Evert Taube (1890-1976) is arguably Sweden’s most beloved troubadour. I first learned to know and love Taube’s songs when I was an exchange student in Sweden. I am delighted to share this collection of my translations and renditions of several of my favorite Taube songs. Copyright restrictions prohibit me posting song lyrics or recordings here. I do have a limited number of CDs available. If you’re interested in a CD, please contact me via email at revemilymelcher@gmail.com

About Evert Taube

Evert Taube (1890-1976) is arguably Sweden’s most beloved troubadour. He wrote approximately 200 songs, ranging from sailor songs to ballads to unparalleled depictions of Sweden to lyrical love poetry.

About My Connection to Evert Taube

I have studied, performed, and translated Evert Taube’s songs for nearly 40 years. I first learned to know and love Taube’s songs when I was an exchange student in Sweden. I was 16 years old, young and romantic, and Taube’s cheerful, romantic songs, with their dance melodies, flirtations, and beautiful depictions of Swedish life and the Swedish countryside spoke to me. I still find myself connecting to that young, romantic girl inside of me when I sing them. This collection includes my acclaimed translations and interpretations of several of my favorite Taube songs.

About Evert Taube’s Songs

The vast majority of Evert Taube’s songs are ballads, or songs that tell stories. While not directly autobiographical, many of them are informed by Taube’s own experiences as a sailor, a “gaucho” (cowboy) in Argentina, a European and also quintessentially Swedish artist, poet, musician, and troubadour, a flirt and a family man. Taube traveled extensively, and spent a good deal of time outside of Sweden, and the world was his palette. More than any other Swedish troubadour, Taube brought the world to Sweden. Still, it is for his unparalleled and idyllic depictions of everyday Swedish life and the Swedish countryside that Evert Taube is most dearly loved.

There are two central archetypal characters in Taube’s songs, characters whose experiences parallel Taube’s own. Very generally speaking, they can be seen as Taube’s alter-egos. The earlier character, Fritiof Andersson, is a sailor, cowboy, musician and artist, a ladies’ man who loves a dance and a flirtation. The later character, Rönnerdahl, who first appears in Taube’s songs in the 1940’s, is a more mature character who still relishes a dance and a flirtation, but who also enjoys the pleasures of home and family life. You’ll encounter both in this collection.

“A Talk While Dancing: Emily Melcher Sings Evert Taube” includes these songs, in my translations:

The Boarding-House Dance (Dansen på Sunnanö)
The Joyful Nudist (Den lyckliga nudisten)
The Joyful Baker in San Remo (Den glada bagaren)
The Serenade in San Remo (Serenaden I San Remo)
Fritiof in Arcadia (Fririof I Arkadien)
Rose at the Ball (Rosa på bal)
Sjösala Waltz (Sjösalavals)
Samborombom (Samborombom)
Calle Schewen’s Waltz (Calle Schewens vals)
Heav’n Blessed Soil (Himlajord)
Pepita Dances a Tamborito in Panama (Pepita dansar)
Sleep in My Arms (Sov på min arm) Sung in both Swedish and English

Copyright restrictions prohibit me posting song lyrics or recordings here. I do have a limited number of CDs available. If you’re interested in a CD, please contact me via email at revemilymelcher@gmail.com