Notes

Leif Stensson of Project Runeberg wrote, "After the second and fourth line, a nonsense 'hejom, fejom, falli-ralli-ra'!' is sung. The two first words happen to have meanings - old-fashion plural-imperatives for 'let us cheer' and 'let us polish' - but that makes little sense in the context.

Note: Kattegatt is the name of the waters that connect the Baltic Sea with the Atlantic (or, to be picky, the North Sea, which lies between them). This was the only practical route out of the Baltic Sea.

People who know Swedish may wonder why so few of the verses rhyme. The reason is, at least in part, that the song is old, and the pronunciation and spelling of many words have changed since then."

Listen

Sheet Music

Sheet Music - Bonden Och Kråkan

Thanks and Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Leif Stensson of Project Runeberg for contributing and translating this song and also for providing such interesting commentary.

Project Runeberg is an open, voluntary project whose purpose is to make classic Nordic literature and art available in electronic form to the public, free of charge.

Thanks to Monique Palomares for the midi music.

Tack så mycket!