Mana Mana was a Finnish band that has gained somewhat of a cult status. The… Read Full Bio ↴Mana Mana was a Finnish band that has gained somewhat of a cult status. Their career was cut rather short; they managed to release a couple of singles and one album after which the founding member and the soul of Mana Mana, Jouni Mömmö, commited suicide by taking overdose of drugs.

The music of Mana Mana is composed of a driving bass accompanied with three distorted guitars and the haunting vocals of Jouni Mömmö. Jouni also wrote all the lyrics, filled with his view of the world and the anguish of mind.

After Jouni's death Mana Mana put out split single with an old previously unreleased song. There was also a compilation CD released which included all the recordings done by Mana Mana. In September 2000 the remaining members of the band released an album consisting of songs written and composed by Jouni Mömmö which were never recorded before.

--taken from http://www2.uiah.fi/~ppeisa/manamana.html

In the autumn of year 2001 Mana Mana played it's last gig in Helsinki's Tavastia. Gig was recorded and the best succeeded tracks were published three years later as Kuolla Elävänä (in English "To Die Alive")-live album. Also the first promo pictures in it's history of the band were taken.

Valtatie
Mana Mana Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mä sain tuskan
Joka minua vie
Mä haen tähdet
Ja haen maitotien
Sun tiesi
Toisaalle vie
Mut sehän onkin
Se valtatie

Mä ajan läpi
Kuuman metsämaan
Ja kuu
Mieltäni kuljettaa
Sä tyydyt hiekkaan
Polttavaan aurinkoon

En tiedä voinko koskaan
Sun elämääsi rakastaa

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mana Mana's song Valtatie describe the pain and longing that the singer feels as they search for something greater than themselves. They feel a deep sense of anguish that seems to take over their entire being, driving them to seek out the stars and the Milky Way. But the person they are addressing is on a different path, one that takes them away from the singer. This path, the valtatie or "main road", is both a metaphor for the separation between the two individuals and a physical symbol for the journey of life itself. Though they are navigating different roads, both the singer and the person they address are on a journey that takes them through hot, oppressive landscapes and under the watchful eye of the moon.

Despite the pain and uncertainty they feel, the singer is still drawn to their beloved, though they feel uncertain about whether they can ever truly love them. The lyrics are a poignant exploration of the ways in which love can be both transcendent and painful, and the ways in which life's many different paths can lead us in different directions.

Line by Line Meaning

Mä sain tuskan
I received pain

Joka minua vie
that takes me

Mä haen tähdet
I search for the stars

Ja haen maitotien
and search for the Milky Way

Sun tiesi
Your path

Toisaalle vie
leads elsewhere

Mut sehän onkin
But that's actually

Se valtatie
the highway

Mä ajan läpi
I drive through

Kuuman metsämaan
the hot forest land

Ja kuu
And the moon