted by lifeless at 12:46 AM on March 18, 2009

There's an English Wikipedia page here.
posted by pracowity at 12:53 AM on March 18, 2009

Any post with Perfidia in it can't be bad. Great stuff.
posted by chunking express at 6:16 AM on March 18, 2009

Here's a link from the wikipedia page that refers to "Seoul Music". Kind of amusing...

http://tinyurl.com/cn342e
posted by sporb at 7:34 AM on March 18, 2009

I have heard about Carola, but never actually listened. She seems to have been quite "international", actually singing in original languages. I think that more fascinating, but harder to express are the moody finnish translations of classic tunes. Rauli Badding Somerjoki excelled on giving new, wounded and vulnerable tune for many rock/folk/other tunes. He'd be worth posting about, if only a bit more of you could understand the lyrics.

For example, this is what happens when "Early Morning Rain" translates to finnish (and presumably dies on hypothermia):
(Finnish translation, then word-by-word back to english. )

Aamuöiseen sateeseen (fi, Rauli Badding Somerjoki, 1975 lyrics Lauri Kojo)
Early Morning Rain (en, f. ex. Elvis, orig. Gordon Lightfoot)

"Aamuöiseen sateeseen
kuljen markka kourassain
raskas paino rinnassain
taskut täynnä santaa vain
tuskin tiedän missä oon
ja miksi kaipaan häntä niin"

In the early morning rain
I walk with a markka in my hand
heavy weight on my chest
pockets filled with only sand
I hardly know where I am
and why I miss her so much

"Aamuöiseen sateeseen
eikä paikkaa minne meen
mietin miksi karkasin
huumeet, viinan valitsin
nyt jo huomaan virheen tein
tahdon sinut vierellein
valun vettä virtanaan
kylmän tunne ahdistaa
koitan hetkeks torkahtaa
painan pääni unelmaan"

In the early morning rain
without no place to go
I think why I ran away
and why drugs and booze I chose
now I notice my mistake
I want you beside me
Water is pouring all over me
Coldness harasses me
I try to doze for a while
lay my head on a dream

"Nousisin taas jatkamaan
se vain on liian vaikeaa
näen käden sinisen
tunnen kuolon tuoksuineen
nyt rakkaan huomaan saapuvan
lämmön tuo hän mukanaan
jäämme kahden paikalleen
aamuöiseen sateeseen
aamuöiseen sateeseen
aamuöiseen sateeseen"

I would rise and move on
but it is just too difficult
I see a hand blue
feel the death and its smell
Now my love I feel approaching
bringing the warmth with her
us two stay still
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
In the early morning rain
posted by Free word order! at 8:16 AM on March 18, 2009 [1 favorite]