Per Spelmann

1. /: Per Spelmann han hadde ei einaste ku, :/
/: Han bytta bort kua, fekk fela igjen. :/
Du gode, gamle fiolin, du fiolin, 
du fela mi!

2. Per Spelmann han spela og fela ho lét,
så gutane dansa og jentene gret...

3. Per Spelmann han spela og fela var god,
så gutane dansa og jentene lo...

 4. Og om eg vert gamal som stein under bru, 
nei aldri eg byter bort fela for ku...

5. Og om eg vert gamal som mose på tre, 
nei aldri eg byter bort fela for fé...


1. Per Fiddler had only a single cow,
He traded away the cow, got his fiddle back. 
You good old violin, my violin, my fiddle.

2. Per Fiddler he played and the fiddle rang out,
So that the boys danced and the girls cried...

3. Per Fiddler he played and the fiddle was good, 
So that the boys danced and the girls laughed...

4. And if I become old like the rocks under a bridge, 
I’ll never again trade away my fiddle for a cow...

5. And if I become old like the moss on a tree, 
I’ll never again trade away my fiddle for cattle...


A Norwegian folk song about "Per the Fiddler", who sells his violin to buy a cow, but then regrets it and buys his violin back.  Well-known in Norway as both a song and associated dance step, it's based on Peter Strømsing, a travelling fiddler in the late 1700's who supposedly wrote many old dance tunes.