I recently received the following email asking about some Swedish kids songs…
When my children were young we had Swedish neighbours and they taught them songs from Dalarna. Unfortunately I forgot the lyrics and can only remember the tunes.
I would like so much to restore my memory of “Dansan med dokan” or “Ole sat pa en knoll och sang” and “Kom min kussa schelle…(cow?)”. You’ll notice that my Swedish spelling is more than rotten and I hope that the titles can be deciphered by a friendly soul.
Thank you.
Plasa
If anyone can help with any of these songs, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions, Sweden, Swedish, Swedish Children's Songs. 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.
8 Responses to “Can Someone Help with Some Swedish Children’s Songs?”
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February 6th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Hello Plasa and Mama Lisa
I recognised the first song as “Dansa Min Docka” it goes like this;
Dansa min docka medan du är unger,
när du blir gammal, blir du så tunger.
Dansa min docka medan du är unger,
när du blir gammal, så blir du tung.
English Translation:
Dance my doll while you are young,
when you are old, you get so heavy.
(Second verse, same as the first…)
check out the website, I think you can find more Swedish children songs there with English translations
Helena
May 1st, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Hello,
The first one is definitely “Dansa Min Docka,” with the translation that you received, which is correct. I have no idea about the third one… Do you remember any more of it? “Kossa” means cow. The “schelle” word you wrote, it’s probably an “SJ” word (which in English sounds like a hard “SCH.”
I can only think of one son with Olle, and that is “Mors Lilla Olle.” The lyrics don’t match yours, but it is a popular children’s song…
“Mors lilla Olle i skogen gick,
rosor på kind och solsken i blick
Läpparna små utav bär äro blå
Bara jag slapp att så ensam här gå
Brummelibrum, vem lufsar där?
Buskarna knaka. En hund visst det är
Lurvig är pälsen. Men Olle blir glad
Å, en kamrat, det var bra, se Goddag!
Klappar så björnen med händerna små,
räcker fram korgen: Se här smaka på!
Nalle han slukar mest allt vad där är:
Hör du, jag tror att du tycker om bär
Mor fick nu se dem, gav till ett skri
Björnen sprang bort, nu är leken förbi!
Å, varför skrämde du undan min vän?
Mor lilla, bed honom komma igen!”
Translation:
Mother’s little Olle went walking in the woods
Rosy cheeks and sunshine in his eyes
Little lips, blue from the berries
Only I was excused? from walking alone
Brummelibrum, who goes there?
The bushes are creaking. A dog it must be
Shaggy is the fur, but Olle is happy.
O- a friend! How great! What a good day!
Petting the bear with small hands
reaching from the basket: here, try this!
The bear, he swallows most of what’s there
You know what? I think you like berries
Mother now saw them, and gave a shout
The bear ran away, now playing is forbidden
O, why did you scare away my friend?
Little mother, ask him to come back again?
I have no idea if this helps… but hope it does :)
June 5th, 2009 at 12:01 am
is there a site where I can buy a cd of songs in swedish?
August 1st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Hi Plasa
You can listen to “Dansa min docka” on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9arM71buTQ
Hope this help you.
Best regards,
Tottex
October 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I know the third one, it has been sung to me countless of times when i was little. It’s called “Har du sett min skälleko?” which means “have you seen my bell cow?” The letter combination sk is sometimes also pronounced like a “sch” :)
Here are the lyrics, but unfortunately i can’t remember in which order the verses are supposed to be sung, but I guess, it doesn’t matter that much.
Har du sett min skälleko, skälleko?
Har du sett och vill du si ‘na?
Har du sett min skälleko, skälleko?
Har du sett dess kalv?
Kom min kossa skälleko, skälleko
Kom min kossa, kom min kalv
Kom min kossa skälleko, skälleko
Kom min kossa, kom min kalv
Translated:
Have you seen my bell cow, bell cow?
Have you seen, and do you want to see her?
Have you seen my bell cow, bell cow?
Have you seen her calf?
Come my cow, bell cow, bell cow
Come my cow, come my calf
Come my cow, bell cow, bell cow
Come my cow, come my calf
I couldn’t find a midi tune of it, but you said you remembered the tunes, so hopefully this helped still!
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:47 am
Does anyone know of a swedish children’s song that has the following phrases in it: “Mama cooks the pudding & Papa chops the wood”? My grandfather used to sing it to me, but I can’t find it on the internet or everywhere.
May 21st, 2015 at 2:56 pm
I know this as a Swedish fiddle tune, where the words are sung to the second part.
See tune #2290 here: http://bluerose.karenlmyers.org/wp/tune-categories/ganglat-marsch/ganglat-marsch-2/ (click on the icon on the right to see the musical score).
December 28th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
I learned this from my Danish Mormor. I’m not fluent but I remember this:
Ole sad på en knold og sang
(Ole sat on a knoll and sang)
Tra la la la la la la la la la
Får og geder omkring ham sprang.
(sheep and goats around him sprang)
Tra la la la la la la la la la