memory overload
saturday, february 9, 2002
i went to read the lyrics to one of the few swedish albums i own--eva dahlgren's collaboration with a symphony orchestra. i was just looking for some lyrics to sprinkle in a new e-mail signature (i've always loved playing with my .sig file).
i forgot to bring the album, it's been years since i listened to it, but i found a website and i started to read the lyrics and they triggered the most intense memories, i got dizzy, it was such a strong experience.
the funny thing is, it was nothing specific. the song mentions roses growing everywhere.. and the line that got me translates to:
"all over the world/against a building's wall in the middle of the city/in the dust on a worn-down sidewalk/red rose petals/all over the world/in the gap between railroad tracks/beneath the bridge where no sunshine can reach/red rose petals"
see? nothing special. but i was inexplicably over-whelmed by mental images of dusty roads i've walked on, barefoot, in my life. railroad tracks i've balanced on, bridges i've walked on, sat under, dust and summer and barefoot and sweaty and walking, always walking, in all sorts of countries, on all sorts of roads.
just that. gardens and flowers and dust and pebbles and trees and the thick summer scent and apples and ripped skin from woods and sunsets and mornings and cold and hot and alone and weeds and ladybugs and gravel roads and deserts and fields and city streets that melt the soles of my shoes. memories. so many memories. you know?
kallinge, ronneby, karlskrona, vaxjo, malmo, stockholm, goteborg, tva aker, copenhagen, london, hamburg, amsterdam, kiriat ono, tel aviv, jerusalem, sierra vista, tombstone, dallas, new york, montclair, carrboro, chapel hill, durham, raleigh, wilmington, and whatever else i've missed.
a lot of dust, a lot of roads, a lot of walking. it surprises me to realize that everywhere, there seemed to be other people, people that were mine in some capacity, love and friendships and a lot of walking. just remembering. ignore me, please. yeah. it's all good. well. at least most of it, the leaving was never good. but anyway.
N�r en vild r�d ros sl�r ut/doftar hela skogen
n�r en vild r�d ros sl�r ut/doftar hela skogen
under ekarnas blad/vilar vindarnas barn/till en s�ng/om en ros
i en skog/h�rs en s�ng/om en ros
om en vild/en vild r�d/vild r�d ros
och n�r en m�nniska/andas/f�r f�rsta g�ngen/i sin �lskades famn
vet hon/allt har samma/doft som/den blommans namn
gr�ver i jord/blomma sk�n/sl�r sin rot/runt en annan rot/t�rnen och blad/det jag s�r/v�xer vilt/i n�n annans jord
hela v�rlden runt/mot en husv�gg mitt i stan/i dammet p� en sliten trottoar/r�da rosors blad/hela v�rlden runt
i skarven mellan j�rnv�gssp�r/under bron dit inget solsken n�r/r�da rosors blad/hela v�rlden runt/d�r inget annat orkar gro/finner rosen n�got och sl�r rot/hela v�rlden runt
den blomman ger en m�nniska ro/det vilda ger en m�nniska ro/f�rundrad/och i beundran/st�r hon vid v�gen och ler
jag vill/se min �lskade komma fr�n det vilda/jag vill/l�ta k�rleken v�xa/i det vilda/jag vill
gr�ver i jord/blomma sk�n/sl�r sin rot/runt en annan rot/t�rnen och blad/det jag s�r/v�xer vilt/i n�n annans jord
jag vill/v�ga ge all min k�rlek/i det vilda/jag vill/v�ga tro p� din k�rlek/i det vilda/jag vill/jag vill/l�ta k�rleken v�xa/i det vilda/jag vill
hela v�rlden runt/i �knars torra heta sand/i branten ner mot hav/som river land/r�da rosors blad/hela v�rlden runt/d�r ingen l�ngre v�gar tro/finner rosen n�got och sl�r rot/hela v�rlden runt
i den blomman finner m�nniskan ro/i det vilda finner jag min ro/f�rundrad/och i beundran/st�r jag vid v�gen och ler
jag vill/se min �lskade komma/fr�n det vilda
--eva dahlgren
anyway. proceed... �� 9:19 p.m.
...
..i am the olympic games' bitch
saturday, february 9, 2002
there is NO logical explanation. i love watching the olympic games. of all the strange addictions i have to odd things in our society, this strikes me as one of the more perverse.
am i a sports-fan? no. not in any way. do i even exercise? no. not in any way. do i like athletes, admire them, root for them? no. not much. is the olympic games committee a bunch of greedy hypcrites? yes. pretty much. and yet i can't help it.
i've watched every opening ceremony for as far as i can remember--i remember the goofy mascots in seoul, the people walking around wearing only a red cat suit and an huge, plastic bulb encapsulating their bodies with fake snow inside for them to swirl with their arms, in albertville, sarah brightman and some opera dude singing a real cheesy song in barcelona, the ski-jumper lighting the fire in lillehammer, muhammad ali in atlanta, the crazy parade of australian things in sydney, including a "priscilla, queen of the desert" float... sigh.
the opening ceremony in salt lake city was okay, i guess. some of the ice-skate ballet stuff was neat, the native american chiefs and robbie robertson singing with waleil. could have done without r. kelly and playback sting, but whatever. it was okay.
and when sweden entered the arena, a wild wave was sweeping through the audience, and i got all goofy and swedish and i can't help it. i'm excited. heh.
i've already discovered that nbc's coverage of the sports is pretty spotty, and slow--puh, amateurs. so instead i've got swedish newspapers online feeding me appropriate reporting. for instance, i had only watched the first 2 minutes of the men's 30k skiing when i went online and found out the great, big swedish hope quit half-way through. so much for watching that. heh. and the thai guy already fell out of the race. aww. he was my pity-favorite. the one winter olympics contender from thailand. :)
and hey. remember to watch the bobsledding! the jamaican team is back! yes! the team that inspired the movie cool runnings! wooo! yes. yes, i do foresee this taking up most of my weekend. i have to watch it alll. even the luge. cin cin! �� 3:56 p.m.
