No Roots - Iceland Version - Alice Merton, Daði Freyr

 

No Roots - Iceland Version - Alice Merton, Daði Freyr

Sometimes a song comes out of nowhere and resonates with me. This is a remake of a pop song that I didn't know about. The original version is fine, but this more dramatic and somewhat haunting version showcases the lyrics better to me. It speaks to our moment of moving again to another country and it was released while we were in the middle of doing it.

No Roots Lyrics

I like diggin' holes and hidin' things inside them

When I grow old, I hope I won't forget to find them

'Cause I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down

Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town, runnin'

'Cause I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

And a thousand times I've seen this road

A thousand times

I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground

I've got no roots, ...

I like standin' still, but that's just a wishful plan

Ask me where I come from, I'll say a different land

But I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

I count gates and numbers, then play the guessing game

It's just the place that changes, the rest is still the same

But I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

And a thousand times I've seen this road

A thousand times

I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground

I've got no roots, ...

The talk of memories, travel, packing in boxes, and heading to the next town all resonate. In many ways, the places change and the rest of our lives are relatively the same as it says. But we have lived in some interesting places! That's where all these amazing memories are being developed.

I really loved visiting Iceland, so that connection is special. It's too bad the only YouTube version of this song is a static picture and not the video they recorded for the German TV show Song Trip on ZDF.

Here's links to the three segments on the ZDF website with a great music video about two-thirds (9:25 mark) through the third segment: one | two | three. Here's a link for a snippet of their ZDF Song Trip Version video on Instagram. That's everything I could find for this song and I wish they'd put the video with the Icelandic scenery as a standalone video.

I discovered this song now because the Icelandic musician Daði Freyr added his distinctive voice to this remake and I follow him, so this duet with German pop artist Alice Merton popped up. I found Daði with the song Think About Things, which was supposed be in Eurovision but COVID had other plans. It was a viral hit during the COVID lockdown. (pun intended) I still love this fun video.

Daði Freyr (Daði & Gagnamagnið) – Think About Things

Here's the original pop version of No Roots and a much better Orangery Session version.

I think the song lyrics work much better with a more bittersweet sound because her original makes it sound happy that she has no roots. The Iceland version is by far the best. It fits well to my present moment and mood. I actually feel that I have some roots here and there with family in a few different towns, but I also stretch my roots thin as I roam around the world for this job and this life.