Only a few days before the shooting in Örebro, artist Simon Superti released the single "Bullerbyn is dead". For many, it put words to the sorrow and shock of the brutal act – the song spread quickly on the internet and reached number one on Spotify's Sweden list.
Simon Superti wrote the song a year ago, but its message about a lost idyll resembles Queen Silvia's words when she visited Örebro after the act: "where did the fine Sweden go". He sees several reasons for the change.
Criminality is part of it, exclusion is part of it. But the old fine Sweden where we take care of each other doesn't really exist in my eyes.
Solidarity
The song's message has now gained new depths, believes Simon Superti. As a producer for hip-hop artists, he has seen acquaintances affected by violence. But the message in lines like "We're dying out here" is a metaphor that he thinks applies to us all.
It's the mothers, the parents, it's people from all sides of the city. We're not doing well out here, I could just as well say.
In the text, he mentions Astrid Lindgren, Olof Palme, and Anna Lindh – people who he thinks were characterized by their solidarity. It's not about party politics, he says, but emphasizes that they were people who stood up for something.
Against a cold Sweden, and for being inclusive.
Simon Superti is proud that people are now gathering around the song. When he was on "Så mycket bättre", Arja Saijonmaa said something that stuck with him: "When politicians can't get along and people are divided, it's the artists' job to bring them together".
He himself finds comfort in culture, but also in his loved ones and in "doing his part every day".
I try to be healthy, be nice to people, do the little everyday things every day. If everyone thought about their neighbor, everyone would be thought of.
Another way
He himself went to Örebro to handle his feelings after the shooting, together with his dad and best friend. They lit a candle and laid down flowers.
It was a very fine atmosphere, but also heavy. We saw families with small children and elderly people with wheelchairs who had made their way out, he says.
In the fall, his album will be released, but he doesn't know exactly how the events surrounding the song will affect him.
The album has taken a different path than if everything was peaceful and joyful. You never know where a song takes you.
Elin Swedenmark/TT
Facts: Simon Superti
TTTT
Born: 1987 in Uppsala
Career: Has been called "the new Cornelis", has been on "Så mycket bättre" and "Allsång på Skansen".
Started his career as a rapper and producer for artists such as ZE, Dani M, and Adel. He was awarded as Producer of the Year at the Grammis gala in 2019.
In 2023, the album "Hemlisar" was released, which was his breakthrough as a solo artist.
