"Min soldat" (English: "My Soldier") is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

song written by Nils Perne (Jokern). It was recorded by Ulla Billquist in 1940 and became one of the most popular Swedish songs during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Carroll Loveday wrote new

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia". It was recorded by numerous artists.

Origins

The song was written for and first performed by

Naemi Briese Naemi Briese (4 March 1908 – 20 August 1980) was a Swedish film actress. Selected filmography * ''Jolly Musicians'' (1932) * ''Simon of Backabo'' (1934) * '' Andersson's Kalle'' (1934) * '' Oh, Such a Night!'' (1937) * ''A Cruise in the Al ...

in Gosta Jonsson’s

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

''Det kommer en vår'' at the Folkan theatre in

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 ...

. In the song, a woman is thinking of her fiance who is a soldier "somewhere in Sweden" ("någonstans i Sverige"). She recalls how fashionable he was in comparison to the photograph of him in an ill-fitting uniform. He has told her that they cannot afford to get married this year, and when he arrived yesterday on leave and took her to a dance, he was so tired that he fell asleep at the table. She says she does not mind because he is her "soldier somewhere in Sweden". Translated to English:

Ulla Billquist version

Ulla Billquist recorded the song for Swedish record company

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

on 8 May 1940. The recording was Billquist's first for Sonora after she was lured from Sonora's competitor Columbia for a monthly salary of US$700.Swedish Radio show ''Da Capo'',

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

P4 on 19 January 2008. Sven Arefeldt was the arranger and led the orchestra. The song became Billquist's most popular recording in Sweden. Several recordings was made with other female singers for other record companies. Among them were Karin Juel and Siv Ericks.

Revival

The song was revived again in 1973 when the author Jan Olof Olsson ("Jolo") used a line from the song as title for his TV-series '' Någonstans i Sverige'' about World War II. Billquist's recording was used as theme song.

Other versions

*Carroll Loveday wrote new

lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was recorded by

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

with

Vic Schoen Victor Schoen (March 26, 1916 – January 5, 2000) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000. He furnished music for some of the most successful persons in show business inclu ...

& His Orchestra on 15 November 1941 and reached #3 in January 1942. Its lyrics describe a hillside shrine which is miraculously spared the ravages of a storm that destroys a nearby town. This was later recorded by a number of American

close harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also c ...

and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

groups during the 20th century such as Willie Winfield, The Harptones, The Royals and The Bon Aires. *In 1957,

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

had a minor pop hit with his version. *The song was performed in the film '' Jazzgossen'' (1958) by Maj-Britt Nilsson. *Former

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

member

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

recorded the song in 1970 for the TV show "När stenkakan slog", a program made to honour the hits off the old gramophone records. A video was also made for the song, with her sitting in a train compartment. *"Min soldat" was recorded by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

singer

Birthe Kjær Birthe Kjær (born 1 September 1948) is a Danish singer. She finished second at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 1980, 1986 and 1987, before winning in 1989, and went on to finish third at the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest in Lausanne. She also fin ...

and Helmer Olesens orkester on the record ''

Det var en yndig tid Denmark was represented by Katy Bødtger, with the song "Det var en yndig tid", at the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 29 March in London. "Det var en yndig tid" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 6 ...

''. The Danish lyrics was written by Knud Feiffer.

References

{{authority control 1940 songs Swedish songs Swedish-language songs Faron Young songs