Thanks to Anthony and Casper for translating the background info!
Background information about the song:
Dieter Meyer's Institution is the arena for most of the material on Maestro. It is a place that, under the cover of being a mental institution specializing in war trauma, is involved in shady activities like drug dealing, whitewashing of money, as well as selling organs to wealthy private hospitals. The institution is built up and run by a mysterious figure who no one knows the identity of. He is referred to as Meyer, Maestro, and Papa among others, but no one has ever seen him. The protagonist in these lyrics has been confined to Dieter Meyer for life with the diagnosis of incurable paranoia. Really, he is just an ordinary man who has discovered what goes on in this place and has therefore been committed and subdued. After a few years hospitalized, he has realized that he is alone in the fight against the corrupt system, and now only wishes to end it all with hope of better times in heaven.
"Våre demoner" is one of several "genre songs", this time in surf/rockabilly tradition. We tend to say that we like the best of all genres and use the inspiration actively. Sometimes the result is a bit more clearly genre than other times. It is usually these songs we like the least of our own material, and so they often fall to the wayside. In the rehearsal phase for this album we tried to "Kaizer-ify" several of these songs, including this one, but we found out it was both livelier, more fun to play, and also better if we instead genre-ified them.
Våre demoner | Our demons |
| Takk for nok en idé, men eg får aldri fred | Thanks for another idea, but I'll never find peace |
| Ingenting kan endra det | Nothing can change that |
| Mitt hjerta går i utakt, eg ser ut som et slakt | My heart beats unsteadily, I look like a wreck |
| Snart stryker eg med | Soon I'll be finished off |
| En manns golv er en annen manns tak | One man's floor is another man's roof |
| Ta det dag for dag | Take it day by day |
| Eg trenger nytt preparat, en nye start | I need a new drug, a new start |
| før alt blir svart | before everything turns black |
| For våre demoner | Because our demons |
| har jagt oss i generasjoner | have been haunting us for generations |
| De kommer i alle versjoner | They come in all kinds |
| Kan kun stoppa dei med patroner | You can only stop them with bullets |
| Så gje meg en | So give me one |
| Få meg til himmelen | Get me into heaven |
| Eg har folda mine hender, spilt blod, knekt tenner | I have folded my hands, spilled blood, crushed teeth |
| nå sitter eg her | now I'm sitting here |
| Krigen er ikkje over, de kommer når du sover når | The war isn't over, they come while you sleep, when |
| ingen ser | nobody's watching |
| Denne hekseprosessen tar alle unntatt presten. | This witch trial takes everyone except for the priest. |
| Han er en av de | He's one of them |
| Eg vett kva han koker på. | I know what he's cooking. |
| Det brenner snart nå | Now it will soon burn |
| Det ryker for mi fortid | My past ends up in smoke |