Released 1940 Genre Pop Label Sonora | Recorded 8 May 1940 Length 3:16 Writer(s) Nils Perne (Jokern) | |
"Min soldat" (English: "My Soldier") is a Swedish song written by Nils Perne (Jokern). It was recorded by Ulla Billquist in 1940 and became one of the most popular Swedish songs during World War II.
Contents
Carroll Loveday wrote new English lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia". It was recorded by numerous artists.
Origins
The song was written for and first performed by Naemi Briese in Gosta Jonsson’s revue Det kommer en vår at the Folkan theatre in Stockholm. In the song, a woman is thinking of her fiance who is a soldier "somewhere in Sweden" ("någonstans i Sverige"). She recalls how fashionable he was in comparison to the photograph of him in an ill-fitting uniform. He has told her that they cannot afford to get married this year, and when he arrived yesterday on leave and took her to a dance, he was so tired that he fell asleep at the table. She says she does not mind because he is her "soldier somewhere in Sweden".
Hans skor är för stora och hans mössa för trång
hans byxor för smala och hans rock är för lång
men det gör detsamma för han är min soldat
någonstans i Sverige
Translated to English:
His shoes are too large and his cap too tight
his pants too small and his coat is too long
but it does not matter for he is my soldier
somewhere in Sweden
Ulla Billquist version
Ulla Billquist recorded the song for Swedish record company Sonora on 8 May 1940. The recording was Billquist's first for Sonora after she was lured from Sonora's competitor Columbia for a monthly salary of US$700. Sven Arefeldt was the arranger and led the orchestra. The song became Billquist's most popular recording in Sweden.
Several recordings was made with other female singers for other record companies. Among them were Karin Juel and Siv Ericks.
Revival
The song was revived again in 1973 when the author Jan Olof Olsson ("Jolo") used a line form the song as title for his TV-series Någonstans i Sverige about World War II. Billquist's recording was used as theme song.