Two Swedish Gentlemen - Lutefisk

Two Swedish Gentlemen

 Ollie and Sven make up the group 'Two Swedish Gentlemen', with Ollie being on the violin and Sven on the accordion. They usually are backed up by any local musicians when they do their tours of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. They play at Swedish heritage festivals and play Swedish folk music as well as more modern songs and their own compositions. 

Their original song, 'Lutefisk', is about a traditional preserved fish that has been dried, and reconstituted by soaking in lye. Yes, you read that right. Lye. Early Scandinavians didn't have many options to preserve food if villages weren't located near salt deposits. So they would dry the fish, and when ready to cook would soak it for a few days to make it edible, and if it were preserved with salt as well, to get rid of the excess salt. Lye would be put into the soaking fish to help make it easier to eat and would actually make the fish gelatinous, and then the fish would need to be soaked once again to remove as much lye as possible.

Only one person at Big And Tall Records has ever eaten it, and he compared the smell to a really decomposed fish and the taste to a really decomposed fish that had been wrapped in dirty socks. There's a great deal of variation in the flavor according to how long it is soaked and the cooking methods used. Many times it is cooked with a lot of spices and herbs to help lessen the strong flavor. Ollie and Sven reportedly love the stuff, and are always glad to sit down to a big plate of the fish! 

He is Ollie, yes he is, I am Sven, yes I am. 

We sing the song for you! 

About our traditional dish 

It's called Lutefisk! 

 

 Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

Puts hair on you chest, yo, yo! 

And lead in your pencil, uf, uf! 

 

We tell you what it is, is cod or other white fish. 

In old country they dry outside on racks, 

The cold dry air makes it hard like leather. 

Gets so hard you can use it to drive tacks! 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

Do not taste the best, yo, yo! 

But it makes you strong! uf, uf! 

 

So the fish is dry and hard like stone, 

And keep a long, long time. 

So when you want to eat it up, 

You have to make it soft over time! 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

The next step is amazing, yo, yo! 

And make it easy to chew! uf, uf! 

 

You first soak a piece of the board fish, 

In a few days in plain water. 

You have to change father ev'ry day, 

To get rid of the salt water. 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

If all you did was soak in water, yo, yo! 

It never get soft to eat!uf, uf! 

 

You put the fish in water, 

Then you add lye to it............. 

Ya, ya, you put lye in the water, 

Don' worry, just do it! 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

Ya, you soak in lye, yo, yo! 

It stink so bad it make you cry!uf, uf! 

 

 After soaking in lye for two days, 

Den you have to soak in plain water

 To get out as much stink of the lye, 

So it tastes more like it ought to! 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

Is good for you to eat! 

After soak, it looks like Jell-O dessert 

All wiggly and disgusting! uf, uf! 

 

Now is ready to cook, 

With lots of spice, potatoes, and butter 

Anything to make it look, 

And taste a whole lot better! 

 

Ya, Ya, the lutefisk 

It tastes like dirty toilet water! 

But eat it with the family at sup! 

And try to not throw it up!uf, uf! 

YEEE HA! YA, YA! 

UF DA! OYUST SPEL! 

KASTA UPP! YA! YA! 

OH! INGA! INGA!