YouLyric
Sign in
Sign up for free
Kalevala
Share
Baba Brinkman
What's this song about?
Generate meaning
1
In Kalevala the main man's name was Väinämöinen
2
His fame was growing in the creation of strange noises
3
He trained his voice mainly for the sake of enjoyment
4
And sang poignant verses without gainful employment
5
Väinämöinen could spin a phrase in a way that venerates
6
The first generation of men, in a wave
7
Of inspiration that creates a sense of inner faith
8
In the Finnish nation in the days when this sinful age
9
Of impatient whims begins to blaze like a burning house
10
And just like "murder will out", his verbal clout
11
Was heard about through word of mouth
12
From up North down to dirty South
13
Now the young Joukahainen heard of Väinämöinen's fame
14
And became jealous, 'cause he was newly trained in
15
The same verbal games, and really, who could blame him?
16
The fire of youth burned like a blue flame in Joukahainen
17
Who decided to arrange a duel to attain an
18
Even greater name than Väinämöinen, who was ancient
19
Joukahainen's parents rebuked and forbade him
20
To leave, but their pleas didn't do much to faze him
21
Joukahainen amazed them and brazenly boasted
22
"I know you both say that it's crazy and hopeless
23
But hey, I'm not afraid to get roasted
24
In this day and age the best way to get noticed
25
Is to take the most famous poet's name and expose it
26
As lame; Väinämöinen's a vain, inflated vocalist
27
So I'll take his inflated vocal vein and explode it
28
And someday I'll be praised, celebrated and toasted"
29
And without wasting a moment, Joukahainen departed
30
For Kalevala, the home of Väinämöinen, his target
31
And, far from feint-hearted, for three days he charted
32
His way at a hard pace and came to the unguarded
33
Gates of the garden of Kalevala at last
34
But he wasn't paying attention to the road, and he crashed
35
Into Väinämöinen, who was traveling on the same path
36
Like two locomotives head to head on train tracks
37
Before Joukahainen even had his strength back
38
Väinämöinen blasted him and gave him flack
39
And asked him for his name and to explain the crash
40
And he answered plain, "I'm the young Joukahainen
41
And I heard there's a vacant-headed, gum-toothed vagrant
42
With a reputation here, so I've come to defame him"
43
Väinämöinen remained cool in the face of these rude statements
44
Like a true statesman, and smoothly replied
45
"I'm in no mood to be crucified
46
For the sake of stupid pride, boy, so move aside"
47
But Joukahainen viewed this a shrewdly disguised
48
Attempt to neutralize his youthful stride
49
And he refused to buy it: "Why should I move aside?
50
I suggest we duel to decide who can best utilize
51
Words, with verses verbally beautified
52
To decide the dispute, and let the loser move aside"
53
Väinämöinen sighed, "'Verbally beautified?'
54
You certain deserve to be verbally brutalized
55
Since you devised this war of words
56
To satisfy your thirst to divide orators
57
For sport; all right, fine, you're first
58
Let's see what you got"
59
Joukahainen's verse went like this: "My knowledge is deep
60
I polish speech to demolish the weak
61
When I listen to politicians' policies I fall asleep
62
All in all I'd rather follow an ecologist's lead
63
And listen to the swishin' of fish in the lawless seas
64
My vision is flawless, even in the bottomless breach
65
I see what the walrus sees, and feed on mollusc meat
66
In the halls of seaweed the narwhal acknowledges me
67
I perceive the raw qualities of all I can see
68
From the beak of the bald eagle at the peak of the tallest tree
69
To the niche of the swallow that swallows the smallest seed
70
It all follows the pull of the dog-eat-dog creed
71
And if you can not compete then you're obsolete
72
So why not concede defeat and leave Kalevala to me?"
73
Väinämöinen scoffed, "These are all falsities
74
If your 'knowledge is deep' then it's hollow indeed
75
All I see is a wallow of bottomless greed
76
That colours your speech like a black shadow
77
As your words crash and rattle; you asked for this battle
78
So get off the path if that's the last of your babble"
79
But Joukahainen hadn't traveled this far to get dismissed
80
And his next verse reflected his desperate recklessness
81
He said, "I know you're locally respected "“ great
82
But it doesn't take much to see you're just a fake
83
Like snow, I'm an avalanche; you're just a flake
84
You get money like a church: in a collection plate
85
I'm destined to get paid, while you're destined to beg
86
Like a drug-addicted veteran with a prosthetic leg
87
Allow me to demonstrate why youth is better than age
88
I collect wages while your memories fade
89
Intellectually I gaze on unlimited space
90
While you're afraid and inhibited; you live in a cave
91
This place is too big for you; it's a pitiful waste
92
You should just give it away and start diggin' a grave"
93
In the face of this insolent rage, Väinämöinen's
94
Patience and poise turned to plain annoyance
95
He said, "Trust me boy, your lust for fame is poison
96
What's the point of making poems when you can't enjoy them?
