At almost any dance in Finland you can see how the floor is empty while the band is playing its opening numbers. Then the first tango sounds, and the dance floor is crowded. Y et this is only a partial explanation. It is the lyrics which are the key to the continuing success of the genre. The central themes of Finnish tango lyrics are love, sorrow, nature and the countryside.
Many tangos express a longing for the old homestead, or a distant land of happiness.
Autumn rains and dark evenings are symbols of crushed hopes. M any critics see Satumaa as a prototype of the Finnish tango. I t can be understood simply as a song of unreqruited love, but it could also be a song about man's longing for a paradise lost. When this is combined with the solemn, hymnlike melody, it explains why a prominent liberal theologian has recently suggested that Satumaa should be included in the official psalm book of the Finnish Lutheran church. In Finland, the tango is not taken lightly.