A4. A song of jest and a ballad

A4. A song of jest and a ballad
a) Je hade en son å han hette Jon (1'05) Martin Martinsson, song, Henån, Orust, Bohuslän
b) Var har du varit så länge (Den lillas testamente) (2'00) Ester Andersson, song, Rätan, Jämtland

Songs sung through the ages in the homes to accompany work or provide entertainment are many and varied and it is impossible to include a representative selection on a record of this type. Here are two old songs. The first tells of a “real” man who managed as a result of his exertions during Sweden’s short midsummer night to set 77 cradles a-rocking. The second is a specimen of the so-called “medieval ballads” which were once widespread in Scandinavia. This song with its theme of murder by poisoning has its counterpart in, amongst others, the Schottish ballad “Lord Randal”. Song 4 b also serves to demonstrate the “floating” intervals common to much of the older folk music already described by 19th century researchers as typical of the Nordic tone scale.