Thanks to Jez for the English translation! Thanks to Anthony and Casper for translating the background info!
Background information about the song:
This was a song we had a lot of faith in when it came up. Janove especially liked it very much, and that tends to be a very promising starting point for a Kaizers Orchestra song. Nevertheless, it was never part of any release. Janove actually fell into making an English solo version of it, but that was also never released. To assess it a little, we can say that there were two factors which took the air out of it for Kaizers:
1. The timing. "Fanden" was one of the first songs that turned up in the Maestro rounds. That meant that we were a bit tired of it when we were recording the album two years later.
2. The tone. After composing several songs and finding a sort of red thread in the material for Maestro, we thought this was not fully fitting. Guitar rock is a nice, but also dangerous and overpopulated landscape. And since we had many other songs to choose between, this one came up short. But it is a fun song to play, so we are glad that the opportunity has opened up now! The lyrics are about a young couple, who in good Romeo and Juliet style pursue their love against all odds and against everyone's will. They know that as soon as they are discovered it will all be over, so they live the time they have together intensely, with the devil on their heels.
Fanden hakk i hel | The devil on our heels |
| Eg har aldri tatt i en bibel | I have never touched a bible |
| Den porten er nok stengt når eg dør | That gate is probably closed when I die |
| Eg har mange minner frå då eg var liten | I have many memories from when I was a child |
| Det er som eg ser tilbake gjennom et slør | It's like I'm looking back through a veil |
| Og du har alltid vært jentå mi | And you have always been my girl |
| Me gikk hånd i hånd med kver sitt stort smil | We walked hand in hand, both with a big smile |
| Alle såg på oss når me gikk forbi | Everyone looked at us when we passed by |
| Men ingen såg kva me gjorde nattestid | But no one saw what we did during the night |
| Og nå springer me med fanden hakk i hel | And now we run with the devil on our heels |
| Og holder på å le oss i hjel | And we're laughing ourselves to death |
| Gjennom parken og over ei eng | Through the park and over a meadow |
| Og duene de letter en og en | And the doves take off one by one |
| Og alt som de har sagt ikkje var lov | And everything that they said wasn't allowed |
| Det gjorde me mens alle låg og sov | We did it when everyone lay down sleeping |
| Me kommer aldri til å få som fortjent | We will never get what we deserved |
| for de tar oss aldri igjen | because they will never catch up with us |
| Det fins en plass bare me to vett om | There's a place only the two of us know of |
| Kor me kan vær aleina i skjul | Where we can be alone by ourselves, hidden |
| Og hvis det begynner å regne, har me plastikk | And if it starts to rain we have plastic |
| Det er nesten som å bu i Konsul | It's almost like living in Consul |
| Det er vanskelig å skille rett frå galt | It's hard to distinguish right from wrong |
| Eg har gjort så mange feil blir eg fortalt | I have made so many mistakes, I was told |
| Og hvis eg kunne levd mitt liv igjen | And if I could live my life again |
| Ville eg gjort de samme feilene om igjen en etter en | I would make the same mistakes again one by one |