Samantekevää
Kauko Röyhkä Lyrics

The lyrics of Kauko Röyhkä’s song “Samantekevää” talk about a sense of disillusionment and hopelessness in the face of societal problems. The first stanza describes a protest on the street demanding action and change, but the singer notes that even the sky is leaking like a chamber pot and the summer grass is rotting in the parks. The second stanza mentions a photography studio where the subject must strive and compete to succeed, but the white-hatted and grinning faces of the winners seem ultimately empty. The final stanza references a man who hands out religious pamphlets as a solution to life's problems, but the singer feels that both the religious and social options are insufficient to combat the oppressive “grayness” that seems to weigh down on everything.

The repetition of the phrase “tahtoisin löytää jostain jotakin” (I would like to find something) emphasizes a sense of yearning for something better or different, but always ultimately reaching the conclusion that “samantekevää kaikki kun kattopelti painuu” (it’s all the same when the roof metal collapses), suggesting the idea that the singer’s desire is futile. The song serves as a critique of a world where even legitimate attempts for change can seem futile as well as a call to keep searching and looking for something that could break the cycle of disappointment.