Luiden päällä vihaa by Maustetytöt - English lyrics translation

Hate on the bones

Finnish lyrics Transcribed by AI (Transcribe.com). Much thanks lilli m for corrections, including two with significant meaning shifts and several additional spelling errors.	English lyrics Translated by AI (Transcribe.com, Google Translate) with a lot of (non-Finnish-speaking) human second-guessing and research. Thanks lilli m for corrections, including to who is beating yesterday, heavyweight line, and ordering of some lines.
Katson aamulla peiliin. Koitan hymyillä, vaikka näky ei mieltä lämmitä. Jätän aamupalan välistä niin kuin joka aamu. Juon vain vettä ja etsin pyykkikorista kuin ihmeen kaupalla puhtaita vaatteita, joiden sisään voisin kadota. Lasken askelet matkalla.	I look in the mirror in the morning. I try to smile, even though the sight doesn't warm my heart. I skip breakfast, like every morning. I just drink water and search the laundry basket Hoping by some miracle to find clean clothes, that I could disappear into. I count my steps along the way.
Jos asioita täytyy punnita, niin mikä painaa minun vaa'assa. Mun pahin vihollinen peilissä. Taas koittaa voittaa eilistä. On luiden päällä jäljellä vain vihaa.	If things must be weighed, then what carries weight on my scale? My worst enemy in the mirror is trying to beat yesterday again. On my bones remains only hate.
Lähikaupasta saatan ostaa omenan, kun toiset tytöt syö koulussa lounasta. Piilottelen yksin vessassa, kun en jaksa selittääkään. Otan kympin taas äidinkielen kokeesta niin kuin kaikista muistakin aineista. Illalla kymppi pururadalla ei tunnu missään.	I might buy an apple from the corner store while the other girls eat lunch at school. I hide alone in the restroom because I don't even have the energy to explain. I get another A on my Finnish exam, just like in all my other subjects. In the evening, a 10k on the jogging trail feels like nothing.
Jos asioita täytyy punnita, niin mikä painaa minun vaa'assa. Mun pahin vihollinen peilissä. Taas koittaa voittaa eilistä. On luiden päällä jäljellä vain vihaa.	If things must be weighed, then what carries weight on my scale? My worst enemy in the mirror is trying to beat yesterday again. On my bones remains only hate.
Vielä ennen petiin menoa viisisataa vatsalihasta. Äiti ihmettelee saunassa mustelmia selkärangassa.	Before going to bed five hundred more sit-ups. Mom wonders in the sauna about the bruises on my spine
Jos asioita täytyy punnita, niin mikä painaa minun vaa'assa. Mun pahin vihollinen peilissä. Taas koittaa voittaa eilistä. On luiden päällä jäljellä vain...	If things must be weighed, then what carries weight on my scale? My worst enemy in the mirror is trying to beat yesterday again. On my bones remains only...
Jos asioita täytyy punnita, niin mikä painaa minun vaa'assa. Mun pahin vihollinen peilissä. Taas koittaa voittaa eilistä. On luiden päällä jäljellä vain vihaa.	If things must be weighed, then what carries weight on my scale? My worst enemy in the mirror is trying to beat yesterday again. On my bones remains only hate.
On luiden päällä jäljellä vain viha. Vain viha.	Only hate remains upon my bones. Only hate.
Katson aamulla hiuksiani harjassa. Painin höyhenten raskaassa sarjassa. Ehkä sitten vihdoin riittäisin, jos mä nälkään kuolisin.	In the morning, I look at my hair in the brush. I wrestle in the heavyweight division of feathers. Maybe I’d finally be enough, if I starved to death.

Notes

Context

Maustetyttö Kaisa Karjalainen said of this song, in Helsingin Sanomat, January 30, 2026,

There's a lot about it that I can relate to. Like perfectionism and neuroticism. Those are traits that I've recognized in myself since I was probably 15. When nothing but perfect performance is enough for you, it starts to become impossible.

(Translated.)

Title

Play on words detected by lilli m: The title "Luiden päällä vihaa," literally "on the bones hate," is a variation on the common idiom, "luiden päällä lihaa," or "on the bones meat," as in English we'd say "meat on one's bones." Lihaa can also be translated as "flesh."

"When somebody is too skinny," says lilli m, "we can say 'tarvitset lihaa luiden päälle', you need flesh on your bones."

Instrument question

Does anyone know the name of the instrument (a type of organ perhaps?) that first appears about 16 seconds into the song, and sounds almost like a human singer? "Oooo-WAH, oooo-WAH, oooo-WAH." Email me if you know!

"A on my Finnish exam"

This is 10 on the Finnish grading scale, making a parallel with the 10k run later in the verse.

"the jogging trail"

A sawdust-covered running trail, typically in a forest or park, known as a "pururata," here inflected as "pururadalla."

"is trying to beat yesterday again"

Literal meaning is closer to "is dawning to beat yesterday again" as "koittaa," to dawn, is used rather than "koettaa," to try, but the meaning is clearly the latter. A common substitution in Maustetytöt lyrics; "koettaa" is difficult to rhyme. Thank you lilli m for decoding and explaining this.

Corrections

Corrections or other notes welcomed at ryantate@ryantate.com!

Ryan Tate