97
And what's the point of entertaining when you've got the lame voice
98
Of a teenaged boy, who came to join in
99
The game just to make noise and be a pain, showing an
100
Absolute disdain for the ancients, going in
101
The face of their ways and the dues paid and owing them?"
102
Now, Joukahainen was growing impatient and sour
103
From humiliation and shame, 'cause he'd wasted his power
104
And been laid naked in the space of an hour
105
So he tried to save face with the grace of a coward
106
"Okay, I don't have the tricks to match wits with a lord
107
So I guess I'll just have to ask my fists for support
108
And strike a dissonant chord with the tip of a sword!
109
Besides, violence is a more difficult sport
110
So keep your piss-poor lyrics 'cause now this is a war!"
111
But Väinämöinen had heard this before, and in spite
112
Of his magnanimous nature he couldn't stand to bite
113
His tongue, or dirty his hands in a fight
114
So his adrenaline ran, and he began to recite
115
Lu-e-kamme kasi katehen
116
Sormet sormien lomahan
117
And the land was transformed; the lake covered with waves
118
Rocks cut away from cliffs as they started to break
119
The sound made the ground beneath shudder and shake
120
And the mountains rumbled, as if under the plates
121
Lay a powerful thundercloud with a stomachache
122
Joukahainen was afraid and he tried to run away
123
But he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his legs
124
And in less than a minute a lake fit for drinking
125
Became a gray swamp with dead fish in it, stinking
126
And in the end when Väinämöinen was finished singing
127
Joukahainen found himself stuck in it, sinking
128
Then his courage began shrinking and caving in
129
And he started whimpering, thinking of nothing but saving his skin
130
As arrogant and brave as he'd been to begin with
131
Joukahainen now found he had to placate his nemesis
132
Since he was in a quick-mud pit with limited
133
Options; the stuff was too thick to swim in it
134
He said, "I may have been a bit of a rude bastard
135
Too fast to challenge the skills of a true master
136
But you have to forgive me; I was enthusiastic
137
But all I wanted to do was be like you, that's it
138
Please don't let drown in this nasty ooze casket!"
139
And Väinämöinen laughed, "Ooh, that's too bad kid
140
But you have to admit, you did ask for it
141
And now you're desperate, beggin' me to set you free
142
I guess my question is, what's in it for me?"
143
And Joukahainen started offering up guns and tools
144
Horses and mules, plots of land, money and jewels
145
As his body sank deeper under the mud of the pool
146
But Väinämöinen wasn't moved by these petty concessions
147
'Cause he never had any use for pretty new possessions
148
And Joukahainen knew he would never get assistance
149
Unless he was ready to give something really precious
150
As he felt the wet caresses of swamp water
151
On his neck, with his last breath he made a strong offer
152
He said, "My father was blessed with one daughter
153
And he taught her to cook and clean and do chores
154
And I promise you, if you want her, she's yours
155
I'm sure she'd rather marry you than see me a corpse
156
Just get me out of this horrid green porridge!"
157
And Väinämöinen smiled, utterly delighted
158
And recited a verse, and Joukahainen glided out of the swamp
159
And alighted on the shore, and Väinämöinen warmly invited
160
Him to visit, once he and the boy's sister were united
161
Joukahainen returned home, ashamed and embarrassed
162
And announced to his parents his sister's arranged marriage
163
And his sister complained in badly-strained spirits
164
Like, "Väinämöinen was old and had a strange appearance"
165
But Joukahainen's mother just congratulated her
166
For finding a man greater than the saps who dated her
167
She said, "Väinämöinen is famous and has a way with words
168
And besides, look at your father and I, we made it work"
169
But Joukahainen's sister did not marry Väinämöinen
170
She turned into a fish, but that's another story
Narivetta - Minnalvala Lyrical | Tovino ...
575 views
0 meanings
Go Pro
Unlimited meanings · Priority generation
Upgrade