This is from my long-passed Swedish grandfather. Can anyone translate it?

18 comments
  1. this is a traditional swedish song sung at lucia (december 13).

    “Staffan was a stableboy, he watered his five horses. the best horse is gray which Staffan himself rides upon. “

  2. Staffan (Saint Stephen) was a stable hand, he watered his five horses. The best horse, dapple grey, Staffan himself rode upon.

  3. It is from a swedish Song/folksong sung at lucia (dec 13) called Staffan stalledräng or Staffans visa.

    A sloppy translation that doesnt account for the melody:
    ”Staffan was a stableboy. He watered his five horses. Appelgrå was the best horse., he’s the one that staffan rides upon”

    There are many versions of this song with varying melodies and lyrics.

  4. Sorry about your grandpa passing

    Ampersand55 nailed the translation.

    It seems like something made in ~Minnesota for Swedish-Americans.

  5. If you image Google stjärngosse (star boy) you can also see the common outfit usually boys wear with the cone hat for the choir procession for the Swedish Lucia day. It’s all part of the lead up to Christmas.

  6. And since nobody else said it, here’s the Swedish text, if that’s interesting to you.

    Staffan var en stalledräng
    Han vattna’ sina fålar fem
    Bästa fålen appelgrå
    Den rider Staffan själv uppå

  7. “The treasure is buried in the old well. Put on your finest clothes and bring five horses. Don’t ask me why.”

  8. Search on “Staffan var en stalledräng” on Spotify. You have extreme amounts of hits. Every choir with men in the country, and nearly every school in Sweden, have been singing that song.

Leave a Reply