Another Sailor Will Die

This is my interpretation to English of the song "Nu dör en sjöman", written by the Swedish singer-songwriter Tomas Andersson Wij"

"It is said that sailors in the past, when they went ashore in the winter, made a living by selling matches. So when someone was stingy and lit the cigarette on a candle, people began to say, "Now, a sailor will die." (Tomas Andersson Wij)


On the old [worn out] piano
a candle is burning
we lie and gaze at the snow
It is falling so softly
all over the town
And it feels like
my prayers been heard

In the jeans on the floor
there's a broken cigarette
»give it to me«, she says
And she walks through the room
to the candle she lit
and another sailor will die

Must have fallen asleep
for now it is dark
and the sounds from the city are gone
It is three days ’til Christmas
and a bad year has passed
and the skin 'round the heart is thin

But I'm going nowhere
no one knows where I am
all the rest have to wait for a while
And she kisses my shoulder
and she kisses my mouth
and another sailor will die

Music and Swedish lyrics: Tomas Andersson Wij
English lyrics: Copyright © 2021 Göran Gustafsson.

You can listen to the Swedish version of the song here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJLGEPE9Sh8




Poetry by Göran Gustafsson
Read 226 times
Written on 2021-11-07 at 06:12

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