Bibel [English translation]

And the earth spun uninhabited and empty1

And all was quiet over the seas

Then a voice was heard from above

And there was light on the first day

And the voice said "bring forth fruit

and may they have their seed on the earth"

And no crimes were yet committed

The second day came to the north2

And in its image, the voice made a man

And a woman, to love each other

And they became kings on the surface3 of the globe

It was the third day's end4

So who will pray for Babylon?

Sing a hymn for Babylon

Fall on your knees for Babylon

Beat the drum for Babylon

Falling

Man and woman learned about fire

And built realms and walls

The fourth day the walls were so long5

That no one knew where they ended

And no one heard any voice anymore

Here cities grew towards the sky

The fifth day, when the Spring became Fall,

A rain fell over the Man-Villages6

And no walls can stop a rain

That falls year by year

The sixth day, a voice has told me,

The earth was like an open wound

So who will pray for Babylon?

Sing a hymn for Babylon

Fall on your knees for Babylon

Beat the drum for Babylon

Falling

And the earth spun uninhabited and empty

And all was quiet over the seas

Then a voice was heard from above

And there was light on the seventh day

So who will pray for Babylon?

Sing a hymn for Babylon

Fall on your knees for Babylon

Beat the drum for Babylon

Falling

1. This line feels very clunky, but I wanted to avoid translations of "öde" that would imply that it had been inhabited and then deserted.2. I don't know if "norden" is supposed to refer to the Nordic countries (it is possible, but in that case it should have been capitalized).3. Lit. "the round".4. Lit. "rim", "edge".5. That is, they were wide, stretched far.6. Or "the human villages", "the human settlements". The only other time I've seen or heard anything close to "mänskobyarna" is "Människobyn" (the Man-Village) in Disney's 1967 version of The Jungle Book, so that's the translation I chose to go with. I don't know if Imperiet intended that connotation.

• Artist:Imperiet
• Album:Synd (1986)