"Sjörövar-Fabbe" (English: ''Pirate grandpa Fabian'') is a Swedish
shanty-style children's song originally written by
Georg Riedel and
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Emil of Lönneberga, ...
for the film ''
Pippi in the South Seas'' (''Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven'') in 1970. The lyrics are about
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Longstocking () is the fictional main character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was off school.
Pippi is ...
's great grandfather Fabian "Fabbe" Longstocking who was a feared pirate captain on all seven seas. The last line of the chorus "Tjoa hadelittan lej" is a
nonsense phrase. The song was originally performed by Pippi Longstocking actress
Inger Nilsson
Karin Inger Monica Nilsson (born 4 May 1959) is a Swedish actress and singer. She is a former child actress. She is primarily known for her portrayal of Pippi Longstocking in the Swedish-produced TV series of the same name during 1969 which was ...
who published it in 1975 as B-side of the single "Här kommer Pippi Långstrump". In 2001, it was covered as a
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Music
Albums
* ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue
* ''Crossover'', an album by ...
version with the melody of
Dio's "
Holy Diver
''Holy Diver'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. The album was acclaimed by the music press and is the band's most successful album.
History
Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed ...
" by the Swedish
metal
A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
band
Black Ingvars. Other Swedish versions are by
Plura Jonsson
Per Malte Lennart "Plura" Jonsson (born 10 August 1951) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. He has been a long-time member of the Swedish rock band Eldkvarn (band), Eldkvarn in addition to his solo materials. In 2014, he also release ...
in 1999, by
Siw and Tove Malmkvist in 2003
and by
Johanna Grüssner and
Mika Pohjola who performed a jazz version of this song in 2006. A Norwegian version with lyrics by Marit Trulsrud is by
Anita Hegerland and
Frank Cook from 1970. There is also a German version called "Seeräuber-Opa Fabian" with lyrics by Helmut Harun. It was first performed by actress
Eva Mattes
__NOTOC__
Eva Mattes (; born 14 December 1954) is a German-Austrian actress. She has appeared in four films directed by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder ('' The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'', ', '' Effi Briest'' and '' In a Year of 13 Moons ...
in 1970 and covered in 2012 by German singer
Lena Meyer-Landrut
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut (; born 23 May 1991), also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song "Satellite (Len ...
for the
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
''
Giraffenaffen''.
References
Swedish children's songs
Songs about pirates
Songs about fictional male characters
Songs with lyrics by Astrid Lindgren
1970 songs
1970 in Swedish music
Songs written for films
Songs with music by Georg Riedel (jazz musician)
{{1970s-song-stub