If you’re a gamer willing to open yourself to new and inventive ideas, consider downloading Lucidity from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The main menu introduces you to a hauntingly beautiful rendition of a well-known Swedish lullaby, Byssan Lull, whose origin is steeped in mystery.
Lucidity’s composer, Jesse Harlin wrote an interesting piece recently on how this Swedish lullaby came to be chosen for the game, as well as his opportunity to work with Swedish singer Lisa Eriksson.
The LucasArts composer provided a partial translation of the lyrics on the website which are used as a starting point for the subtitles included in the video below.
[Lyrics - Swedish Language]
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen
byssan lull, koka kittelen full
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen
Den ene, e så halt
den andre, e så blind
den tredje har så trasiga kläder
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full
så kyligt på vintern de reser
byssan lull, koka kittelen full
tre stärnor som lyser genom skogen
den första är vårt lugn
den andra är vår dröm
i tredje båten sitter vi tillsammans
[Lyrics - English Translation]
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
so cold in the winter, they are traveling
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
three stars shine through the forest
the first is our calm the second is our dream
in the third boat, we sit together
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
all alone in the world you are searching
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
I will take care of you on the trip
I hold you so close and warm you up lovingly
I promise to always come with you
The origins of the lullaby, Byssan Lull, are difficult to pin down. The song has become widely known through the work of legendary Swedish artist and songwriter Evert [Alex] Taube (1890-1976).
Evert Taube is highly regarded in Sweden as one of the finest troubadours to have existed in his home country. Among Taube’s most famous songs are “Calle Schewens vals”, “Min älskling (du är som en ros)”, “Dans på Sunnanö”, “Flickan i Havanna”, “Änglamark’”, “Så skimrande var aldrig havet” and “Så länge skutan kan gå”.
[Lyrics: Swedish Original]
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen.
Den ene, ack så halt,
den andre, o, så blind,
den tredje säger alls ingenting.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
på himmelen vandra tre stjärnor,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full.
på himmelen vandra tre stjärnor,
Den ene är så vit,
den andra är så röd,
den tredje är månen den gula.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där blåser tre vindar på haven,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där blåser tre vindar på haven.
på Stora Ocean,
på Lilla Skagerack
och långt upp i Bottniska viken.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där segla tre skutor på vågen,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där segla tre skutor på vågen.
Den första är en bark,
den andra är en brigg,
den tredje har så trasiga segel.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
sjökistan har trenne figurer,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
sjökistan har trenne figurer.
Den första är vår tro,
den andra är vårt hopp,
den tredje är kärleken den röda.
The lullaby has also become somewhat popular amongst mainstream musical artists, two of which you will find below.
Holy crap! My mother used to sing this to me when I was a child! (I’m Norwegian, and we’re right next to Sweden, so cultural crossovers tend to happen)
Just hearing it brought back a well of memories. That’s pretty sweet, actually, hearing Scandinavian music in an American video game
@Jens Erik Vaaler,
I’m from Finland and I’m interested about the original melody of “Byssan Lull”. Can you remember or is it possible to find out, what was the name of the song in Norwegian? It is possible, that the song’s melody is a Norwegian folk song. In Finland people know this song as “Byssan Lull” by Evert Taube’s lyrics.
@Jari Pozz,
It’s called “Byssan Lull” in Norwegian as well. I think most parents sing the song with Evert Taube’s lyrics, that’s what my parents did at least. The melody is the same as well.
@Jens Erik Vaaler,
Tanks Jens. In YouTube you can find an old recording of Evert Taube himself. Some very sensitive versions can also be found from spotify.com. The song has also called “Vyssan Bull”. A very beautiful version by young finish jazz players can be found in http://www.myspace.com/emmasalokoskijailmiliekki.
How come I never heard cool lullabies as a child? The only one I remember is that awful one about babies falling out of trees to their presumed doom during wind gusts. Who sings that to kids, huh? Parents are morbid.
Uh, is it me or the translation doesn’t fit the swedish text just above? o_ô
@Elfteiroh, I think they mashed together parts of the first and second verses from what I can tell.
@Jens Erik Vaaler,
in fact, the first verse of the translation is really the second one of the original, and the second verse of the translation is just not in the song at all… o-o
@Elfteiroh, If the translation is wrong, I will be more than willing to update it with an accurate one, if you can provide it to me.
@Michael O’Connor, I can’t really give you a better translation, but someone else did, in the comments of the blog post you linked! Here the translation given by the gent, but you should also read the comments:
[English Translation]
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
There come three wanderers on the road
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
There come three wanderers on the road
One has a limp
Another is so blind
The third has rags for clothes
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
So cold in the night they are wandering
Byssan Lull, boil the full pot
In the sky wanders three stars
The first is our calm
The second is our dream
In the third boat we sit together
man i so want the mp3 to this…
its eerily awesome. i cant acuratly (i cant spell) describe how cool it is.
if someone could provide an mp3 link for me i would be so grateful
I am interested to find the origin of the melody. In Sweden and Finland it was made famous by a Swedish trubadour Evert Taube. Seems to be, that it could be a Norwegian folk song. Does anyone know more abut it’s origin?
In spotify.com you can find many versions of Byssan Lull.
Why would you just create lyrics in English for the last half of the song? The song in swedish doesn;t have such words, More than that, neither of the many variants of the lullaby have words about holding close, etc.