Bonden Och Kråkan
Bonden Och Kråkan
The Farmer and the Crow
Children's Song
Children's Song
(Swedish)
(English)
Och bonden han körde
till furuskog.
Där såg han en kråka
som satt och gol,
Och bonden han vände
då om igen.
"Ajaj!, mor, den kråkan
hon biter mig!"
Men gumman hon satt
vid sin spinnrock och spann.
"När såg du en kråka
väl bita en man?"
Och gubben han spände
sin båge för knä't;
så sköt han den kråkan
i högsta trä't!
Och kråkan den förde han
hem i sitt hus.
Av talgen så stöpte
de tolv pund ljus.
Och köttet de saltade
neder i kar,
förutom en surstek
som gömdes åt far.
Av skinnet så sydde de
arton par skor.
Förutom de tofflor de
gjorde åt mor.
Av dunen de stoppade
dynorna sju,
och kuddar dessutom
ett hundra och tu.
Av vingarna gjorde de
solafjä'r
som flickorna nyttja
i vackert vä'r.
Av näbben de reste
en kyrkspira upp,
och huvudet blev
till en kyrketornstupp.
Av skrovet de gjorde
ett gångande skepp,
det största som nånsin
på Kattegatt gick.
A farmer drove
To a fir forest,
Where he saw a crow
Which sat, cawing.
And the farmer then
Turned back home.
"Ow! Ow! Ma'am, that crow
Will peck at me!"
His wife was by
Her spinning-wheel, spinning.
"Whenever did you see a crow
Peck at a man?"
And the farmer laid
An arrow on his bow,
And shot the crow
In the highest tree.
And he brought the crow
Home to his house.
From the tallow they made
Twelve pounds of candles.
And the meat they salted
And stored in vats,
Except for a sour-steak
They saved for grandpa.
From its coat they made
Eighteen pairs of shoes.
And a pair of slippers
They made for grandma.
With the down they stuffed
Seven mattresses,
And also pillows:
One hundred and two.
From the wings they made
Feathered fans,
Which the daughters used
In nice weather.
The beak they raised
To make a church tower,
And the head became
The pinnacle's ornament.
From the body they made
A travelling ship,
The largest to ever
Sail the Kattegatt.
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."
Sheet Music
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!