Missä Muruseni On (Where my sweetheart is)

By Jenni Vartiainen

While I was backpacking in Laos in December 2011, I made a Finnish friend, Mari. She introduced me to this song Meteoriitti by Pariisin Kevät. And so my search for Finnish music begun. It's such a beautiful language that's sewn into the music. I noticed that Finnish (or at least the songs I've heard) uses a lot on the alveolar articulators, such as [t] and [r]. Because of this difference between English and Finnish, it just made the lyrics all the more enjoyable to listen to. It was also a joy to follow the Finnish lyrics because it was so easy. Like German, the pronunciation is quite literal. I don't know much about the language, but I do hope that it is easy to pick up. That reminds me, I have to continue with my French. I've only done a beginner's course, so if anyone is fluent in French, your guidance will be greatly appreciated, in exchange for my less-than-fluent Mandarin.

Also, you can access the lyrics and its translation in English here. Oh and, the band Rasmus is from Finland. So is Nokia. Just saying.

If you're interested in more Finnish music, here are some I have came across for now.

1. Pariisin Kevät
2. Anna Puu
3. Laura Närhi
4. Lauri Tähkä

White Blank Page

Hello, it is been quite a while since I have stopped writing. I'm starting again, just to put down random things lest I forget. For my first post, I would like to share this amazing song by Mumford and Sons, White Blank Page. I think this first topic today, white blank page, is quite apt to mark the beginning of this blog. Before I go on to share my interpretations and how I connected to the song, here is the song and the lyrics...

This is one of my favourite song from Mumford and Sons. It spoke to me a lot about what has been going with my life. Being an agnostic, I do not subscribe to any religion, but I am interested in religion on a more sociological perspective, on its impacts on society. So I have been going to church to listen to sermons, and it was a good chance for me to meet Christians and to learn from them. I do believe in the value of practicing Christianity and most, not all, of the values they preach. But I have yet to have their faith. That is beside the point and I will leave it for another time.

The first verse of the song probably hit me the hardest because, then, I had a Christian girlfriend. To me, the verse seemed like God is asking me those questions.

"Can you lie next to her
And give her your heart, your heart
As well as your body
And can you lie next to her
And confess your love, your love
As well as your folly
And can you kneel before the king
And say I'm clean, I'm clean"

I thought to myself many times about this. That is because she is quite a devote Christian, and when I asked myself those questions, my answer was always "No". That is perhaps, of my folly and 'cleanliness'. I have wronged her, I hid my smoking habit from her, and I lied to her time and time again. And oftentimes I felt it was my moral imperative that I stopped the lying, which meant the relationship altogether. Another issue was also the tension with abstinence. I loved her with all my heart and it wasn't easy to stop myself from coming onto her, despite much restrain. That was another reason why I ended it. I respect people's religion, that is why I did not want to put her in that position of making such a decision. This leads me to bridge of the song...

"Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life
Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life" 

I felt that this line was me telling it to two persons. T and God. She being a Christian, she did nudge me towards the direction, and honestly, I felt I was pretty close to it. It is basically myself telling these two that if you do lead me to the truth, I will follow you with my whole life. But it didn't turn out the way I hoped. Like I told her, I would probably regret this decision for a long time, but for now, it is for the best. 

I sincerely apologize to people reading, you probably will not have any idea what I'm talking about without the context of my relationship. Perhaps I will talk about it more or perhaps not. In any case, do enjoy this wonderful piece of music.