Doug wrote:
Mama Lisa,
I am in USA but our family still sings a song called hun ska leve. This is a traditional Danish song.
Does anyone know where to get lyrics and music for this traditional song? Please let me know.
Thanks,
Doug Hansen
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
-Lisa
This article was posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2007 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Danish, Danish Children's Songs, Denmark, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
22 Responses to “Can Anyone Help with the Danish Song “Hun ska leve”?”
Leave a Reply
June 24th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Hi Doug,
I am American and I live in Denmark. I asked my Danish husband and he recommended Googling it. Here is a link and the text I found: http://m-r-a.dk/index.php?S=43
Hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve, højt hurra.
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra.
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra.
Hun skal leve (ja, hun ska’),
hun skal leve (ja, hun ska’),
Hun skal leve så hurraaaaaa.
lenge leve, HURRA, HURRA, HURRA!!
Hope this helps!
Kathleen
Copenhagen, Denmark
June 24th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Thanks for writing Kathleen!
Is this the version you’re looking for Doug?
Can anyone help with an English translation, tune or if anyone knows where Doug can find the sheet music, that’d be great!
Thanks!
-Lisa
October 26th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I’m Danish and have lived and stayed in wonderful San Diego CA from 1998 – 2006. Now being back home in Denmark I stumbled on your question searching for Danish children songs… I’ll try to translate the song as well and precisely as I can. It is a song you sing, when you celebrate someones birthday, or graduation, or wedding, or any other accomplishment the person has to celebrate at a party … usually it is sung when the party goers have been eating and drinking to the point, where happiness, relaxed, and humorous feelings kick in (alcohol has a pretty big part of that ). “Hun” means she, and you replace “hun” with “han” (he), where appropriate. It is a commanding sentence. Like you order a dog to “Sit” This is why I have left out he or she in my translation. But you can add: May you live for long… if you wish… The letters under the text are the music notes….
Live for long!
F F F C
Live for long!
A A A F
Live for long!
C C C C
Big hooray.
A# E F
Hooray, hooray, this was a good Cheers.
C A C A C D C A# A A#
Hooray, hooray, this was a good Cheers.
A# G A# G A# C A# A G A
Live for long!
F F F C
Live for long!
A A A F
Live for long!
C C C C
Big hooray!
A# E F
Hope this helped.
Best wishes
Charlotte
October 27th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Thanks Charlotte
Could you please tell us the length of these notes so that we can make a midi. The Chinese way http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jianpu would be the best way to write it down.
October 27th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I found this site -with more lyrics and midi music
October 28th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Monique
… I never received musical tutoring, and am self-taught….. don’t know notes…. just know what the note is called on the piano…. sorry
But the second site is exactly the very song in question. My pc won’t play the midi… hope it works on yours
the song is 4/4 tact…. and the letters under the text can be used when you play guitar
October 28th, 2007 at 6:24 am
http://festklaveret.dk/gratis_melodier.php
skal potpouri some of this song is played…. ofcourse it will cost you if you want it all….
April 16th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Can anyone help with this Danish Drinking Song “Skal Comarda ” ?
April 19th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Hi Joan Field : your phonetic : “skal comarda—” — I havn´t heard it , but I
imagine, that it is derived from “skål (skaal) kammerater– (cheers comrades–) a drinking/toasting song. It might be helpful to contact the site suggested by Kathleen above or the other danish
website “Spillefolk.dk” (the folk-dance musicians of Copenhagen ) there is an englist version to the site.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:09 am
OR: – goto : beskeder@danskesange.dk
August 12th, 2008 at 3:14 am
i am danish, and Joan Field..
i don’t think we have a song called skal/ skål? comarda :)
February 24th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I was wondering if anyone knew the lyrics to the Danish birthday song where you pretend you play instruments?
May 10th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Lene wrote:
Hi Lisa
It’s an old birthday song. It goes like this:
First you sing a birthday song and afterwards you end with…….
Bravo, bravo, bravo bravissimo, bravo, bravo, bra-vissimo, bravo, bravissimo, bravo, bravissimo, bravo-bravo, bravissimo
hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve højt hurra
Hurra, hurra, den skål den var bra, hurra hurra den skål den var bra,
Hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve højt hurra.
