Slagger Lund opened his public relations message concerning his new single, ‘Whiskas in the Jar (til en ven)’ [translation: ‘for a friend] with the observation that “it might be one of the most ‘classic’ songs I’ve written, in its form, the composition and in the lyrical theme as well. All irony is out of this song, except in the title.” I assume that is a reference to Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whisky in the Jar.”
He adds, “…a moody song. A song about friendship and missing. I imagine the loneliness in a desert. But I want the listeners to feel their own way, getting their own pictures. It is written for a special friend of mine, but it’s meant for friendship in general.”
Slagger is right about the composition musically, as I hear it. There’s more of a rock vibe to it than his usual chatty, almost rambling folk persona, especially in a brief but powerful guitar solo bridge.
Lyrically, the English translation from the original Danish is a bit on the vague side and the best guess I can make comes from the opening verse, which to me suggests a brief but glue-like friendship that emerged possibly from a drinking relationship but is now separated in space and time:
“You don’t call from the moon/you wake me by not calling
a high is the wild cats in your gaze/a low, your mouth like a litter box”
There’s a fair amount of suggestion in those lyrics. The moon could be a metaphor for something. Relocation, far away? Serving in the armed forces? Incarceration in prison?
Who knows? Slagger’s mind works in impenetrable ways. You often feel like, with or without irony, he’s luring you into a parallel universe where nothing is as it seems.
Slagger is joined here by Mads Mouritz (Gjellerod) and the accompanying video, which I’ll post here as soon as it is officially available, does feature him, I do believe. He has the air of an apprentice Slagger.
Continues after the Spotify link
‘Whiskas in the Jar’ is the latest single for the next Slagger Lund studio album, ‘Noias Ark’ (these puns are getting more absurd than those of Carter USM), which will be released on September 24th, 2026, on vinyl, CD and streaming platforms.
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