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Så lunka vi så småningom (So we gradually amble) is one of the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman's best-known and best-loved songs, from his 1791 collection, Fredman's Songs, where it is No. 21. The song portrays a pair of gravediggers discussing whether the grave is too deep, while taking swigs from a bottle of brandy.
Contents
Context
Carl Michael Bellman is the central figure in Swedish song, known for his 1790 Fredman's Songs and his 1791 Fredman's Epistles. He played the cittern, accompanying himself as he performed his songs at the royal court.
Jean Fredman is a fictional character and the supposed narrator in Bellman's epistles and songs, based on a real watchmaker of Bellman's Stockholm. The epistles paint a picture of the demimonde life of the city during the eighteenth century, where strong drink and beautiful "nymphs" like Ulla Winblad create a rococo picture of life, blending classical allusion and pastoral description with harsh reality.
Song
The song is in 2/4 time and is marked Marche. It has 8 verses, each of 8 lines, with a 4-line chorus repeated after every verse. The rhyming pattern of each verse is the alternating ABAB-CDCD, while the chorus has the pattern EEFF.
The song makes light of death, urging youths to "heed my word, and take the prettiest Nymph who smiles at you under your arm". The chorus runs "Do you think the grave is too deep? Well, take a swig, take another, ditto two, ditto three, so you'll die happier."
Reception
Students of Swedish literature are expected to study Fredman's Songs and Epistles."
The song has been recorded by Fred Åkerström and Sven-Bertil Taube.