Så lunka vi så småningom

Start of Fredman's Song 21, Så lunka vi så småningom. Marche, 2/4 time, 1791. The song refers to "Bacchus's tumult"; the gravediggers discuss whether the grave is too deep, taking swigs from a bottle of brandy.

Så lunka vi så småningom (So we gradually amble) is one of the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's best-known and best-loved songs, from his 1791 collection, Fredman's Songs, where it is No. 21. The song portrays a pair of gravediggers discussing whether the grave is too deep, while taking swigs from a bottle of brandy.

Context

Carl Michael Bellman is the central figure in Swedish song, known for his 1790 Fredman's Songs and his 1791 Fredman's Epistles. He played the cittern, accompanying himself as he performed his songs at the royal court.[1]

Jean Fredman is a fictional character and the supposed narrator in Bellman's epistles and songs, based on a real watchmaker of Bellman's Stockholm.[2] The epistles paint a picture of the demimonde life of the city during the eighteenth century, where strong drink and beautiful "nymphs" like Ulla Winblad create a rococo picture of life, blending classical allusion and pastoral description with harsh reality.[1][2]

Song

Life is hard and then you die, so why not have a drink? Engraving of Sveaborg's Galley Docks by Bellman's contemporary, Elias Martin, 1782


The song is in 2
4 time and is marked Marche. It has 8 verses, each of 8 lines, with a 4-line chorus repeated after every verse. The rhyming pattern of each verse is the alternating ABAB-CDCD, while the chorus has the pattern EEFF.

The song makes light of death, urging youths to "heed my word, and take the prettiest Nymph who smiles at you under your arm". The chorus runs "Do you think the grave is too deep? Well, take a swig, take another, ditto two, ditto three, so you'll die happier."[3]

Reception

Students of Swedish literature are expected to study Fredman's Songs and Epistles."[4]

The song has been recorded by Fred Åkerström and Sven-Bertil Taube.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Life and Works of Carl Michael Bellman. A Short Biography". The Bellman Society. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Britten Austin, 1967. Chapter 3: Fredman's Epistles, pp 61-93.
  3. ↑ Bellman, 1791.
  4. ↑ "LITTERATURLISTA V15 LV1150 Moment 2: Klassiker ur Sveriges litteratur". Gothenburg University. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Hassler, page 285

Sources

  • Britten Austin, Paul. The Life and Songs of Carl Michael Bellman: Genius of the Swedish Rococo. Allhem, Malmö American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York, 1967. ISBN 978-3-932759-00-0
  • Britten Austin, Paul. Fredman's Epistles and Songs. Stockholm: Proprius, 1990 and 1999.
  • Hassler, Göran; Peter Dahl (illus.) (1989). Bellman – en antologi [Bellman – an anthology]. En bok för alla. ISBN 91-7448-742-6.
  • Kleveland, Åse; Svenolov Ehrén (illus.) (1984). Fredmans epistlar & sånger [The songs and epistles of Fredman]. Stockholm: Informationsförlaget. ISBN 91-7736-059-1. (with facsimiles of sheet music from first editions in 1790, 1791)
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