"Hoppípolla" () is a song by Icelandic

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

band

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

from their 2005 album '' Takk...''. It was released as the album's second single on 28 November 2005. The song title is a

univerbation In linguistics, univerbation is the diachronic process of combining a fixed expression of several words into a new single word. The univerbating process is epitomized in Talmy Givón's aphorism that "today's morphology is yesterday's syntax". ...

of (the ''-a'' in ''hoppa'' is not pronounced), which is Icelandic for "hopping into puddles", and the lyrics are mainly in Icelandic, with some nonsensical phrases, a "language" the band calls Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"). As with many of the band's songs, it was given a nickname in the early stages of writing. "Hoppípolla" was "The Money Song", as the band was certain they had written a song which would have commercial success. "Hoppípolla" is the band's most successful single, charting at number 24 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 2006. It is considered the best-known song within its genre. The single also features "Með blóðnasir", an instrumental coda to "Hoppípolla", which is also featured on ''Takk...''; and a studio remake of "Hafssól", a song previously released on the band's 1997 debut album, ''

Von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

''. The title appears as "Hafsól" on the single.

Track listings

CD (CDEM 673) / 12-inch (12EM 673) #"Hoppípolla" – 4:36 #"Með blóðnasir" – 2:24 #"Hafsól" (2005 version) – 9:47 7-inch (EM 673) #"Hoppípolla" – 4:36 #"Heysátan" – 4:09

Music video

A promotional music video for "Hoppípolla," directed by Arni & Kinski, was filmed in November 2005. It depicts two groups of elderly friends strolling around the suburbs of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

and acting like children; pulling

pranks A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

on people and battling with water balloons and wooden swords near a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. When one old man is injured and suffers a

nosebleed A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low bloo ...

(as referenced in the lyrics), the opponents run away in fear, while the others celebrate their victory. The video shows several shots of the friends "hopping in puddles" of water along a path. The band members are featured in the video: keyboardist

Kjartan Sveinsson Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson (; born 2 January 1978) is the keyboardist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1998. A multi-instrumentalist, he has also played such instruments as the flute, tin whistle, oboe, guita ...

plays the victim of a

Knock, Knock, Ginger Knock, knock, ginger (also known as ding, dong, ditch in the United States) is a prank or game dating back to 19th-century England, or possibly the earlier Cornish traditional holiday of Nickanan Night. The game is played by children in many c ...

trick, guitarist and vocalist

Jón Þór Birgisson Jón is an Old Norse common name still widely used in Iceland and the Faroes. According to Icelandic custom, people named Jón are generally referred to by first and middle names and those without a middle name are referred to with both first nam ...

plays the cashier at a shop where an old man steals and eats some pears, drummer

Orri Páll Dýrason Orri Páll Dýrason (; born on 4 July 1977) is an Icelandic musician. He was previously the drummer for Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1999, shortly after the recording of the studio album ''Ágætis byrjun'', when the previous drummer, Ágú ...

can be seen repairing his bicycle, and bassist

Georg Hólm Georg "Goggi" Hólm (; born 6 April 1976) is the bassist of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is the most prominent member of Sigur Rós in the English press, as he does significantly more press than the other members due to him being th ...

can be seen cleaning.YouTube - Hoppipola
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Charts

Certifications

Chicane cover version – "Poppiholla"

In July 2009,

Chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

released an instrumental re-work of the song, titled "Poppiholla" and released it as a five track single EP on 13 July 2009. "Poppiholla" entered the

at number seven on 19 July 2009, spending three weeks in the top ten as of 2 August 2009. A video to promote the song was made, and Chicane's ''The Best of Chicane'' collection was re-released to include the song. The re-released album reached number 11 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, beating the compilation's previous peak of number 16 (without "Poppiholla" on it). The song was used in the UK by

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

for their coverage of the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

in 2009–10.

Release history

Charts

Year-end charts

Use in film and television

"Hoppípolla" was used in 2006 advertisements for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Track listings

Music video

Charts

Certifications

Chicane cover version – "Poppiholla"

Release history

Charts

Year-end charts

Use in film and television

References

External links