"Min soldat" (English: "My Soldier") is a Swedish song written by Nils Perne (Jokern). It was recorded by

Ulla Billquist Ulla Ebba Ingegerd Billquist, (née Schönström 14 August 1907 – 6 July 1946), was a Swedish female schlager singer. She was mostly successful during the early 1940s. Personal life Ulla Billquist married three times; firstly from 1926 to 19 ...

in 1940 and became one of the most popular Swedish songs during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Carroll Loveday wrote new

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia". It was recorded by numerous artists.

Origins

The song was written for and first performed by

Naemi Briese Naemi Briese (4 March 1908 – 20 August 1980) was a Swedish film actress. Selected filmography * '' Jolly Musicians'' (1932) * '' Simon of Backabo'' (1934) * '' Andersson's Kalle'' (1934) * ''Oh, Such a Night!'' (1937) * ''A Cruise in the A ...

Gosta Jonsson Gosta may refer to: *Barankinya Gosta (1935–1998), prominent Zimbabwean Chewa sculptor * Gosta Green, area in the city of Birmingham, England *Gosta River, tributary of the Valea Padeşului River in Romania * Predrag Gosta (born 1972), Serbian-bo ...

’s

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

''Det kommer en vår'' at the Folkan theatre in Stockholm. In the song, a woman is thinking of her fiance who is a soldier "somewhere in Sweden" ("någonstans i Sverige"). She recalls how fashionable he was in comparison to the photograph of him in an ill-fitting uniform. He has told her that they cannot afford to get married this year, and when he arrived yesterday on leave and took her to a dance, he was so tired that he fell asleep at the table. She says she does not mind because he is her "soldier somewhere in Sweden". Translated to English:

Ulla Billquist version

recorded the song for Swedish record company

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

on 8 May 1940. The recording was Billquist's first for Sonora after she was lured from Sonora's competitor

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

for a monthly salary of US$700.Swedish Radio show ''Da Capo'', Sveriges Radio P4 on 19 January 2008. Sven Arefeldt was the arranger and led the orchestra. The song became Billquist's most popular recording in Sweden. Several recordings was made with other female singers for other record companies. Among them were Karin Juel and Siv Ericks.

Revival

The song was revived again in 1973 when the author Jan Olof Olsson ("Jolo") used a line from the song as title for his TV-series '' Någonstans i Sverige'' about World War II. Billquist's recording was used as theme song.

Other versions

*Carroll Loveday wrote new

lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It was recorded by

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (Janua ...

with

Vic Schoen Victor Schoen (March 26, 1916 – January 5, 2000) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000. He furnished music for some of the most successful persons in show business inclu ...

& His Orchestra on 15 November 1941 and reached #3 in January 1942. Its lyrics describe a hillside shrine which is miraculously spared the ravages of a storm that destroys a nearby town. This was later recorded by a number of American

close harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also c ...

and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

groups during the 20th century such as Willie Winfield, The Harptones, The Royals and The Bon Aires. *In 1957,

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

had a minor pop hit with his version. *The song was performed in the film ''

Jazzgossen ''The Jazz Boy'' (Swedish: ''Jazzgossen'') is a 1958 Swedish musical film directed by Hasse Ekman and starring Ekman, Maj-Britt Nilsson, Elof Ahrle and Georg Funkquist.Gustafsson p.118 The film was an attempt to make a nostalgical cavalcade of the ...

'' (1958) by Maj-Britt Nilsson. *Former

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

member

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

recorded the song in 1970 for the TV show "När stenkakan slog", a program made to honour the hits off the old gramophone records. A video was also made for the song, with her sitting in a train compartment. *"Min soldat" was recorded by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

singer

Birthe Kjær Birthe Kjær (born 1 September 1948) is a Danish singer. She finished second at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 1980, 1986 and 1987, before winning in 1989, and went on to finish third at the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest in Lausanne. She also fi ...

and Helmer Olesens orkester on the record '' Det var en yndig tid''. The Danish lyrics was written by Knud Feiffer.

References

{{authority control 1940 songs Swedish songs Swedish-language songs Faron Young songs