Fjäril'n vingad syns på Haga (The

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

wingèd's seen in Haga) is one of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

's collection of songs called ''

Fredmans sånger ''Fredmans sånger'' (in English, ''Fredman's Songs'' or ''Songs of Fredman'') is a collection of 65 poems and songs published in 1791 by the Swedish poet Carl Michael Bellman. As a follow-up to ''Fredmans epistlar'' from the previous year, the ...

'', published in 1791, where it is No. 64. The song describes Haga Park, the attractive natural setting of King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

's never-completed Haga Palace just north of Stockholm. An earlier version of the song was a verse petition to obtain a job for Bellman's wife. The composition is one of the most popular of Bellman's songs, being known by many Swedes by heart. It has been recorded many times from 1904 onwards, and translated into English verse at least four times.

Context

Song

Music and verse form

''Fjäriln vingad'' is in time and is marked

Andante Andante may refer to: Arts * Andante (tempo), a moderately slow musical tempo * Andante (manga), ''Andante'' (manga), a shōjo manga by Miho Obana * Andante (song), "Andante" (song), a song by Hitomi Yaida * "Andante, Andante", a 1980 song by A ...

. The

rhyming pattern A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

is the alternating ABAB-CDCD. Richard Engländer writes that unlike in Bellman's parody songs, the melody is of his own composition.

Lyrics

The song, Bellman's best known, is dedicated to Captain , who at the time was Bellman's landlord in Klarabergsgatan, Stockholm. Bellman's biographer

Lars Lönnroth Lars Lönnroth (born 4 June 1935) is a Swedish literary scholar. He was born in Gothenburg to Erik Lönnroth and Ebba Lagercrantz. His academic career includes professorships at the University of California Berkeley, University of Aalborg and ...

states that it was originally a verse petition to baron

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (russian: Граф Густав-Маврикий Максимович Армфельт, tr, ; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish-Swedish-Russian courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one of ...

to get a job for Bellman's wife Lovisa in

Haga Palace Haga Palace ( sv, Haga slott), formerly known as the Queen's Pavilion ( sv, Drottningens paviljong), is located in the Haga Park, Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden. The palace, built between 18021805, was modelled after balle ...

, and describes the composition as a "royalistic praise text". It was written in 1770 or 1771. The later version of the song omits the Lovisa petition, and describes Haga Park, the attractive natural setting of King

's never-completed Haga Palace just north of Stockholm. File:Gustav III Paviljong 2.jpg, alt=Photograph of 18th century buildings in a park with trees, grass, and a lake, The song describes King

's Haga Park. The pavilion here is one of the few parts of his projected palace that were completed. File:Map of Bellman's Stockholm William Coxe's Travels 1784.jpg, alt=18th century city map, Map of Bellman's

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

from William Coxe's ''Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark'', 1784. Haga park is marked "1". File:Albert Edelfelt - Bellman Playing the Lute for Gustaf III of Sweden and G.M. Armfelt in Haga Park, sketch.jpg, alt=19th century oil painting of 18th century figures in a leafy setting, Painting of

entertaining King Gustav III in Haga Park, by

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish-Swedish painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visible abroad, befor ...

, 1884

Reception and legacy

''Fjäriln vingad'' remains popular in Sweden, and is one of the best-known and most often sung of Bellman's songs. It is included in a list of songs that "nearly all wedescan sing unaided". A chime of bells in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

, near the Haga park described in the song, rings out the melody every hour. An early recording was made by Gustaf Adolf Lund in

in 1904. Johanna Grüssner and

Mika Pohjola Mika Pohjola ( (born December 1, 1971) is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer who resides in Stockholm. He is one of the most prolific Scandinavian jazz musicians in his generation. Biography Childhood in Helsinki, Finland 1971-87 Mika P ...

recorded it in a medley with "

Glimmande nymf Glimmande Nymf! blixtrande öga! (Gleaming Nymph, flashing eye!), is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, ''Fredman's Epistles'', where it is No. 72. It is subtitled "''Lemnad vid Cajsa Lisas S� ...

" on their song album ''Nu blir sommar'' in 2006. In the

Zecchino d'Oro Zecchino d'Oro (; meaning "Golden Sequin") is an annual international children's song competition established in 1959 by Niny Comolli. It is broadcast by Rai 1. The first two contests were held in Milan. In 1961, the contest was taken up by th ...

in 2005, it was recorded with the Italian title ''Il mio cuore è un gran pallone''. The song has been translated into English by Henry Grafton Chapman III,

Charles Wharton Stork Charles Wharton Stork (12 February 1881 – 22 May 1971) was an American literary author, poet, and translator. Life Charles Wharton Stork was born in Philadelphia on 12 February 1881 to Theophilus Baker and Hannah (Wharton) Stork. He gradu ...

,
Anthology of Swedish Lyrics, 1750-1915
', trans. by Charles Wharton Stork, (New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1917). Pages 14–15 Helen Asbury, Noel Wirén, and

Paul Britten Austin Paul Britten Austin (5 April 1922 – 25 July 2005) was an English author, translator, broadcaster, administrator, and scholar of Swedish literature. He is known in particular for his translations of and books on the Swedish musician, si ...

. It has been recorded in English by

William Clauson William Clauson (May 2, 1930 – September 3, 2017) was a Swedish-American singer of folk songs from various nations, including some of the songs of Carl Michael Bellman in both English and Swedish. Biography Clauson was born in Ashtabula, Oh ...

Martin Best Martin Best (born 13 April 1942) is an English singer, lutenist, guitarist, and composer. Best has been active mainly in early music including Renaissance music, minstrel songs and the French troubadour traditions, in works related to Shakespea ...

, Barbro Strid, and Martin Bagge.''Fredman's epistles and songs'' (Stockholm: Proprius, 2002).

References

Sources

* * * * * * * (with facsimiles of sheet music from first editions in 1790, 1791) * * *

External links

"Fjäril'n vingad syns på Haga"
facsimile at

Litteraturbanken The Swedish Literature Bank is a non-profit organisation whose objective is making classic Swedish literature and literary criticism freely available in digital editions. It is a collaboration between the Swedish Academy, the National Library of Swe ...

Text on Swedish WikiSource

English version by Charles Wharton Stork, 1917

Oscar Lundberg recording, 1917
(track 2)
Live 2020 studio recording of 'Bellman 2.0' theatre concert
(song starts at 45:00) at Västmanlands Teater by Nikolaj Cederholm and Kåre Bjerkø with their band {{DEFAULTSORT:Fjariln vingad syns pa Haga Swedish songs 1791 books Fredmans sånger