deird_lj

I still say our version is far more complex. All other languages (except Finnish) seem to tell us only two things about the spider: it's small (wow, great character depth there) and it climbs up something constructed by man, so it really only has itself to blame. Whereas in the (original, damnit!) Swedish version, we're told two important things that have been removed (censored, I imagine) from all others: that the spider is vimsig (dizzy, ditzy, confused, kooky) and that it climbs up its own web. This isn't just a spider having an accident, it's clearly a very dark character drama about a troubled individual struggling to perform even everyday tasks, but never giving up despite failing again and again... made worse by the fact that the verb tense is unclear; it can be present tense (making it a one-time thing), it can be past tense (suggesting an ever-repeating self-destructive cycle), and it can even be in the imperative: we, the singers, are ordering the spider to fail ("Climb up the web! Ha, here comes the rain! Now, climb up again!") because we need someone to look down on and laugh at. As children inevitably do when they sing this. It's really quite horrible when you think about it.

Yes, I write meta on children's songs.