Reino Vihtori "Repe" Helismaa (12 July 1913,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

– 21 January 1965) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

singer-songwriter, musician and scriptwriter, mainly known for his humorous, yet homely songs. One of his best-known interpreters was

Tapio Rautavaara Kaj Tapio Rautavaara (8 March 1915 – 25 September 1979) was a Finnish singer (bass-baritone), athlete and film actor. Life Early years Tapio Rautavaara was born in the municipality of Pirkkala (now Nokia), a suburb of the industrial city o ...

. He also scripted the comic strip ''Maan mies Marsissa'', drawn by Ami Hauhio.

Works

Song lyrics: Helismaa wrote over five thousand song lyrics. Some of the most famous include: * ''Balladi Villistä Lännestä'' (A ballad of the Wild West) * ''Daiga-daiga-duu'' (Diga-diga-doo) * ''Hiljainen kylätie'' (A quiet village street) * ''Kaksi vanhaa tukkijätkää'' (Two old lumberjacks) * ''Kulkuri ja joutsen'' (The tramp and the swan; translation of originally Swedish song ''Vagabonden och svanen'' by

Lasse Dahlquist Lars Erik ("Lasse") Dahlquist (14 September 1910 in Örgryte (grew also up in Lidingö) – died 14 October 1979 on Brännö, Gothenburg archipelago due to laryngeal cancer) was a Swedish composer, singer and actor. Many of his songs are among ...

) * ''Kulkurin iltatähti'' (The tramp's evening star) * ''Lentävä kalakukko'' (The flying

kalakukko Kalakukko is a traditional Finnish dish from the region of Savonia made from fish (e.g., perch, vendace, loach, smelt, or salmon) baked inside a loaf of bread. Kalakukko is especially popular in Kuopio, capital city of the Northern Savonia r ...

) * ''Meksikon pikajuna'' (The Mexico Express, original: Orient Express) * ''Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen'' (The sunbeam and the goblin) * ''Rakovalkealla'' (At the campfire) * ''Reppu ja reissumies'' (The knapsack and the travelling man) * ''Rovaniemen markkinoilla'' (At the

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

fair) * ''Suutarin tyttären pihalla'' (At the shoemaker's daughter's yard) Other works by Helismaa include 8 plays, 10 revues, 32 film manuscripts and 104 radio plays. * Screenplays for several

Pekka ja Pätkä Pekka is a Finnish male given name. It was most popular around the middle of the 20th century. As of 2013 there were more than 100,000 people registered with this name in Finland. The nameday is the 29th of June in the Finnish tradition and the 25t ...

-comedy films made in the 1950s.

References

External links

Last.fm
1913 births 1965 deaths Singers from Helsinki People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish male singer-songwriters Finnish-language poets 20th-century Finnish male singers 20th-century Finnish male writers Writers from Helsinki Finnish lyricists Finnish comics writers {{Finland-singer-stub