Intro to two Swedish National Treasures of poetry - and their works as influences on my songwriting

I'm known for having a poetic touch to my lyrics.  In this blog post I am going describe how it began - by reading and listening to the works of two national treasures of Sweden. It influenced my songwriting.


My mom and dad - but most and foremost my dad - had a deep connection with reading poetry and the appreciation thereof, most notably of the pieces by the skald Evert Taube and the poet Dan Andersson.  In my parents' library, dad had a book with the complete Evert Taube collection and one with the Best of Dan Andersson.  Andersson died in his sleep at a very young age (32) at a hotel in Stockholm, but he had already left a considerable legacy with his melancholy descriptions of life, living, people and knowing there was a Divine power.


The theme both poets had in common was their love for nature, but as Dan Andersson lived and worked in the heart of Sweden, his closeness to the land expressed itself in the fields and forests in his works, while Evert Taube's passion was the sea, the archipelago and sailing, since he lived on the west coast of the country.


Dan Andersson's poetry has had many a singer and songwriter putting melody to his words. A member of ABBA (Bjorn), was part of a band before the ABBA days that recorded and released a Dan Andersson song:









Here's a translation of  the first, then the last two verses of "Omkring Tiggarn från Luossa" by Dan Andersson, (courtesy of Ola Wikander):

Round the beggar from Luossa people gathered in a ring,
by the campfire they sat and heard his song.
And of wayfarers and mendicants and every wondrous thing
and of his longing he sang to them all night long.

May the black and salty waters cool the cheeks that burn with fever,
let’s be miles away from life before the morning breaks above!
Not of this world was I, brother; hardships without end I suffered
for the sake of worries, faithlessness and of my burning love.

By a shore all dressed in seashells stands a gate of roses heavy,
therein sleep the mouldered shipwrecks, and the tired men find rest.
Songs unheard and high there sing like violins in distant echoes
under arches where eternal children live forever blessed. 
It was my dad's favorite and he asked me to sing it for everyone that came to our house.



I tried to find a good youtube video of one of Evert Taube's songs in English, but I couldn't find one :(

But, one of the songs that my class and I were singing at all summer graduation performances (yes, our school had a show each spring before school let out), was "Änglamarken", which translated into English would be "The Earth of the Angels", saying this earth and this life needs nature and its wonders for to have a place for children to play.

Here is Evert Taube singing himself in a ballad he wrote about a sailor:









When thinking about it, I do believe my song "When I'm Watching Butterflies" has drawn inspiration from both poets .... I did not think about it while writing it though.








Comments welcome!

Have a pleasant day,.

Kriz Rogers