Gender-neutral lyrics in Norwegian song "Danse mot vår"?

Question

When my dad died in November 2010 we sent the funeral home some photos for them to make a memorial video for the wake. It was only last weekend that I discovered that all of the music they added came from Secret Garden's debut CD, "Songs from a Secret Garden". One of these songs, "Serenade to Spring", was originally done as a vocal tune called "Danse mot vår"

As a solo musician, my goal is to expose the North American public to a wide variety of music from all over the world, in their original languages whenever possible, and I'd like to add "Danse mot vår" to my vocal repertoire. Simplified to their structural essence, the Norwegian lyrics go like this:

Gjennom regnbuens glans
Ser jeg himmel og hav
Smelte sammen i soloppgang.
Og mens tankene flyr
Vákner sanser til liv
Og jorden nynner sin egen sang.

Jeg vil danse mot vår
Kjenne hud møte hud,
være ung i et nyfødt år.
Kjenne liv i min kropp
Fra en sol som står opp
Være ung--jeg vil danse mot vår!

I en blomstrende eng
Vil jeg vandre avsted
Og la sansene finne vei
Jeg har vårkjolen på
Vinden stryker meg nå
Jeg byr deg en vals, kom og dans’ med meg

I recently saw a YouTube video of Elisabeth Andreasson performing the song, which included a subtitled translation of the lyrics. I don't know if the funeral home knew about the lyrics, but I see them collectively as a beautiful metaphor for the transition from one form of life to the next--i.e. the body may die, but the soul is eternal. So I think this would be a great addition to my vocal repertoire: not only would it add to my multilingual repertoire, but it would be, in a way, honoring my dad as well.

However, there's one snag, and it arises from the "vårkjolen" (spring-dress) reference. This reference, along with the lyrics as a whole, lead me to speculate that the primary character/narrator in the song might be a personification of Mother Nature, and so I'm not going to be comfortable doing the song if it turns out it can only be done from a feminine perspective (for example, I cringe every time I hear Kate Bush doing Elton John's "Rocket Man", particularly the "miss my wife" line).

So my question basically is: Does the "vårkjolen" line need to be adapted for a masculine perspective (and if so, how), or can the "kjolen" element of the word be understood to mean "dress" in the sense of clothing in general?

Answer 1

Yes, it carries a feminine perspective, that *is* dress as in a short gown.



However, you can easily switch it to neutral by simply replacing "vårkjolen" with "vårklærne". Then you keep the rhythm while instead singing "the spring clothes".



If you have any other questions, just ask another question. We are here to help (and rant in the politics section).



PS: Another nice Norwegian song is "Elverhøy" by Helene Bøksle. As the lyrics are from a male perspective (despite the singer being a young woman) and written in some strange local dialect, I think it is an adaption of an old folk song. I highly doubt you will be able to sing it, however. The dialect would be mighty difficult to pronounce 100% correctly even with years of knowledge of the language.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

the rythme is off but perhaps

vårklær -- spring clothes.

I'd guess kjolen is only a piece of clothing that a female would wear.





jeg har klær til våren på -- I am wearing clothes for spring. it get's that extra syllable in there.



might be a typo but Vákner should be Våkner



Barn av regnbuen has become a popular song in Norway as an antidote to the mass murderer 22 July 2011 (who apparently HATES this song).



it does seem to be a wonderful song. Good luck. I can help more if you wish. My website is below.

Answer 4

yes it is