National Brotherhood Week - Valtakunnallinen toveruusviikko

We presented Vesa-Matti Loiri's "Voi saasta" song here. On the B-side of this 1970 single was "Valtakunnallinen toveruusviikko" (National brotherhood week). The Finnish lyrics (by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila") referenced to some real then-day Finnish celebrities by their real name. The idea of the song was of course the same as in the original: there should be one designated week of the year when even the most bitter enemies would be friends/brothers. The original song was the namesake "National Brotherhood Week", and it is one of the most famous songs of the American satirist Tom Lehrer. Lehrer does not name names, with one exception: The line "Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek" refers to singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne and to Sheriff Jim Clark, of Selma, Alabama, who was responsible for a violent attack on civil rights marchers. You can see Tom present the song - with oral introduction - here.In this live concert version "Cassius Clay dances cheek to cheek with Mrs (Lurleen) Wallace", the Governor of Alabama, who strongly opposed to racial desegration in Alabama.

39 Finnpicks to go.

Here's the pair: