A butterfly in Haga

Gustav III's summer pavilion. Hagaparken, 16 August 2023.

Om Haga,
dedicerat till herr kaptenen Kirstein

On Haga

Dedication: to Captain Kirstein

1.

C                      G7        C
Fjäriln vingad syns på Haga

            Dm7              G7          C            

mellan dimmors frost och dun

            C        G7       C
sig sitt gröna skjul tillaga

         Dm               G7       C
och i blomman sin paulun.

             Am                  Dm
Minsta kräk i kärr och syra,

              G7                 C
nyss av solens värma väckt,

           C        G7     C
till en ny högtidlig yra

          Dm      G7     C
eldas vid sefirens fläkt.

(Singable translation:)

Wingèd butterfly in Haga

through the fogs and flurries sped,

making in the green its harbour

and within the bloom its bed.

Smallest flies of marsh and mire

new awakened by the sun

come full-charged with high desire

by the gentle Zephyr won.

(Literal translation:)

The wingèd butterfly is seen at Haga

between the mists' frost and snow-flurries (SAOB dun 2b = snöfjun, light snowflakes)

to prepare itself its green refuge

and in the flower its bed.  (SAOB paulun 3, the word (related to "pavilion") most often meant tent but was often extended to the hangings of four-poster bed. )

The least insect in marsh and mire (SAOB syra 3)

just awoken by the sun's warmth

to a new festal enthusiasm

is fired by Zephyr's breath (i.e. the west wind. SAOB fläkt II.1, a gentle breath of wind)

 

  

2.

Haga i ditt sköte röjes
gräsets brodd och gula plan.
Stolt i dina rännlar höjes
gungande den vita svan.
Längst ur skogens glesa kamrar
höras täta återskall
än från den graniten hamrar,
än från yx i björk och tall.

(Singable translation:)

Haga now within your precincts

green grass shoots in yellowed fields.

Proudly on your waters streaming

to and fro the white swan wheels.

From the distant wood's thin chambers 

are repeated echoes heard,

now the granite rung by hammers,

now the axe on birch and fir.

Literal translation:

Haga, in your lap is revealed

the grass's new shoots and yellow field. (SAOB brodd II, the young shoot of a plant esp from seed. NB brodd I means a sharp spike or point i.e. on a tool.  The Swedish word plan is related to both "plain" and "plan". The normal word for a football or cricket pitch.  Also a level area in front of a building, such as a lawn. Presumably yellow after winter snow cover?  "gula plan" is definitive. In modern Swedish it would be "gula planen", and likewise, in the fourth line, "den vita svanen".)

Proudly in your rills is raised (i.e. its neck)

rocking (back and forth) the white swan.

From afar out of the wood's thin chambers (i.e. glades)

are heard repeated echoes

now the granite rung with hammers,

now from axe in birch and pine. (Referring to the king's construction projects at Haga.)

3.

Se Brunnsvikens små najader
höja sina gyllne horn,
och de frusande kaskader
sprutas över Solna torn.
Under skygd av välvda stammar
på den väg man städad ser,
fålen yvs och hjulen dammar —
bonden milt åt Haga ler.

(Singable translation:)

See Brunnsviken's little naiads 

lifting up their golden horns,

and the fountain cascades higher

than the tower of Solna borne.

Underneath the tall trees' arches

on the road so smooth and clean,

striding colt and dust from cartwheels,

Haga makes the farmer beam. 

(Literal translation:)

See Brunnsviken's little naiads (Brunnsviken, lake forming the eastern border of Haga park)

raise their golden horns

and the spouting cascades

flung higher than Solna tower.  (i.e the impressive round tower of Solna church, just to the SW of Haga park)

Under shade of vaulted stems (i.e. tree canopy)

on the neat road one sees

the young horse frolic and the wheels' dust, (SAOB fåle is from the same root as föl (foal), but it means something different: a young horse (up to three years old), as opposed to a fully working horse. The male gender is often implied, so maybe "colt" is a near equivalent in English).

the farmer mildly smiles at Haga.

4.

Vad gudomlig lust att röna
inom en så ljuvlig park,
då man hälsad av sin sköna
ögnas av en mild monark!
Varje blick hans öga skickar,
lockar tacksamhetens tår —
rörd och tjust av dessa blickar,
själv den trumpne glättig går.

(Singable translation:)

What a joy it is that meets me

entered in this lovely place

when my fair one comes to greet me

'neath a kindly monarch's gaze!

Every glance the royal eye sends

draws a tear of gratitude;

moved and charmed by such enticements

even sorrow walks renewed. 

(Literal translation:)

What heavenly happiness to experience

within such a lovely park

when one greeted by his beloved

is overseen by a mild monarch!

Every glance his eye sends

draws gratitude's tear --

moved and charmed by those glances

even the joyless walk with a spring.   (SAOB trumpen, glädtig)

 

 (Fredmans sånger, n:o 64)

Haga Park, location of the never-completed summer palace of Gustaf III (1746 - 1792), in northern Stockholm on the western shore of  Brunnsviken. Designed as an "English" landscape park. 

Carl Michael Bellman (1740 - 1795), Swedish songwriter. This song is from 1791. 

How great it is that the SAOB (Svenska Akademiens Ordbok) is freely accessible to all!(https://www.saob.se/). (Not so the OED. And I discovered this week that Somerset libraries have now "pruned" their subscription to the OED, which I've depended on for years.)

The chords are just for guidance. I sing it in Eb, so chords as above but with the capo at the third fret. 

One of Bellman's best-known songs. Here's how it goes, in a beautiful rendition by Elina:

I think this was the version played on Radio 3 Breakfast on 6 June 2023, in celebration of Sweden's National Day (and 500 years of independence). Elina sings all four verses, but the last verse is often left out, e.g. in the popular songbook Sjung Svenska Folk! (In this last verse the original purpose of the song shows through: royal flattery aimed at procuring a job at Haga for Bellman's wife.)

Here's my own rendition. Not as beautiful as Elina's, but I was pleased to have managed it at all!

michaelpeverett · Fjäriln Vingad Syns På Haga

Lime avenue at Hagaparken, 16 August 2023.

Stora pelousen (The Great Lawn) at Hagaparken. An English-style gently sloping lawn that required a lot of re-engineering of the natural landscape. 16 August 2023.

Small Balsam (Impatiens parviflora, Sw: Blekbalsamin). Hagaparken, 16 August 2023.

A sometimes troublesome weed in Sweden, this is about as far north as it gets.

The balsam species in Sweden: https://www.natursidan.se/nyheter/arets-vaxter-en-ovanlig-en-besvarlig-och-en-invasiv/ .

 

Stinkhorns (Phallus impudicus). Hagaparken, 16 August 2023.

Dancing in the Temple of the Echo. Hagaparken, 16 August 2023.

The temple of the echo (Ekotemplet), built in 1790. Our voices boomed back and forth, but even more impressive was the machine-gun rattle when we stamped sharply on the floor. I wonder if it suggested the "täta återskall" in Verse 2 of Bellman's song.