Lately I've been listening a lot of Agit Prop. I bought a CD just before I left Finland. It seemed like a perfect idea to have it on my mp3 while going through the customs. One of the songs is called Olen kommunisti (I am a communist).
Agit Prop is a Finnish revolutionary left-wing band from the 70's. The name Agit Prop comes from the words agitation and propaganda (yes the words are almost the same in Finnish (actually propaganda is exactly the same)). And yes, we should actually be considering what they are in Russian. Since the real origin was of course the Department for Agitation and Propaganda in the Soviet Union. (And yes, I didn't know all this before a bit of googling just a moment ago.)
One of my favourites is Oppimisen ylistys. It just simply tells what every math student should know. Here is a part of the lyrics in Finnish and then my attempt at a translation into English. Let me know if you have better suggestions.
Oppimisen ylistys
Opi perusasiat.
Niille, joiden aika on tullut,
se ei koskaan ole liian myöhäistä.
Opi kaikki aakkoset.
Se ei riitä, mutta opi ne.
Älä anna sen harmittaa, vaan ala jo.
Sinun täytyy tietää kaikki.
Sinun täytyy astua johtoon!
...
Älä pelkää kysyä, toveri.
Älä usko kuulopuheisiin, ota selvää.
Mitä itse et tiedä, sitä et tiedä.
Tarkista lasku;
sinun täytyy se maksaa.
Laske sormesi joka erälle ja kysy:
Miksi tämä on näin?
Miksi tämä on näin?
Sinun täytyy astua johtoon!
Hymn to Learning
Learn the basics!
It's never too late
for those whose time has come.
Learn all the alphabet,
it's not enough, but learn them!
Don't let it bother you, just start.
You have to know everything.
You have to step in the lead!
...
Don't fear to ask, comrade.
Don't believe in hearsay, check it.
What you don't know yourself, you don't know.
Check the count;
you have to pay it.
Point at each installment and ask:
Why is this like this?
Why is this like this?
You have to step in the lead!
Although I have to say that the goal setting would need a bit more work: Step 1: Learn all the aplhabet, Step 2: You have to know everything. Tough!
Thanks to Punainen nörtti for the help with socialistic vocabulary!
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4 comments:
Agit Prop :) I used to listen to Agit Prop with my friends when we were in high school. I haven´t thought about the group for so long time.. nice memories. Too bad I have lost the cd and it´s a bit difficult to get one here in Italy ;) "Oppimisen ylistys" is one of their best songs. Good ones are also "Natalia" and "Che Guevara"
I think that the correct translation of "toveri" is "comrade", meaning "fellow socialist".
What it comes to campy music, I have been listening "Kollaa kestää", a naivistic punk rock group from the late 70s. "Jäähyväiset aseille" was originally made by them (yes, it is a punk rock song originally), and I have quite mixed feelings towards their naivistic and anti-intellectual approach. It is a thing I'd usually despise, but there is something koskettavaa in the band's lyrics.
Thanks! I knew that there was a correct translation for toveri, but just couln't come up with it.
(actually propaganda is exactly the same)
it's also the same in spanish. (:
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