Og gid at det må gå ham/hende vel, gå ham vel, og gå ham vel
Og gid at det må gå ham/hende vel i mange, mange år, i mange, mange år
Åh ja, hende kan vi li, åh ja hende kan vi lide, åh ja, hende kan vi lide, hun skal i glas og ramme
NAME…længe leve…hurraaaaaaaaa
And then you have a toast standing up for the birthday child shouting 3 hurras, a long one and some sing a short hu….s
Thanks for a great site….I can use it for teaching.
Lene
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:02 pm
I am giving a party for a gentleman from copenhagen, Denmark although he has been living in America for 15 years. He is returning after a long stay there…am having a party and would like to sing something he would recognize at the party–in English of course..is there any such song or translation for one or some kind of cheer that we can do when he walk into the “surprise” room for the party. Thank you
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 pm
I would imagine that this song, Hun skal leve, might be appropriate. I believe it’s like “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”.
December 1st, 2010 at 11:52 pm
I’m trying to find the lyrics to a Danish song my grandpa used to sing to my mom when she was younger. She was born in 1945, so the song has to be over 65 years I would imagine! I can only do it phonetically and other family members sing it a bit different, but here goes!
I bout and klean and klagus, sim sada dim dam da sada du sada dim
I bout and klean and klagus saun.
I’ve tried to look it up, but I have to be spelling nearly every word incorrectly, so no such luck!
Thanks!
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Leslie, the song you’re looking for is the Danish version of the German song “Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck saß”. It goes back to the 1800’s. The Danish version, “Højt på en gren en krage” is about a raven instead of a cuckoo.
From this YouTube video you can find another rendition by a child.
July 27th, 2013 at 4:41 pm
Hi, just had a Norwegian-Scottish family reunion. We have for years sang “Bravo”-it would more than likely prove to be humorous as we clearly have our own rendition. We were raised with mainly Swedes in an American (New England) church where we did a lot of impromtu singing…now, we are looking for the (right) music and also the english translation…can you help?
November 9th, 2015 at 12:41 am
I have a song on an old cassette tape and I think it’s Danish. Its a Christmas song and I want to to know the name of it. I don’t know the language so its hard for me to write the words here. I know the chorus is doo dee ooo. It sounds like a modern song, but it was on a tape from the early 1980’s. How can I figure this out?
April 8th, 2016 at 5:06 pm
Full words as I know them
Komponist Tekst
Og dette skal være
vor Peter til ære, hurra!
Og dette skal være
vor Peter til ære, hurra!
Og skam få den der ikke
vor Peters skål vil drikke
hurra, den skål var bra, den skål var bra.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravissimo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Han skal leve, han skal leve,
HAN SKAL LEVE, HØJT HURRA
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra
Han skal leve, han skal leve,
han skal leve højt hurra!
SKÅL!!
June 18th, 2019 at 11:32 pm
Here it is in Danish and English (modified for a wedding, but works for Him, Her, them or whatever.
Skåle sang
Og dette skal være
vor brudepar til ære, hurra!
Og dette skal være
vor brudepar til ære, hurra!
Og skam få den der ikke
vor brudepar en skål vil drikke
hurra hurra,
den skål var bra, hurra.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravissimo,
bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bra-vis-si-mo!
Di skal leve, Di skal leve,
Di SKAL LEVE,
HØJT HURRA!
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra!
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra!
Di skal leve, Dem skal leve,
Di skal leve højt hurra!
Og gid at det må gå dem godt,
og gå dem godt, og gå dem godt!
Og gid at det må gå dem godt
i mange, mange år!
Iiii mange mange år!
Skål!
Toasting (Skåle) song.
And – this toast shall honor
our Bride-couples wedding, hurrah!
And – this toast shall honor
our Bride-couples wedding, hurrah!
And shame on those that will not
drink a toast to both of them.
hurrah hurrah,
that skål was bra, hurrah.
Bravo, bravo, – bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravissimo,
bravo, bravissimo
Bravo, bravo, bra-vis-si-mo!
They shall live, They shall live,
THEY SHALL LIVE,
A LOUD HURRAH!
Hurrah, hurrah, that skål, it was bra!
Hurrah, hurrah, that skål, it was bra!
They shall live, she shall live,
They shall live, loud hurrah!
We wish that it may go them well,
and go them well, and go them well!
We wish that it may go them well,
for many, many years!
Fo.o.o.r many, many years!
Skål!
I hope this helps a little.
May 13th, 2023 at 1:05 am
Thank you for this! My Dad was Danish, would be 100 today, and he always sang “Skoal Skoal skavere to Karin til air”! But I never really knew the correct words! Thanks so much! SKoal!