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Dearth
Well-Known Member
- Joined
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Hi folks,
Like every year, I spent a big chunk of December driving around town with Muppet-related Christmas CDs playing in my car.
And once again, I found myself listening to 'Christmas Smörgåsbord' from the Green and Red Christmas album, wondering "What the heck are they saying?"
Bear in mind, this was a burned copy of the disk that a friend had given me, so if there's a lyric sheet that comes with it, never mind reading any further.
But I searched online and could not locate an existing set of lyrics anywhere.
On New Year's Eve, I found myself with a little time to kill before midnight, so I listened to the song over and over, doing my best to transcribe it. I was familiar with a few of the more exotic words: hinterland, fjord, lingonberries, lutefisk, marzipan, gooseberry... but for several others, I just left question marks as placeholders.
I did some fuzzy logic searches of what some words sounded like, and filled in a few like cloudberry and glögg (which is a traditional Swedish Christmas mulled wine) but a couple of the ones repeated in the chorus were just too unfamiliar for me to decipher.
THEN, last night, seeking something to read to lull myself to sleep, I picked up The Book of Extraordinary Facts that my sister had given me a few Christmases ago. I randomly opened it to a section on food, flipped a couple of pages, and BOOM, in a list of interesting/disgusting foods from around the world, there was one of the words that had eluded me!
Surströmming (Sweden): Primarily a seasonal dish in northern Sweden, this fermented herring could knock out a wolverine. Even the Swedes rarely open a can of it indoors.
For good measure, lutefisk was also in this list, on the following page:
Lutefisk (Sweden): It's simply fish boiled in lye. The lye gelatinizes the fish, but if it's soaked too long, the mixture starts turning into soap. The taste is actually fairly mild; the smell depends on the fish used (reportedly, cod isn't the best choice).
Delighted by this cosmic answer to my mystery, I redoubled my efforts and began researching traditional Swedish foods until I filled in some of the other mystery words, including tunnbröd and Queens Blend preserves.
Found on Wikipedia: "Traditionally, tunnbröd is eaten with Surströmming (fermented herring) and as dopp i grytan (lit. "dip in the pot") where the bread is soaked in the stock left from cooking the Christmas ham."
So without further ado, here is my completed reconstruction of what I think the singers are saying. If you notice any mistakes, please let me know!
~~~
When it's Christmastime in Sweden/
And the snow is ten feet deep/
He holes up in his kitchen/
To make his Christmas treats.
People come from near and far/
To hinterland and fjord/
Just to get a taste/
Of his Christmas smörgåsbord!
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
His meatballs are so Swedish/
His marzipan's a delight/
But his marinated fishballs/
Will keep you up all night.
Top it off with pralines/
In a Swiss nut nougat gourd/
The reindeer stew/
Will bring you back to/
His Christmas smörgåsbord!
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
Queens Blend preserves, Black currant preserves, Gooseberry preserves, Cloudberry preserves/
So many preserves/
He simply deserves/
To take center stage and say "Dinner is served!"
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
~~~
Merry belated Christmas!
Dearth
Like every year, I spent a big chunk of December driving around town with Muppet-related Christmas CDs playing in my car.
And once again, I found myself listening to 'Christmas Smörgåsbord' from the Green and Red Christmas album, wondering "What the heck are they saying?"
Bear in mind, this was a burned copy of the disk that a friend had given me, so if there's a lyric sheet that comes with it, never mind reading any further.
But I searched online and could not locate an existing set of lyrics anywhere.
On New Year's Eve, I found myself with a little time to kill before midnight, so I listened to the song over and over, doing my best to transcribe it. I was familiar with a few of the more exotic words: hinterland, fjord, lingonberries, lutefisk, marzipan, gooseberry... but for several others, I just left question marks as placeholders.
I did some fuzzy logic searches of what some words sounded like, and filled in a few like cloudberry and glögg (which is a traditional Swedish Christmas mulled wine) but a couple of the ones repeated in the chorus were just too unfamiliar for me to decipher.
THEN, last night, seeking something to read to lull myself to sleep, I picked up The Book of Extraordinary Facts that my sister had given me a few Christmases ago. I randomly opened it to a section on food, flipped a couple of pages, and BOOM, in a list of interesting/disgusting foods from around the world, there was one of the words that had eluded me!
Surströmming (Sweden): Primarily a seasonal dish in northern Sweden, this fermented herring could knock out a wolverine. Even the Swedes rarely open a can of it indoors.
For good measure, lutefisk was also in this list, on the following page:
Lutefisk (Sweden): It's simply fish boiled in lye. The lye gelatinizes the fish, but if it's soaked too long, the mixture starts turning into soap. The taste is actually fairly mild; the smell depends on the fish used (reportedly, cod isn't the best choice).
Delighted by this cosmic answer to my mystery, I redoubled my efforts and began researching traditional Swedish foods until I filled in some of the other mystery words, including tunnbröd and Queens Blend preserves.
Found on Wikipedia: "Traditionally, tunnbröd is eaten with Surströmming (fermented herring) and as dopp i grytan (lit. "dip in the pot") where the bread is soaked in the stock left from cooking the Christmas ham."
So without further ado, here is my completed reconstruction of what I think the singers are saying. If you notice any mistakes, please let me know!
~~~
When it's Christmastime in Sweden/
And the snow is ten feet deep/
He holes up in his kitchen/
To make his Christmas treats.
People come from near and far/
To hinterland and fjord/
Just to get a taste/
Of his Christmas smörgåsbord!
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
His meatballs are so Swedish/
His marzipan's a delight/
But his marinated fishballs/
Will keep you up all night.
Top it off with pralines/
In a Swiss nut nougat gourd/
The reindeer stew/
Will bring you back to/
His Christmas smörgåsbord!
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
Queens Blend preserves, Black currant preserves, Gooseberry preserves, Cloudberry preserves/
So many preserves/
He simply deserves/
To take center stage and say "Dinner is served!"
Dip in the pot/
The bouillon is hot/
The lingonberries are sweet/
Dopp in the pot/
A taste of tunnbröd/
His surströmming is a treat!
Lutefisk and rice/
Isn't that nice?/
We might have to loosen our skirts!/
Ja, try the glögg/
Or it's off to the dog/
He makes us eat til it hurts!
~~~
Merry belated Christmas!
Dearth
Last edited:
