"Satumaa" (roughly, in English "The Fabled Land" or "The Fairytale Land") is the quintessential

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 ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. It was written by Unto Mononen, and published in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. The most famous recording is probably the one made by

Reijo Taipale Reijo Toivo Taipale (9 March 1940 – 26 April 2019) was a Finnish pop singer since the 1950s specializing in Schlager music and tango. Many of his albums have gone gold and platinum. Biography Taipale was born in Miehikkälä, Finland. Through ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. The lyrics tell a story of a distant land beyond the sea – a happy paradise – however, the narrator can only reach it in his thoughts. The song has been recorded countless times, mainly by male

Finnish tango Finnish tango ( fi, suomalainen tango), or FINtango, music is an established variation of the Argentine tango but whose rhythm follows the Ballroom tango. It was one of the most popular music forms for decades in Finland. Brought to Europe in the 19 ...

singers. An unusual take on "Satumaa" (and perhaps one more likely to be known outside of Finland) appears on a

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

live album from a Helsinki concert in 1974. Requested at short notice, the band plays the song from sheet music with the (non-Finnish-speaking) vocalist

Napoleon Murphy Brock Napoleon Murphy Brock (born June 7, 1945) is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums '' Apostrophe (')'', ''Roxy & Elsewhere'', ''One Size Fits All'', a ...

trying his best to read the Finnish lyrics. You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 (1974) by

Disc 2, track 3.

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil dev ...

and his ensemble

Zappa plays Zappa Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the elder son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa. History The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Canada ...

played a part of the song on their 6 June 2009 and 29 November 2013 concerts at the same venue. The name "Satumaa" is also mentioned in a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

song "

Satumaa-tango "Satumaa-tango" (in English, " Satumaa Tango") is a song by Finnish pop rock singer-songwriter Maija Vilkkumaa. Released by Warner Music Finland in 1999 as the debut single from her debut album '' Pitkä ihana leikki'', the song is written by Vilkk ...

" by Finnish

Maija Vilkkumaa Maija Johanna Vilkkumaa (born 9 November 1973) is a Finnish pop rock singer-songwriter. Beginning her musical hobbies playing piano at an age before school, Vilkkumaa studied in high school where she and her friends set up the band Tarh ...

. M.A. Numminen, in his novel '' Tango is my passion'', says: "I have heard it was proposed for inclusion in a new hymn book. I think it would be wonderful if it was hymn number 666. During the service I could dance to it with organ accompaniment. Perhaps I would get nearer to God."

Recordings

, 1962 * Sanna Pietiäinen ja M.A. Numminen und Das Neorustikale Tango-Orchester on ''Finnischer Tango - Onko onni unta vain?'' * on ''Tango notturno''

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian ( arm, Իզապէլ Պայրագտարեան; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an ...

, CBC *

Jari Sillanpää Jari Veikko Sillanpää (; born 16 August 1965) is a Finnish-Swedish singer. With over 820,000 records sold, he is the fifth-best-selling music artist and second-best-selling solo artist in Finland. Life and career Born into a Sweden-Finnish ...

on ''Songs Finland Sings'' 2002 (in English, under the title ''Fairyland'') *

Arja Saijonmaa Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa (born 1 December 1944 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress. Life and career She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University. She made ...

1981 (rare example of a female singer)

References

1955 songs Finnish songs Tango in Finland {{1950s-song-stub