Kråkevisa ("The Crow Song"), also known as Bonden og Kråka ("The Farmer and the Crow") and Mannen Han Gjekk Seg i Vedaskog ("The Man Went Into the Firewood Forest"), is a widespread Norwegian name for a folk song and jocular ballad spread over all of Scandinavia. There are different versions in Norway, which also uses other melodies. Kråkevisa was sometimes sung by two people as a duel song, where the loser was the one who forgot the verses, or was not able to come up with new verses. Variants are also known in Danish, Faroese, and Swedish.[1]

The Farmer and the Crow

Although the song is counted among the Scandinavian medieval ballads,[2] it is still widely well-known, often as a song for children.[1]

An 8-minute-long animation film Kråkevisa was released in 1962. It was directed by Wilfred Jensenius to a version of the song by Alf Prøysen and produced by Kommunenes Filmcentral A/S.[3][4]

Recordings (Norwegian)

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References

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  1. ^ a b Olav Solberg: Den ommsnudde verda: Ein studie i dei norske skjemteballadane. Oslo 1993
  2. ^ The Types of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballad: F 58, "The tremendous bird"
  3. ^ "Norske barnefilmer 1950-1987". www.nb.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  4. '^ 'Animation: A World History. Vol. II: Birth of a Style. Giannalberto Bendazzi, 2015

Further reading

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  • Arthur Brox, 1976: Folkeminne frå Ytre Senja Issue 117, pp.113-116
  • Skrifter frå Norsk målførearkiv 1967: Vol. 18, p. 227