Jens Lekman
Postcard #18
May 3rd, 2015

We celebrate Walpurgis Night on an island outside Helsinki
The [?] there tastes so sweet, I lick the sugar from my pinky
The students in their overalls are playing croquet in the grass
It's officially spring now, we don't care what the weather map says

The long moan from a ship's hull
Three old friends trying to keep warm
Trying to text my baby back home
Can't get no signal on my phone

Ancient graffiti on the rocks by the beach
Two lovers in 1830, sat in here in the ocean breeze
And with a knife or a sharp rock, carve each other's names in
If you carve your love in rock, then you can't give it up
It would be too embarrassing
Dance some tango in the park
Strangers lips meet in the dark
Ending up at every sauna, [?]
A jukebox behind us plays good, old Finnish rock and roll
A woman yells at an annoying guy
Says, "You're the reason we use birth control."
She turns to us as she does this thing where she dresses up each May Day
"If you can guess who I am dressed as I'll have a pint of beer sent your way."
Black leather jacket, upside down cross
Her face is deadly serious
She says it's from a horror movie
The third part in a five-part series
The soft chime from a distant church bell
Happy Vappu to you as well
Good times at Arizona
[?]

Last boat is in half an hour
We gotta run to make it
How do you say goodbye in Finnish?
No time to translate it
The woman in the leather jacket with spurs
In a voice dramatic:
"I'm Julie from Return of the Living Dead III
You should watch it, it's very romantic

The long moan from a ship's hull
Three old friends trying to keep warm
Thinking of my baby back home
Thinking of her name carved in stone