Anssi Kela - Kissanpäivät (Cat Days / Life Of Riley)
Literal translation for the song title is "cat days", but it's also an expression that means "a luxurious or carefree life", which can be expressed in English as "life of Riley". The double meaning is important to note when reading the translation.
Ahti is a Finnish male first name, but it's also the name of the god of water in Finnish mythology.
__________
Original Finnish lyrics
Kissanpennut täytyi hukuttaa
Ahti säkkiin sulloi pentueen
Otti mut kaverikseen
Sanottu ei sanaakaan
Hiljaa aloin soutamaan
Ahti ajoi ammatikseen
Mua kutsui pikku kisällikseen
Nyt siinä istui murheissaan
Tahtonut ei tappaa kissojaan
Ja järvi oli hiljainen
Sysimustaa vesi sen
Mutta silloin oli kissanpäivät
Silloin kissat henkiin jäivät
Ei ollut meistä tappajiksi
Jäätiin viattomiksi
Vaan nykyisin on kaikki toisin
Nykyisin on kaikki toisin
Ja muistoja vain kissanpäivät
Ne kauan sitten taakse jäivät
Parin päivän päästä lähdettiin
Talveksi takas kaupunkiin
Kissanpennut vielä silitin
Sitten linja-autoon kiipesin
En tiennyt kaiken muuttuneen
Ajanjakson päättyneen
Vuoden päästä viimeisen
Kesän vietin soudellen
Kuulunut en enää maisemiin
Kyllästynyt olin kissoihin
Nyt Helsinkiä kaipasin
Ei ollut Ahti enää in...
Mutta ennen oli kissanpäivät
Ennen kissat henkiin jäivät
Ei ollut meistä tappajiksi
Jäätiin viattomiksi
Vaan nykyisin on kaikki toisin
Nykyisin on kaikki toisin
Ja muistoja vain kissanpäivät
Ne kauan sitten taakse jäivät
English translation
It was nearly the end of summer
I had to drown the kittens
Ahti stuffed the litter in a sack
Took me to be his associate
We didn't say a word
Quietly I started to row
Ahti's profession was a driver
He called me his little journeyman
Now he was sitting there, inconsolable
He didn't want to kill his cats
And the lake was quiet
The water of it was pitch black
But those were the cat days
Cats stayed alive then
We weren't cut out to be killers
We remained innocent
But nowadays it's all different
Nowadays it's all different
Cat days are just a memory
They were left behind a long time ago
A couple days later we went
Back to the city for winter
I petted all the kittens before
Climbing into the bus
I didn't know everything was different
An era had come to an end
A year from then I spent
The last summer rowing
I didn't belong in the scene anymore
I was sick of cats
I missed Helsinki
Ahti wasn't in anymore...
But before were the cat days
Before the cats stayed alive
We weren't cut out to be killers
We remained innocent
But nowadays it's all different
Nowadays it's all different
Cat days are just a memory
They were left behind a long time ago
Comments
Post a Comment