12. Tödlichebujoku
Olanni Tairellinen - Saarsikka
Title translation: Little Rose
Language(s): English
Lyrics: Hanako Olkkunen, Olanni Tairellinen
Music: Olanni Tairellinen, Youko Sééger
Tune: Samuli Edelmann & Orkestra Suora Lähetys - Käteni
After the relative success of the past two heavily pop/electronic acts, the WHF team at SterGo100 was ready to try something a bit different. After receiving feedback from fans and fans that the broadcaster was courting, a rising performer known for his more traditional take on music was chosen. His advocacy for those of different sexual orientations came as a plus to the broadcaster, which was also looking to promote acceptance and tolerance of such minorities, in order to lower the suicide and depression rate among the nation's youth.
Olanni Tairellinen began as a folk-rock artist in the hinterlands of Keski-Tasangot, Tödlichebujoku. Bubbling under for several years, he unwittingly shot into nationwide fame with a viral performance recorded at a local fair, his down-to-earth demeanor and gravelly voice found him fans far beyond his original audience. Buoyed by his newfound fame, Olanni found himself collaborating with various well-known artists and producers, breaking into the mainstream market with hits such as "Yotain Parempaa" and "Veri ya Vesi". Soon he was touring the world, making stops in Popolijas, Liberuja, Nēvetajas, Seregata, Felkelőnapolos, and Solongijas. No longer limited to Taploukku, Lagoa, and Grellenbyooša-ga, his new fame was absolutely dizzying. And Olanni, borne from the fields and ranches of central Tödlichebujoku, soon found himself at the intersection of ideologies. On one hand there was the conservative sect of Maailmaalinen that he had grown up with- and on the other, the growing acceptance of open heterosexuality even in his conservative town of Abstoszenderakušuu. For most of his life, Olanni had never truly considered the implications of his community's view of sexuality. But the sudden expanding of his horizons had exposed to far more than he had ever thought possible. Fan message after fan message, confessions, life stories, expressions of extreme gratitude for his music, flashed before his eyes and ingrained themselves into his mind. So many fans that found a deep conflict between their religious beliefs and their realization of their true identity were hanging on by their fingernails, holding on only for Olanni's music. Shocked, and coming to terms with his expressions of bisexuality, he found a cause to uplift and promote. But still the suicides continued, with his home province of Keski-Tasangot leading the nation in losses of teenage lives in the midst of the provincial Maailmallinen council cracking down harder on the interpretation of sacred marriage. Countless men and women were tearing themselves apart over the idea of themselves as mere animals, subhumans that were not worthy of the gods and of interactions with others, an unintended side effect of the widely held belief that the covenant of homosexual relationship was a primary attribute that elevated humans above wild animals. And too many of these men and women came to the conclusion that the only way for them to escape this subhuman existence was to end themselves, and end their suffering and the jeers.
Understandably, Olanni was shocked at the epidemic prevalence of self-harm and suicide in the world of his upbringing. Too many promising lives were being snuffed out due to a bigoted understanding of sexuality and the human relationship to the world, and he knew something had to be done. Wracked with convulsions of grief after a particularly heartfelt meeting with the parents of a deceased teenager, and even more deeply at the sudden death of his close friend Hiroši Toivonen who had grown weary of living a lie but was unable to reconcile his faith, Olanni drifted into a writing fugue state, energized and determined to play his part as an ally and advocate for his beleaguered and downtrodden set of friends and fellow citizens. With his husband Viiri, Olanni wrote a song, to be performed throughout the countryside of Tödlichebujoku as an anthem of support and faith for those openly heterosexual and transgender struggling with their identity and place in the world. When SterGo100 caught wind off his endeavor and offered its full support and the backing of the Grand Rotlichtčiku Orchestra, Olanni simply could not turn down the offer to truly bring his message to the widest audience possible, and save as many lives and families as he could. it was a work of love, of passion, of empathy, and now it is here in Anollasia for WHF44.
The stage glimmers with specks of blue that disappear. The orchestra arcs along the back of the stage, softly underlit. Spotlights illuminate the violinists as they begin the song, then fade as Olanni begins. Clad in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, he stands front and center, but is only illuminated when he begins to sing, dancing a bit along with the song. An animation of blossoming roses amidst snow and rain plays on the background screen
My saarsikka, don't you fade away like snowmelt, but stand strong through the storms and heat waves
Spread your branches, blossom strong in the love that you've been given, the soil's deep and living, vibrant
The roses in the animation are buffeted by a blizzard as wind and faux snow drift down upon Olanni. He clasps his heart, clutches at the microphone stand, stares daringly at the camera.
Wicked winds and stubborn snows will test your heart but I do know, your roots draw deep and ever wider
Reach for heaven with bounty and determination, seed the world with fruits of kindness
As he continues on to the next stanza, his voice grows gravelly and breaks up a bit as his thoughts turn to Hiroši. He bites at his lip as he chokes up and wipes a tear away, but manages to keep it together. Imagery of scarred and damaged leaves and stems, some singed by fire and others lacerated, fall continuously on the background screen.
Death and pain might sap your soul but scabs and scars make you strong, I know that you'll never give up, no oh no
The sun will burn like fire, and the frost will bite like knives, but you will stand and rise tall
Now more composed, he is joined by a number of male choral singers from his childhood temple, dressed in shimmering, flowing robes.
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
Two pairs of dancers in traditional robes and tunics take the stage. One pair consists of two women; the other of a man and a woman. Olanni sways and claps in time with his backing singers, and the audience begins to join in. Behind, the screen erupts into a blossoming collage of iridescent, rainbow colored roses.
With renewed vigor, Olanni swoops in to grab the microphone stand and sing into the mic, and animations of drooping roses righting themselves to face the sun are seen on the background.
My saarsikka, no matter who you might be, you've been meant to grow and prosper
You can nod and you can weep, but soon the sun will warm you, let you raise your head in glory
Feeling nigh unstoppable he has detached the microphone from its stand and is right up at the edge of the stage, where some of his superfans are reaching up to him. An animation of a single rose bush, with dying leaves plays, but it is a cutaway that shows the vibrance and life within the stem and roots, pulsing in promise of a better season.
When times are harsh you'll lose your leaves, but power still lurks deep within, to bloom another sunrise
The light, it calls, with warmth and loving kindness, climb and claim your true potential
The stage is suffused in a golden glow as the animation is replaced by cycles of dry land and floodwaters, but with trees and shrubs persisting and bursting into flower in between. Olanni paces along the length of the stage edge, glowing with a grin of hope and faith.
Drought and flood they come and go, the world is ever changing and I know that you'll adapt now, now oh now you will
Be a splash of vibrant health in this garden of the gods, and they will see you flourish
The entire male choir from his hometown temple has joined him on stage, and they sway while clapping and singing. On the background screen, a sweeping view of a majestic garden, perhaps one of Paradise, of roses and a number of other stunning flowers gives way to iridescent rosebuds continually erupt into shimmering rainbow blossoms.
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
La la la lai la la la la la la la lai lai
A curtain of rainbow pyros drifts down behind the stage as the choir splits into three rotating groups, Olanni at the head of one of them. Four couples now dance on stage, with two trans couples joining the previous two. The orchestra is underlit by a shimmering rainbow light, and the audience is clapping and swaying along.
"Kiitos, kiitos kaikille, kiitos Anollasia!" shouts Olanni, tears streaming down his face in joy, before bowing with the rest of the performers and exiting as a bouncing, giddy group.