Rafter love Rafting has occurred throughout the country and at least from the 16th century. But at the beginning of the 19th century, rafting grew in scope, above all in Norrland. How extensive was the float? When it was most intensive in the 1930s, there were over 3,000 miles of raft routes, more than 18 million cubic meters of timber were floated and around 50,000 people were employed. In addition, around 200,000 people were added who worked in the forest and in industry handling the wood. From the 1960s, flotation declined and the era ended in the 1980s. During the winter, the trees in the forest were felled with an ax and saw. The logs were rafted by horse to the nearest floatable water, for example a stream where they were placed by the shore or on the ice. Then they waited for the ice to melt and the spring flow... when it was time to float the timber down to the coast.
I saw Snoddas live when I was a child, something around 1960. He was so popular that he had to perform in a big indoor sport arena, so all could get a ticket to see him. To understand what "flottare" is. In English it's called a "log-floater". They directed the logs down the rivers, often jumping on the slippery logs out in the water, which was quite dangerous. The "log-floaters" were surrounded by some romantic aura, just as those whowere called "rallare" (in English "navvy"). These were strong, adventurous men, which moved along all the time, thereby having love affairs with different girls in different villages. "Flottarkärlek" means "The love of a log-floater", and that is what the song is about.
When I was young, the "flottare" came every year. 50 men - strong, fast and brave - were pushing the timber in the river from the woods to the coust. The women went crazy when the "flottare" came, and 9 months later there could appear a baby without a father ...
The lyrics is quite poetic, the text paints a lot of nature, with nice fog, moonshine and other stuff, and gives you a sense of local places that you might not know, but sort of recognizes anyhow (at least if you live a bit to the north in Sweden). It also gives you some sense of what the life was like for the log drivers, though giving it a bit of a romantic shimmer. I guess someone else has told that you where right about the song being about a womanizer. Snoddas himself had a peculiar form of charm, I think.
This is about as classic as something can be. Even those born 30 years after it's release recognice it immediately. And I couldn't agree more, a happy little tune. :) Haven't really thought about the lyrics before, but he is actually talking about two sorts of love here. The love of women and the love of nature. And I might be among the youngest people who have actually seen "flottning", it still existed in Umeälven in the early eighties and I have some faint memories of those huge chunks of logs drifting down the river. Can't remember any flottare running around on the logs though.. That was probably not a thing then, too dangerous.
The scenes in the song mainly takes place in the deep forrests, by rapids and rivers where flottarna where working with timber (a very physically demanding dangerous job), by the campfire by his little hut/cabin and on the countryside in small vilIages. I felt you were thinking of a different type of environment when you talked about coblestones😊 I think part of the reason this song is a classics has got to do with it taking place in nature/forests. In an environment that most swedish people lived in 100 years ago and used to have a strong connection with - that was lost when most people moved to the cities. So there’s that nostalgia there, even though life was extremely though for many people at that time/in those environments.
Om du vill fortsätta med före detta idrottsmän som gått över till sång föreslår jag Cacka Israelsson och låten Gamle Svarten. Cacka var svensk mästare på 110 meter häck (hurdles?) och i längdhopp. Han var med i svenska landslaget vid OS 1952.
Yes, he has a girl in ever little farm they passes. They are the "flottarna" Who used to take care of the timber on the swedish älvarna(rivers) from the deep forest in the north to the coust to be sold. Didn't you do a teach me sweden about Storforsen/Dödafallet? Timber was so importen to swedish economy during history.
I feels like a looong time since you listened to something that rocks a little. Suggestions: Ceasars - Jerk it out The Hives - Hate to say i told you so Johnossi - Whats the point Sugarplum Fairy - Marigold The soundtrack of our lives - Instant repeater ´99 Lambretta - Bimbo Takida - Curly Sue Mano Diao - Gloria Andreas Johnson - glorious Millencolin - Leona Sator - I wanna go home The Wannadies - You and me song
You mentioned Harry Brandelius who was the first artist that recorded Flottarkärlek. I think it's high time for Harry and Gamla Nordsjön! Another "landsplåga" from older times.
Weirdly, I feel that it's the same thing as rap... This logger takes all those logs along the river, and he plays his handklaver (almost an accordion, but there's a huge difference), kissing all the girls along the way. Deadly work. Kissing girls. If that isn't rap music I don't know what is! There's also some hardcore poetry in the song "Medan daggen gott till ro på ängens gräs" (While the dew has gone to rest on the grass of the meadow). That's beautiful! There's a statue of him in Bollnäs and he's a part of the Swedish heritage. Not bad for a bandy player from Bollnäs.
