Guld och gröna skogar & Tanabata Matsuri side-by-side comparison

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So here's my contribution to the whole "Guld och gröna skogar" vs. "Tanabata Matsuri" Melodifestivalen 2015 plagiarism scandal.

I removed as much of the instrumentals as I could from "Tanabata Matsuri" (not much since I don't have lossless versions of either the karaoke track or the original mix) using Utagoe and then cut and pasted the results together with "Guld och gröna skogar" as best I could.

I've cut and pasted together the studio versions of both songs. There's a slightly major difference in the beginning of both versions, with Hassse's version having an intro from the refrain while Tegomass' version has an extra verse. After that, the two versions mostly synch up. No alterations have been made to the songs' pitches or tempos. Most of the video uses Hasse Andersson's vocal and instrumentals with Tegomass' vocals (with what remains of their instrumentals after I've stripped them out using Utagoe) on top of them. There are two parts, the extra verse in the beginning and the beginning of the bridge towards the end, where there are only vocals in Tegomass' version where I've used Tegomass' studio version (vocals and instrumentals) alone.

As you can hear, the results are damning. Basicallg 95% of the choruses are identical. They're both in the same key, the instrumentation is near identical and even the verses are pretty similar. Even the bridge before the very last refrain is identical if you compare the first two lines of Tegomass' (extended) bridge with Hasse Andersson's bridge. The vast majority of Hasse Andersson's song is plagiarized from "Tanabata Matsuri". In fact, more of "Guld och gröna skogar" is plagiarized from "Tanabata Matsuri" than what the writers of "Blurred Lines" "borrowed" from "Got to Give It Up" and that case resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment in favour of "Got to Give It Up"! I'm saying Johnny & Associates should sue!

What I've provided with my video is something new, however, the lyrics of both songs (translated from Swedish by me and from Japanese by other people on lyrics sites. I've taken a few liberties with the translation from Swedish to prevent the translated English from sounding too stilted (though nothing can make "The land of the willow lanes" sound good) and I've also taken a bit of liberty with the Japanese-to-English translation for the same reasons. The inherent meaning is kept the same, though). If you find some of the Japanese lyrics weird (such the part about light blue paper and wishes), it's because those parts require knowledge about how festivals in Japan work. It's not a wonky translation, it's just cultural differences.

As you can see, even the lyrics are pretty darn similar. Both feature the singer(s) reminiscing about a time gone by when they experienced things and made promises (or wishes) with a loved one. While Hasse Andersson ends the song by asking for the summer, gold and green forests of his youthful past, Tagomass ask their old lover to join them in taking a walk down memory lane, which is basically the same thing. Both songs also talk about summer (the Star Festival (Tanabata Matsuri) is held in early August).

Let's take a look at the song line-by-line (as in the lyrics of each version when placed side-by-side, not plucked out of context):
"Lingering sun" / "Bamboo displays" = Talking about the scenery
"Reminiscing about the past" / "Reminiscing about the past" = Both versions talk about reminiscing about the past at the same time, Hasse by doing so directly while Tagomass do this by referring to how nothing has changed and a nostalgic view the listener should remember
"There WAS [lots of things]" / "I remember walking with you" = Both versions sing about what the singer(s) used to do with their past lover in a fond manner
"Under the oak by the stream" / "We walked by the path of croaking frogs" = Both songs speak of a small source of water where the singer(s) once took their lover (presumably on a date), where Hasse made a promise and where Tagomass plucked some bamboo

Not to mention the general subject of the lyrics. Both versions speak of a time gone by, a summer (or summer event) where the singer(s) took their lover on a date to a small source of water where promises and experiences were shared, a time they wish to go back to.

IT'S THE SAME DAMN SONG! And if Christer Björkman wasn't such a primadonna more worried about saving face than following the actual rules, this song would've been disqualified long ago.

To listen to each song separately, click on the links below:
http://bit.ly/1MzVTA0 ("Tanabata Matsuri")
http://bit.ly/1Bgbn5P ("Guld och gröna skogar" (Studio Version))