Rida, rida ranka
Rida, rida ranka
Rider, Rider, Rocker
Children's Song
Children's Song
(Swedish)
(English)
Rida, rida ranka,
hästen heter Blanka.
Liten riddare så rar
ännu inga sporrar har.
När han dem har vunnit,
barndomsro försvunnit.
Rida, rida ranka,
hästen heter Blanka.
Liten pilt med ögon blå,
kungakronor skall du få.
När du dem har vunnit,
ungdomsro försvunnit.
Rida, rida ranka,
hästen heter Blanka.
Andra famntag än av mor
fröjda dig, när du blir stor.
När du dem har vunnit,
mandomsro försvunnit.
Så sjöng hon för sin älskling
om livets äventyr
och log emellan tårar,
fru Blanka av Namur.
Och när kung Håkan vunnit
båd sporrar, land och brud,
nog mindes han med vemod
den barndomssångens ljud.
Rider, rider, rocker*,
Horse is named Queen Blanka**.
Oh, little knight, sweet and dear,
Riding spurs, still to appear.
When you've won them at last
Childhood's peace shall be past.
Rider, rider, rocker,
Horse is named Queen Blanka.
Small lad with shining, blue eyes,
Royal crown shall be your prize.
When you've won it at last,
Peace of youth shall be past.
Rider, rider, rocker,
Horse is named Queen Blanka.
Once grown, not hugs of mother's
Bring you joy, but another's.
When you've won them at last
Manhood's peace shall be past.
She sang for her small dear,
Of life's great adventure,
And smiled, with a tear,
Lady Blanka of Namur.
And when King Hakan had achieved
Spurs, kingdom and bride, so sweet,
He remembered sadly,
Childhood's melody.
Notes
Swedish version of Rida, rida, ranka by Hans Henrik Hallbäck (1838-1885), freely after Zacharias Topelius (1818-1898).
Comments
*Rida, rida ranka literally translates as Ride, ride a rocking horse (or cockhorse) - it also means to sit and ride on someone's lap, like a child would do. We translated it as "Rider, rider, rocker" to keep the rhythm and sound of "Rida, rida ranka". Many people leave it as "Rida, rida ranka" in the English translation.
**In the Norwegian version it's literally "Horse is named Blanka". We added "Queen" to the translation since the "Blanka" being referred to is the historical Queen Blanka. It is she who is rocking her son, the infant King Hakan, on her knee, as if he were riding a saw horse.
The people to whom the song was originally sung would have known it was referring to the Queen, but today's wider audience probably would not. The fact that it is Queen Blanca is very significant to the meaning of the song and we didn't want to lose that meaning.
*****
Feel free to read or join the discussion going on about Rida Rida Ranka and its variations in different languages (including Danish and Norwegian) on Mama Lisa's World Blog.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Kimerly Zoller for contributing this song. Translation by Mama Lisa and Jason Pomerantz.
The painting is by Albert Edlefelt (1877).
Tack så mycket!
