my dog Tabo

♪ Mans suns ir letiņš (My Dog Is Latvian)

Jöran Steinhauer
(Jöran Steinhauer/Jöran Steinhauer)

Mans suns ir letiņš
viņš latvietis kā tu
jo viņš prot dziedāt
un apēst šašliku

Mans suns ir letiņš
un Tabo viņu sauc
T.A.B.O. – mans draugs

1.
Tik zinkarīgs un tomēr bailīgs tāds
nu pirmo reizi savā mājiņā
Lielpilsētā viņam sākās krīze
Bet tagad tā ir smāržu paradīze

Patversme bij’ veiksmes pietura
Kad tā viņu no murga izglāba
pusmūžu sasiets laukos ķēdē – bet viņš
ir tomēr cīnītājs – nu, ko – īstais letiņš.

Mans suns ir letiņš
viņš latvietis kā tu
jo viņš prot dziedāt
un apēst šašliku

Mans suns ir letiņš
un Tabo viņu sauc
T.A.B.O. – mans draugs

2.
Starp svešiniekiem noņēm spiedienu
un rada man miera sajūtu
Varbūt ka viņam piemīt super spejas?
Vairs nezinu kurš kuru adoptēja

Kad vaļā taisu ledusskapīti
Jūtu, es arī esmu viņam vajadzīgs
Jo iekšā vācu desa – baigi dārgā
Neviens man to nenozags – jo Tabo sārgā

Mans suns ir letiņš
viņš latvietis kā tu
jo viņš prot dziedāt
un apēst šašliku

Mans suns ir letiņš
un Tabo viņu sauc
T.A.B.O. – mans draugs

3.
Viņs latvietis, man šaubu nav nekādu
priekš vācu aitas suņa viņš par mazu
afgāņu kurtam spalvas garākās
šveicietim ir brendijs muciņā

Kad lepni pozē skotu terijērs
Tad Tabo drīzāk kautrīgs, introvērts
bet ja tu viņa sirdī trāpīji
tad Latvietim tur paliec mūžīgi

Mans suns ir letiņš
viņš latvietis kā tu
jo viņš prot dziedāt
un apēst šašliku

Mans suns ir letiņš
un Tabo viņu sauc
T.A.B.O.

Mein Hund ist Lette
Man sieht es ihm nicht an
Obwohl er singen
Und Schaschlik essen kann

Mein Hund ist Lette
er wiegt knapp 13 Pfund
Und er heißt Tabo
T.A.B.O.
Und ist ein cooler Hund




ENG

My dog is latvian

My dog is latvian
he is latvian like you
because he knows how to sing
and eat shashlik

My dog is latvian
And his name is Tabo
T.A.B.O. – my friend

1.
So curious, but still cautious
For the first time in his own home
The big city caused him stress
But now it’s a paradise of scents

The dog shelter was a lucky stopover
When this saved him from the nightmare
Half his life being chained in the countryside,
but he’s a fighter – a real latvian

2.
Among the strangers, he takes off pressure
and creates a calm feeling inside of me
Maybe he’s got super powers?
I no longer know who adopted whom

When I open the refrigerator
I feel he needs me, too
Because there’s a German sausage inside – terribly expensive
No one would steal it from me – because Tabo protects it

3.
He is Latvian, I have no doubt about it
for a German shepherd he is much too small
afghan hounds have much longer fur
the swiss (Saint Bernard) has brandy in his barrel

As a Scottish Terrier would strike a pose
Tabo’s rather shy, introverted
but if you once stroke the heart of a Latvian
You stay forever within




About the song

“As i didn’t grow up with any pets – Tabo is my first experience in this field. As it is stated in the lyrics, he spent many years outside, tied to a shed, on a metre long chain. Basically, he was a watchdog – a watchdog the size of a dachshund! So here we have a traumatized little creature, never being loved or cared for, never even learned how to play in his life. After picking him up from the animal shelter, it took some time to build trust between us. Soon enough though, we became best friends, and his fear turned into curiosity. Now the similarities in Tabo’s behaviour between him and his fellow country(wo)men – to me – are plain to see. After being occupied for the majority of their past, Latvians are finally free as a nation. Free to have their own country, their own home.” – Jöran Steinhauer