Two Swedish Gentlemen - Jag Älskar Dig ( I Love You)

The latest from Two Swedish Gentlemen was somewhat of a surprise. For full orchestra, with Ollie on solo violin and Sven singing a Swedish/English love song! Information about the orchestra that accompanies is somewhat confusing, as it's the Sundström Chamber Orchestra which can be heard on a recording we issued  few months back. This was an older recording sent to us by the brothers, so perhaps the group on the new recording is a reincarnation of it.

Whatever the case  may be, Ollie plays a very tuneful and sweet violin solo. We had no idea he was so accomplished, as all we've heard from him was a folktune-like fiddling. And Sven sings in a smooth baritone with a surprising power. The brothers recorded this in Sweden, and outside of the recording file, any other information about the song is scant. We do know it is an original song written by both of them.

I know English enough to get by 

Similarities there surely are 

But my native tongue be Swedish 

Can speak more directly from my heart 

 

 Jag Älskar Dig are the word to you 

My precious love I will speak so true 

Long to say I love you in Swedish 

Jag Älskar Dig, I will always be true 

 

See you walking, you don know I’m there

 I can’t help but watch as you go by 

I’ll have the courage someday and try 

To tell you completely how I feel 

 

Jag Älskar Dig are the word to you 

My precious love I will speak so true

 Long to say I love you in Swedish 

Jag Älskar Dig, I will always be true 

 

 In my dream world, I’ll say it to you 

And you’ll smile a smile only you can 

You’ll take my hand and convey 

Jag Älskar Dig Också you will say!  (I love you too)

 

Jag Älskar Dig are the word to you 

My precious love I will speak so true 

Long to say I love you in Swedish 

Jag Älskar Dig, I will always be true

 

Two Swedish Gentlemen - Hüsker Dü

 We're doing something that we've rarely done here at Big And Tall Records; issuing two different recordings of the same work at the same time. If you want to read about the recording of  the original version of this song, you can read it here, so we'll stick to the Two Swedish Gentlemen version in this post.

This is the second song the Two Swedish Gentlemen have recorded with us, the first being Lutefisk, issued just before Christmas in 2024. Ollie and Sven (can't get much more Swedish than that!) are still kind of a mystery as we don't know a lot about them. Not that they're secretive at all, they're just super busy. They play a lot of gigs through the years, and usually go back to Sweden and take a month or so off. They have told us they've got some more songs to record, so maybe we can get info about them then. 

If you really want to know what the lyrics say, you most likely will have to follow along. It's sung in an accent that is clear one moment, confusing the next. Hüsker Dü is the name of a popular memory game published first in the 1950's, and that is still available today. During the 1970's, the game's advertising contained subliminal messages that had the words 'buy me' running throughout the ad. Whether these kinds of things actually work to get people to buy is still open for debate, but it is illegal to insert them into ads. There were complaints to the FCC about them, and the game's manufacturer took them off the air. 

There was also a Rock Band by that name in the 1980's. 

When you don’t know where are the keys to your car, 

Aren't sure which coat belongs to you? 

And you don’t have a clue where you are, 

Then we say these words HÜSKER DÜ 

 

Hüsker Dü, where are you? 

You must try to remember who are you 

Hüsker Dü, if you don’t know 

Then we will tell you HÜSKER DÜ 

 

 Imagine you are sittin' at home 

And you want to call your brother 

Reach in your pocket for your phone

 But it isn't there or in any other 

 

Hüsker Dü, where is it Y

ou must try to remember where is it 

Hüsker Dü, if you don’t know 

Then we will tell you HÜSKER DÜ 

 

I saw an old man at the bus stop 

He asked me if I knew where we were

 I told him Hey don’t you know, Pop! 

If you don’t then I'll say HÜSKER DÜ 

 

Hüsker Dü , where are we? 

You must try to remember where we are 

Hüsker Dü, if you don’t know 

Then we will tell you HÜSKER DÜ 

 

He told me ‘Listen, shit face! 

I just ask a question to you 

I want to know if I'm in the right place 

So don’t give me sass with HÜSKER DÜ 

 

Hüsker Dü, I'll smack you

 If you get smart ass with me again 

Hüsker Dü, if you can't tell me 

THEN I WILL TELL YOU HÜSKER DÜ! 

 

The old man was gettin' kind of steamed, 

And I figured he didn't have a clue 

So I see how mad I can get him, 

So I tell him HÜSKER DÜ! 

 

He got very angry, call me names 

And there where none of them that were true 

So he held his fist close to my nose, 

I laugh and tell him again, 

as he smacked me on chin, 

there bleedin' I begin  HÜSKER DÜ! 

 

He say ‘Hüsker Dü. fuck you! 

I teach some manners to you Hüsker Dü 

You made me see red 

You bleed in your head 

This come to pass, 

 Shove Hüsker Dü up your ass 

 And that's all I got to say to you! 

Hüsker Dü

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!