When It's Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley is a 1933

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

to a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

melody with words and music by Joe Lyons, Sam C. Hart and The Vagabonds, Curt Poulton, Herald Goodman, and Dean Upson. The song was a hit by The Vagabonds. The song lyrics are about one who longs for his mother, who is far away in a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

the song. Other singers who has recorded the song include

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

and

Wayne King Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both NBC and CBS. He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved wa ...

A Christmas Song

When Nils Hellström wrote lyrics in

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 ...

in 1935, its lyrics were changed and the song was turned into a

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

: "När ljusen tändas där hemma". The

lamp Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...

in the lyrics in English was replaced by

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...

s. "När ljusen tändas därhemma" ("When the candles at home are lit)", which describes an old/lonely man/woman sitting, when the darkness of the evening arrives, and dreaming of his/her childhood and old home, became a popular Christmas song in Sweden during the 1930s and 1940s. It's not mentioned in the song lyrics, but many people associate the song with the

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from Sweden to the United States during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century and Sweden being the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

where the

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

and home is. The word

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

is never mentioned in the song lyrics, but the word "ljus", which is Swedish for light/candle, is strongly associated with

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and Christmas in Sweden. The opening words of the first verse, "Var gång skymningen stilla sig sänker" ("Every time when the dusk slowly falls") often refers to December as the darkest month of the year on the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. In English, the song has 4 verses, and 2 in Swedish. The song has also got lyrics in

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

, as "Når lysene tennes der hjemme" (meaning the same as in Swedish) and

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 ...

, as "Kodin kynttilät" (Candles of the Home). The song became immensely popular in Finland during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, as the Finnish lyrics can be interpreted as a soldier's longing to home and his loved ones. The song has also been translated into other languages, with other themes. When the Swedish "

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

", pop and

singer

Kikki Danielsson Ann-Kristin "Kikki" Danielsson (born 10 May 1952) is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She has gained notice for yodeling in some songs. Danielsson gained he ...

covered the Swedish language version of the song on her 1987 Christmas album " Min barndoms jular",Information
at

Svensk mediedatabas Svensk mediedatabas (''Swedish Media Database'') is a search engine for the audiovisual works of the National Library of Sweden. The database contains data about TV, radio, video, movies that have been shown in cinemas, gramophone records, CDs ...

the lyrics was changed a little, and she sang about being "lonely" instead of "old". The second verse opening lyrics "Jag är gammal och sitter och drömmer om min barndom som snabbt rann förbi" ("I am old and sit and dream of my childhood, which fast passed") was replaced with the re-written lyrics "Jag är ensam och sitter och drömmer om min barndom som snabbt rann förbi" ("I am lonely and sit and dream of my childhood, which fast passed"). Swedish dansband

Sten & Stanley Sten & Stanley are a dansband from Karlskoga, Sweden. Established in 1962, the band has scored several Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedis ...

has also recorded this song with "ensam" lyrics version.

Johnny Reimar version

Johnny Reimar from Denmark performed the song as an uptempo song with the title "Når jeg tænker på lille Alvilde" (When I think of little Alvilde). A song about a man who misses his first love.

References

{{Authority control 1933 songs Christmas songs Kikki Danielsson songs Sten & Stanley songs Country ballads