1. There were two white doves flying up to the heavenly realm.
There were two white doves flying up to the heavenly realm.
And when they came back later they had turned into three,
they had turned into three, they had turned into three.

2. The first was God the Father, the other was His Son,
The first was God the Father, the other was His Son,
the third One was a fiddler, I think he’s playing on,
I think he’s playing on, I think he’s playing on.

3. That young hand, he was playing, was playing so well.
That young hand, he was playing, was playing so well.
He played for such a long time, till God He took his Soul,
till God He took His Soul, till God He took his Soul.

4. Now I will drop the fiddle and have more joy at heart,
Now I will drop the fiddle and have more joy at heart,
my Saviour I will follow, we’ll never be apart.
we’ll never be apart, we’ll never be apart.

Lyrics: Traditional Malung, Sweden

Translation and harmonization: Anders Nyberg

I remember how I in my youth was fascinated by this melody but at the same time I thought the lyrics were a bit embarrassing so I avoided it.

It was a prime example of how folkmusic had shot itself in the foot and let itself be influenced by movements within church and society that wanted to burn the fiddles on the altar of piety and modernity.

But then I spoke to Björn Ståbi. If anyone deserved the title Masterfiddler it’s him. It is hard to find any other individual who has meant more to the fact that the folkmusic-movement in Sweden has gone from being threatened with extinction in the 60’s to where it finds itself today. On his business card, if he had had one, he could have written not only musician and artist but also “wise old soul”. His fiddle is now silence but his influence and his legacy is still great.

On one occasion Björn took me to a corner of his home Hörrgård and almost whispered to me about the lyrics of the song.

- You see, he said, this old text carries a prophetic message.

At times he hesitated in his narrative, as if he waited for me to fill the long pauses that appeared.

- This song talks about the grand shift we are experiencing. When we go from two to three and in to a time that looks beyond the physical parameters. A time that understands music, and not only blindly stares at the fiddles.

- And two to three?

- We will go from the dualistic thinking to a more spiritual. And in that shift the fiddler is important. It is culture that will take the story forward. The scientist starts to realise that it is not enough with facts. It has to be put into context and be rooted down in the culture in order to be operative. That is how societies fundamentally are immunised and made resilient. The new time also means that Science and Culture will come closer to each other when they realise their symbiosis.

- And the Father, the Son and the Fiddler, is that to go from the Old Testament age of the Father via the New Testament age of the Son and in to the age of Spirit, represented by the fiddler?

- Yes, you can say so: in order to tell the big story you have to be able to let go of the small. You follow tradition by risking to break it. In order for it to live it needs to be earthed into new soil. The tune needs to be alive every time it is played.

Comment for rehearsals:

This score uses micro-intervals, just like in the old tradition of the Malung-songs. The A is sometimes in natural, sometimes flat and sometimes in between, a quarter-tone. In the last bar of the second system you find the quarter-tone.

This is a challenge as we are always trying to sing perfectly "in tune". But give it a try and experiment with it.

Strive for, get used to, and appreciate the "imperfection" of the in-between note.

Practice makes imperfect!

(If your ears can't take it - sing minor instead of the quarter-tone...)

This score comes with a melody, chords and English lyrics. It is also available in Swedish. You can also order a SATB arrangement for the English version.