After a nice, long, dramatic pause, Slovenia has finally revealed the English version of Maja Keuc's "Vanilija", entitled "No One". Maja unveiled the translation on the popular Slovenian program "Spet Doma".
Musically, there are few, if any, changes in the arrangement from "Vanilija" to "No One". Lyrically, however, there are some differences. While the original Slovene lyrics seem to have Maja dealing with her feelings of pain and jealousy over a straying lover, the English lyrics have more of an air of "I'm kicking your worthless ass to the curb, and you'll be sorry!" I'm happy to see quite a few songs with this sense of empowerment (similar themes come up in the songs from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Norway, among others).
Between the Slovene and English versions of the song, I personally preferred the original text. There are a few errors in pronunciation in the new version that could definitely be smoothed out, but it's nothing too insurmountable. As I've mentioned before, I'm a language nut, so whenever a song as beautiful as "Vanilija" switches to English, it tends to lose a bit of luster in my eyes. But in general, "No One" holds up to its predecessor's standard, and as it's not being performed right before or after another ballad in the Second Semifinal, it definitely has a strong chance of bringing Slovenia to the Finals for the first time since 2007.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
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I found this one so much more interesting before it was selected, when there was no face attached. It was more mysterious that way. Moreover, you are certainly right to prefer the original text over the English for several reasons, aside from being the language nut you are. The lyrics detract from the rising action that makes this song so great. I especially do not like that "without you, without you... round and round and" part. Overall, these new lyrics are contrived and unappetizing.
ReplyDeleteDo we still have hope that Maja and/or her team decide to keep it in Slovene, like when Magdalena Tul listened and kept Jestem in Polish?
-Finland
Poor english with bad mistakes in word order, definately poor pronunciation and made in a hurry.
ReplyDeletePrefer the Slovene version any day.
Good luck Maya!