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[personal profile] conuly
Um... let's see...

Okay. Last year, at Swedish Midsummer, we did the silly sorts of songs where you go around and make hand motions, and I remembered the tunes of almost all of them except the one I *wanted* to remember. That's the one that you acted out various parts (man, woman, crying, laughing, I don't know) and spun in a circle clapping.

Middle of the year, I find a nursery rhyme/game that seems almost the same. In English. I mean, it has the acting and spinning and clapping and all. Weird, yeah?

This year, Ana declared it her favorite. So I ask one of the two Swedish au pairs at the toddler programs we go to about it, and after some talking she remembers the name of it. She knew the song, of course, but not the name. (The two au pairs come together, speak Swedish to the three 20-month-blondes they bring with them, and are largely assumed to be a couple with triplets. But no, it's twins and another one and they just know each other, which is probably better than triplets.)

So she wrote down the name, which turns out to be "Räven raskar över isen", which doesn't appear to have *anything* to do with what we were doing, but whatever. After some patient googling, I find a site with the music written up and a midi - which is currently down, but again, whatever.

And a teeny bit of browsing the site gets me one with lyrics like this:

En elefant balanserade, på en liten liten spindel-tråå-ååd
Det tyckte den var så intressant, så den gick och hämtade en annan elefant

Två elefanter balanserade, på en liten liten spindel-tråå-ååd
Det tyckte de var så intressant, så de gick och hämtade en annan elefant

Tre elefanter balanserade, på en liten liten spindel-tråå-ååd
Det tyckte de var så intressant, så de gick och hämtade en annan elefant


Now, I don't speak a word of Swedish, of course... but guessing that "elefant" means "elephant" and "en, två, tre" means "one, two, three", and spindel-whatever might just mean "spider"...

Then I think we have that exact same song in English.

Which made me laugh, because we sing that same song in Spanish every Wednesday! Well, they sing, I kinda hum along and bounce Evangeline, because I haven't read the words and only know what they mean, not how to sing them.

Date: 2007-06-29 05:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
That's not the lyrics for Räven raskar över isen though. Räven raskar över isen means The fox is rushing over the ice and the lyrics are:

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?
Så här gör flickorna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?

That is part of the lyrics. Then it goes on and on but instead of flickornas it says gossarnas, or skomakaren (shoemaker) and things like that.
It's a christmas song.
Here's a link to a few christmas songs in Swedish: http://www.angelfire.com/ia2/ilina/julsanger.html

----
The song you have the lyrics to does correspond with the lyrics in the link. it is the same song.

Date: 2007-06-29 01:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
The first verse of which?
The verse for Räven raskar över isen is:
The fox is rushing over the ice
The fox is rushing over the ice
May I, may I
Sing the verse of the girls?
This is what the girls do when they go
where they sit and where they stand.
So may I, may I
Sing the verse of the girls?


And the elephant song, well, it's the lyrics you havew there

Date: 2007-06-30 05:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
Glad I could help :D
(and sorry for sounding a bit like a bitca in my last reply)

Date: 2007-07-01 06:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
Good for me :D

Date: 2007-06-29 05:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
That's not the lyrics for Räven raskar över isen though. Räven raskar över isen means The fox is rushing over the ice and the lyrics are:

Räven raskar över isen,
räven raskar över isen.
Får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?
Så här gör flickorna var de går,
och var de sitter och var de står.
Så får vi lov, ja får vi lov
att sjunga flickornas visa?

That is part of the lyrics. Then it goes on and on but instead of flickornas it says gossarnas, or skomakaren (shoemaker) and things like that.
It's a christmas song.
Here's a link to a few christmas songs in Swedish: http://www.angelfire.com/ia2/ilina/julsanger.html

----
The song you have the lyrics to does correspond with the lyrics in the link. it is the same song.

Date: 2007-06-29 01:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
The first verse of which?
The verse for Räven raskar över isen is:
The fox is rushing over the ice
The fox is rushing over the ice
May I, may I
Sing the verse of the girls?
This is what the girls do when they go
where they sit and where they stand.
So may I, may I
Sing the verse of the girls?


And the elephant song, well, it's the lyrics you havew there

Date: 2007-06-30 05:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
Glad I could help :D
(and sorry for sounding a bit like a bitca in my last reply)

Date: 2007-07-01 06:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freyde.livejournal.com
Good for me :D

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