Det är så jag säger det

Det är så jag säger det, released on 28 October 2002, is the Swedish pop artist Håkan Hellström's second album. In English, the title would be: "That is how I say it." Musically the album was an evolvement from Hellström's debut and a deepening of his widespread influences containing among others Brazilian samba music and Swedish folk ballad singers Evert Taube and Cornelis Vreeswijk. The music is also reminiscent of genuinly British soul artists such as Dexys Midnight Runners (more or less explicitly references in "Kom igen Lena!" (Come On Lena!)) and The Redskins. The track Minnen Av Aprilhimlen incorporates the chorale melody of the Bach cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147. Lyrically Hellström once again draws inspiration from Bob Dylan, Paul Weller and other acknowledged lyricists. Minnen Av Aprilhimlen (Memories of the April Sky) is possibly a vague reference to Hellström's great favourites Jesus and Mary Chain's April Skies and also contains a direct quote from Pavement song Gold Soundz. On the title track, Hellström sings "Vänder om / hon bara ler / allén är inte så dålig ändå" ("Turning around / she just smiles / the alley isn't all that bad after all"), possibly a tribute to the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John: "turning back / she just laughs / the boulevard is not that bad". Hellström's style of borrowing is also apparent in the cover design, which bears a slight stylistic resemblance to Bob Dylan's 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin'.