Yea all verser are about him being a player, "with a little [lady] friend in every cottage and every village" along his route 😄 He is playing on the stereotype that "flottare" had back in the day. It is kind of similar to sailers having a different woman in each habour. In some countries "truckers" have a similar reputation today. Much of the song is also him telling us placenames where the stuff he is singing about happpen. So you could probably pinpoint his route from the placenames. The word "skiljet" is where the timber going to different sawmills where seperated. When he says "solen går vall" it means "when the sun goes meadow" meaning sunset. And "bäljaspel" is an accordion (aka "dragspel" in Swedish). Kuriosa: the -a- in the middle of the word "bäljaspel" indicates an old "plural indefintive genetive" form (now mark with -s or dropped in compund words, like in dragspel). It mark the word as a compound word that was in use before the 1800s which has been "fossilised".
Fun facit: the first time he performed the song on the radio, he was not allowed to sing the ”haderian hadera” bit, since the producers thought it to be too obvious an euphemism for ”fucking”. (I’m not sure that’s what it’s about, but that’s how the story goes.)
Första gången jag hörde denna sång i vuxen ålder var också dagen jag insåg att ämnet för texten i denna sång är basically samma som Ludacis - "Area Codes"
I alla torp, i alla byar hade han en liten ”vän” if you know what I’m sayin’... 😉 And they all melted like wax... True hiphop attitude right there, Snoddas braggin’ about the ladiezzz...
I guessing that u r not alone to bot understand the words in this song. I feel like no one born after 1995 have a chansen to understand this songs lyriks. Of course there's exemptions, but it is old school swedish that he sings. And I love it. (There's a naughty version of this aswell 😛)
Thank you, Jonathan! Really a classic/ vintage song!😉 What about some of theese? Kicki Danielsson and Elisabeth Andreassen aka Chips: Dag efter dag, Godmorgon, Mycke mycke mer!? Jill Johnsson + Jan Johanssen: Kommer tid kommer vår Paul Sahlin: Guenerina Agnetha Fältskog: Tack för en underbar vanlig dag, Doktorn, I won’t let you go, The heat is on, När du tar mig i din famn, Många gånger än, Om tårar vore guld, Those are my suggestions for now!😊
Du kanske får göra en egen YT-kanal med din definition på svenska klassiker. Den definition JR har valt är återkommande rekommendationer från kommentarsfältet på hans stora egna kanal. 🤷♂️ Deal with it.
@@HuxtebleJ har själv sagt att han inte har en aning om vad som är en svensk klassiker eller inte och att han är helt i händerna på oss som rekommenderar. Det är vad han har sagt. Vilket lämnar ett stort ansvar hos oss i publiken att verkligen tänka till och zooma ut lite innan man lämnar förslag. Men OM det ibland finns en överrepresentation av en viss yngre generationen här som ibland råkar se närsynt på begreppet klassiker och enbart tänker utifrån sitt eget eget smala perspektiv utan att ens försöka tänka utifrån ”allas perspektiv” då blir det lätt sådana här närsynta tankevurpor som att ”these walls don’t lie” är en ”swedish classic”. För det är den knappast för den bredare publiken.
@@bbeightynine Ja, det stämmer att han har sagt och det skrev jag också. Man måste dock inte vara så pretentiös som du. Detta är ju rätt mycket på lek också. Även själva ordet klassiker kan användas bredare än du tror. Under en lång roadtrip som jag och mina kompisar gjorde för mer än 20 år sen spelade vi några brända cd på repeat. De låtarna är förstås klassiker för oss. Det måste inte vara Roman, Bellman, Taube och Abba för att många ska tycka (just det - TYCKA) att en låt är en klassiker. Det räcker med att man befann sig i ett visst sammanhang under en viss tid där vissa låtar spelades mycket och ofta för att dessa kan kallas klassiker. These walls don't lie är således visst en klassiker. Jag är själv fruktansvärt trött på när 50+-män har önskat fram all denna hemska punk eller punkpop från tidigt 80-tal, men jag måste härda ut för det är klassiker för dem... Om detta projekt hade varit allvarligare än bara för nöjes skull hade han naturligtvis inte gjort sig beroende av vanligt folk som kommenterar här. Vanligt folk är nämligen usla på läsförståelse och på att distansera sig från sina känslor, om du inte visste det. Det finns en anledning till att vi har indirekt demokrati i det här landet... Ta det lugnt och vänta in nästa reaction istället.
What about Kicki Danielsson and Elisabeth Andreassen aka Chips: Dag efter dag, Godmorgon, Mycke mycke mer!? Jill Johnsson + Jan Johanssen: Kommer tid kommer vår Paul Sahlin: Guenerina Agnetha Fältskog: Tack för en underbar vanlig dag, Doktorn, I won’t let you go, The heat is on Those are my suggestions for now!😊
Hur menar du då? Den här sången är ju en jätteklassiker/gammal ”landsplåga” och jag tycker det är väldigt positivt att Jonathan lyssnar på både äldre och yngre klassiker, det behöver man ju göra för att få ett bättre grep om kulturen i ett land. Den här låten handlar om ett svunnet Sverige, flottarnas levnadsöden (men beskrivet på ett ganska lättsamt vis) osv. En sorts dragspelsmusik som spelades mycket i början/mitten av 1900-talet.
