A Postcard To Nina Lyrics
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father is a sweet old man
But it is hard for him to understand
That you wanna love a woman
If it puts an end to all this nonsense
First time I see you in Berlin
And you don't tell me anything
Until outside your dad's apartment
I try to focus on your eyes
We're having dinner with your family now
Keep a steady look at your left eyebrow
If it's raised, it means yes
If it's not it means take a guess
Hey! You! Stop kicking my legs
I'm doing my best
Can you pass the figs?
He says "so tell me how you met her"
I get a little nervous and change the subject
And put my hand on some metal object
He jokes and tells me it's a lie detector
"So I heard you're moving out next season?"
I say "Yeah, New York is nice that time of year
Almost as green as it is here"
He says "I thought you were moving to Sweden?"
I came to Berlin to have some fun
And the clock on the wall strikes four five six
My eyes caught by a big crucifix
Guess that's why he won't let you go
His catholic heart is big and slow
You know I'll do anything for love
But Nina what were you thinking of?
So you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father is emailing me all the time
He says he just wants to say hi
I send back "out-of-office" auto-replies
'Cause I think about you every second
So I send you this postcard just to say
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Yours truly, Jens Lekman
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
Don't let anyone stand in your way
I really did not mean to post that twice.
I really did not mean to post that twice.
No, it's "I can be your boyfriend," as in: "I can pretend to be your boyfriend so your father doesn't catch on that you're gay."
The song describes Lekman having an awkward dinner with Nina and her parents. He's pretending to be her date so she can hide the fact that she's gay from her father who has a "catholic heart [which] is big and slow".
He "thinks about [her] every second" but knows it will never amount due to her preferences, so I'd suppose that the song is somewhat sad in that respect.
"Don't let anyone stand in your way" is probably a plea for Nina to not hold back or hide the things that make her who she is and what makes her a happy person. That she shouldn't let her father's conservative nature "stand in [her] way".
"I love the sign-off line: "Yours truly, Jens Lekman". I assume that's a deliberate echo of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" ("Sincerely, L. Cohen")."
Or he just wanted people to know how to pronounce his name :P
I can't get over the way he says "father." I think its wonderful...this is in my top three favorites off the record. So funny and cute and lovely.
love this song, cant believe this black guy is the first person to reply, haha
song is great lyrics are great and it seems true too..based on a true story cause he explained it live @ the pitchfork festival (look for it on youtube)
but some of these lyrics are either wrong or go to a different version of the song...
for example, "embarrased"-->"a little nervous" "laughs":-->"jokes"
minor stuff really
forgot to say how funny this song is, from his pronunciation of father to "i send back out of office auto replies"
I think "Then it turned into buffalo 66"
Should be: "The clock on the wall strikes four, five, six."
That's pretty off, so maybe I'm hearing a different version. I really, really wish it said Buffalo 66 since that's my favorite movie. It also somewhat applies to the theme of the song here too.
I'm pretty sure the line was about Buffalo 66 when he performed it live in 2006.
This song is awesome.
Probably one of the most effective chorus' I've ever heard.
I love the sign-off line: "Yours truly, Jens Lekman". I assume that's a deliberate echo of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" ("Sincerely, L. Cohen").