Juha Rämö, you are certainly talented in many languages! My English version differs by only a few words from yours, but thanks for your translation. In terms of which song lyrics should be listed, I think it would be good if both the original Silvio Rodriguez song and the Björn Afzelius version could be listed together and separate. Björn used the Rodriguez music and wrote his own words for it.
Ceil Herman 10/10/2018 - 17:23
Dear Ceil and Juha, the original Silvio Rodriguez song is not an anti-war song as I understand it, that's why it is not listed in a separate page.
Welcome to join the ranks, Ceil Herman. This is not a place where you score points. Instead it's one where you deserve appreciation for contributing to a worthy cause - while remaining devoted to your passion which to me seems to be translating Swedish songs. Keep up the good work. Björn Afzelius is an excellent choice, but there's a lot more to this genre, Jan Hammarlund, Mikael Wiehe, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Roland von Malmborg ...
Thanks for your message Juha! My desire is to translate the legacy of Björn Afzelius into English, while keeping my Swedish in my memory. I last lived there in 1996.
I was happy to see the English translations which are already done on this website, but I still have many more to go. Since I am already 71 (the age Björn would have been if he lived), it feels like a life work for me!
I just added Björn’s ”Juanita,” so have fun translating it to Finnish!
Well, the future of Björn Afzelius songs looks bright to me thanks to people like you Ceil Herman and you Riccardo Venturi. And those songs most certainly deserve all the attention. Take for instance one of the latest contributions titled Född fri (Born Free). What a beautiful story and beautiful text, almost like a prolonged version of Txoria Txorias pointed out by Lorenzo Masetti.
This powerful tragic song, with lyrics and music by Björn Afzelius, is still a poignant social commentary. Titled "Kungens man" (King's man), it was also performed by Lisa Ekdahl, as well as Monica Tornell and Falconer (En kungens man).
Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes
Jag läste i den gamla Västgötalagen om hur man förr tid betraffades olika, beroende på vilken klass man tillhörde. Lagstiftningen har ändras sedan dess, men inte sättet på vilket dem tillämpas.
I read in the old West Goth law about how you were previously regarded differently, depending on the class you belonged to. The laws have changed since then, but not the way in which they are practiced.
On the back of the album cover, there is a photo, and Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes:
"Salvador Allende 1909-1973
Vald till president i Chile 1970 efter allmänna demokratiska val. Vid en militärkupp den 11 september 1973 angreps presidentpalatset och Allende uppmanades att avgå. han vägrade och mötte i stället militären beväpnad för att in i det sista försvara demokratin. Kort efter bilden togs stormades presidentpalatset. Salvador Allende var död."
"Salvador Allende 1909-1973
Voted to President in Chile in 1970 after a completely democratic election. In a military coup on the 11th of September, the presidential palace was taken and Allende was forced to leave. He refused and met instead the armed military to save democracy. Shortly after the photo was taken, the presidential palace was stormed. Salvador Allende was dead."