Last week I wrote a blog about the song "In Denmark, I was born", but I have another version of the song... a version that speaks more to me as a foreigner. One of my students sent this song to me after we sang "In Denmark, I was born" in our morning gathering because she knew that I felt a bit odd singing a song about "Denmark, my native country"....
Natasja (eller Little T) var en dansk rapper og sangerinde som døde d. 24 juni 2007 i en trafikulykke på Jamaica. Hendes far er sudanesisk og hendes mor er dansk. Siden hun har en "blandt multikulturel familie", bestemmede hun at skifte HC Andersens originelt version af sangen lille smule.....Natasjas ords påvirker dig and giver ting for at tænke om (efter min mening!)
Natasja (or Little T) was a Danish rapper and singer who was killed June 24, 2007 in a car accident in Jamaica. Her father is from Sudan and her mother is Danish. Since she comes from a mixed-multicultural family, she decided to make a few small changes to HC Anderson's original lyrics.... Natasja's words really make you stop and think.... (in my opinion!)
I Danmark er jeg født
Der har jeg hjemme
Der har jeg rod,
og derfra min verden går.
In Denmark was I born
And it's there I have my home
and there I have my roots
and from there my world goes out.
Skal jeg blive hos min mor
Og de hårde vintre i det kolde Nord
Eller skal jeg søge sydpå ad tropiske rytmespor
Hjælp mig Odin og Thor!
Shall I live with my mom
and the hard winters in the cold north
or should I head south toward the tropical path
Help me Odin & Thor!
Det er komplet lige meget, hvor pæredansk jeg er
Jeg vil altid være hende "Den lille mørke dér"
"Er du adopteret?”
”Kommer du fra Indien?”
”Har du en far?”
”Hvor kommer du fra?”
I do not care how "completely Danish" I am
I will always be the one called "The little one who is dark"
"Are you adopted?"
"Do you come from India?"
"Do you have a dad?"
"Where do you come from?"
Og jeg må svare:
Jeg føler mig dansk og det er nemt at blende ind
Men der vil altid være en Pia, en Johnny og en Evensen,
der synes, jeg er for dum og grim og bør sendes hjem
Men fuck nu dem, for jeg ved at HELE VERDEN er MIT HJEM!
Kom igen!
And so I must answer:
I feel that I am Danish and it is easy to blend in,
But there will always be a Pie, a Johnny and an Evensen,
who thinks that I am too stupid and too ugly and ought to be sent home,
But fuck them because I know that the WHOLE WORLD is MY HOME!
Come on!
5 comments:
Love that line: the WHOLE world is my home! Amen to that.
Like Fi, that last like is my favorite, because I feel like the whole world is my home. I grew up as a Navy brat, and never lived anywhere long enough to call it my "hometown." I am, of course, American, but I don't really know what to say when people ask me where I am from. I just say "I live in Virginia."
First time I've heard reggae in Danish. It's a beautiful song and you opened my eyes another notch with this. I can't believe she dies. Is that her photo? She's beautiful.
"I Danmark er jeg født" is also played in 3 different versions when you visit the Danish version of the tourist website Visit Denmark
http://www.visitdenmark.com/danmark/da-dk/menu/turist/danmark.htm
These songs with video are TV-commercials, that Visit Denmark runs on TV2 at the moment.
Link for the 3 TV commercial with "I Danmark er jeg født"
http://www.visitdenmark.com/danmark/da-dk/menu/turist/turistinformation/danmarksfilm/film-danmark.htm
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