A bilingual ballad about the bittersweetness of feeling at home in a place where you are a foreigner.
The song was originally released 100% in English with the title "Being Here" on Loes van Schaijk's solo album All I Ever Really Seem To Say.
Loes, a Dutch singer-songwriter, started writing the song in 2008 when she was working with a Slovak bluegrass band and finished the song 10 years later in 2018 when she emigrated to Prague, Czech Republic.
The song resonated with Czech vocalist en multi-instrumentalist Anna Marie Hradecká, as she had also lived abroad. Anna Marie translated the lyrics to Czech.
The result is a haunting hybrid as Anna's Czech and Loes's English singing intertwine, perfectly matching the song's subject matter.
lyrics
LYRICS:
Zdejší tráva pro mě zelenejší barvu má
Hvězdy zdají se mi být o kousek blíž
Když tě mám vedle sebe
Všechny věci trochu ztrácí tíž
Nemám tušení jak dobré chvíle zachovat
Ani nevím jak je nechat v klidu jít
Život řítí se jak vodopád, ten nezastavíš – nech ho být
Není se vůbec čeho bát
Vždyť už právě teď svítá nad strání
Není se vůbec čeho bát
A srdce mé se chvěje na dlani
Now I'm starting to see I'll never really understand
As I immerse myself into this neverending stream
It is up to you to let me be a stranger or to take my hand
And with three different languages I try to express
What I cannot even say in my mother tongue
Sometimes I just want to close my eyes
And capture the moment in a song
Everything's gonna be alright
Cause it's already pretty fine today
Everything's gonna be alright
And my heart is turning a lighter shade of grey
And I will keep on dreaming
And I will keep on trying
Even though sometimes I get so tired
I can smile as I am crying
Není se vůbec čeho bát
Vždyť už právě teď svítá nad strání
Není se vůbec čeho bát
A srdce mé se chvěje na dlani
Music: Loes van Schaijk
English lyrics: Loes van Schaijk
Czech lyrics: Anna Marie Hradecká
Loes & The Acoustic Engineers is:
* Loes van Schaijk - Lead and backing vocals, guitar
* Jan Bartošek - Backing vocals, violin
* Michal Rudolf Cádra - Accordion
Special guest:
* Anna Marie Hradecká - Lead and backing vocals, keys
Recording, mixing, mastering: Václav Neckář Jr.
Recorded at Studio Chevaliere in Řevnice, Czech Republic, in October 2021.
Joe is a phenomenal mandolinist and songwriter and his voice is so soothing. A musician who keeps it real. Very inspiring to me. Recommended! Loes van Schaijk
I admire Karine as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, activist and human. Difficult to recommend one album in particular, I love all of her work. Loes van Schaijk
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