"Satumaa" (roughly, in English "The Fabled Land" or "The Fairytale Land") is the quintessential Finnish

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

. It was written by Unto Mononen, and published in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. The most famous recording is probably the one made by

Reijo Taipale Reijo Toivo Taipale (9 March 1940 – 26 April 2019) was a Finnish pop singer, active since the 1950s, specializing in Schlager music and tango. Many of his albums have been certified gold and platinum. Biography Taipale was born in Miehikkä ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. The lyrics tell a story of a distant land beyond the sea – a happy paradise – however, the narrator can only reach it in his thoughts. The song has been recorded countless times, mainly by male Finnish tango singers. An unusual take on "Satumaa" (and perhaps one more likely to be known outside of Finland) appears on a

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

live album from a Helsinki concert in 1974. Requested at short notice, the band plays the song from sheet music with the (non-Finnish-speaking) vocalist

Napoleon Murphy Brock Napoleon Murphy Brock (born April 23, 1943) is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums '' Apostrophe (')'', '' Roxy & Elsewhere'', '' One Size Fits All ...

trying his best to read the Finnish lyrics.

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2'' is a live album by Frank Zappa. Despite the subtitle 'The Helsinki Concert', the album is not one complete concert, but was, in fact, assembled from two (and possibly three) different concerts perfo ...

(1974) by

Disc 2, track 3.

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...

and his ensemble

Zappa plays Zappa Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the elder son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa. History The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Cana ...

played a part of the song on their 6 June 2009 and 29 November 2013 concerts at the same venue. The name "Satumaa" is also mentioned in a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

song " Satumaa-tango" by Finnish Maija Vilkkumaa. M.A. Numminen, in his novel '' Tango is my passion'', says: "I have heard it was proposed for inclusion in a new hymn book. I think it would be wonderful if it was hymn number 666. During the service I could dance to it with organ accompaniment. Perhaps I would get nearer to God."

Recordings

, 1962 * Sanna Pietiäinen ja M.A. Numminen und Das Neorustikale Tango-Orchester on ''Finnischer Tango - Onko onni unta vain?'' * on ''Tango notturno''

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian (; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an Armenian family, she moved to Canada as a ...

, CBC * Jari Sillanpää on ''Songs Finland Sings'' 2002 (in English, under the title ''Fairyland'') *

Arja Saijonmaa Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa (born 1 December 1944) is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress. Life and career She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University. She made her brea ...

1981 (rare example of a female singer)

References

1955 songs Finnish songs Tango in Finland {{1950s-song-stub

Recordings

See also

References