Hey r/Finland ! As someone who enjoys learning more about different cultures, I wish to create a Spotify playlist that includes songs from as many countries in the world as possible, and I need your help. List some timeless classics that define Finland culturally, and I will add the 5 most upvoted ones to the playlist.

Check out the playlist [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RvLkZGkF1wPtyqExf4BKz?si=d4VGKoRWQtCe5RzsuNJM-w&utm_source=copy-link) and the list of each country’s contributions so far [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/16H0t3yUk5XZQkWe9nNTnDvhTrJa5U1ane_dvIgdDzRM/edit?usp=drivesdk)

36 comments

  3. “Vem kan segla förutan vind” is one of the oldest Swedish songs we know of, it most likelly originates from Åland archipelago in Finland and is a very defining song about the life in the archipelago from Turku to Stockholm.

  9. There are many, but some random suggestions
    * Finlandia J. Sibelius
    * Poika nimeltä Päivi by Leevi and the leavings
    * Miinan laulu by Värttinä
    * Hopeinen kuu from Olavi Virta
    * Missä muruseni on by Jenni Vartiainen
    * Aikuinen nainen by Paula Koivuniemi
    * Ruoste by CMX
    * Autiotalo by Dingo
    * Sukkula Venukseen by Kikka
    * Peto on irti by Antti Tuisku

    I tried to pick popular (?) songs from different time periods. This could easily have ten other songs.

  17. Myrskyluodon Maija by Lasse Mårtenson

    Beautiful song which was even used in Paulig Juhla-Mokka commercials. Juhla-Mokka is top selling but suprisingly not the cheapest coffee brand in Finland.

  19. Ultra Bra – Minä suojelen sinua kaikelta

    Many of the songs suggested are great and maybe represent the traditional melancholic countryside life. This one is more urban and hipsteresque with vibes from the 70s and 80’s anti war / leftist songs.

  20. Dingo – Levoton Tuhkimo
    Kaija K – Tinakenkätyttö
    Paula Koivuniemi – Aikuinen Nainen
    Kari Tapio – Olen Suomalainen
    Yö – Joutsenlaulu
    Miljoonasade – Marraskuu
    Juha Vainio – Vanhoja Poikia Viiksekkäitä
    Hector – Juodaan Viinaa
    Kirka – Surun Pyyhit Silmistäni
    Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah
    J. Karjalainen – Sankarit
    JVG – Häissä
    Poju – Poika Saunoo
    Pate Mustajärvi – Ukkometso
    Anssi Kela – 1972 and Puistossa
    Arttu Wiskari – Mökkitie

    Plus many others that are already mentioned. Finlandia being the most obvious.

  21. Kalliolle, kukkulalle

    The song is a Finnish folk song from the 19th century and has at least two different compositions, more popular version being Kaj Chydenius’s version, that KOM-teatteri recorded.

  24. Tapio Rautavaara – Tuopin jäljet

    * [Youtube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=e7hJfJlXMRk)
    * [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/2Ojt5HgYuyQTVylR5ja1FU?si=ed222ae5998c4f9e)

    It’s like the Finnish *My Way*, an evergreen song still often heard as a drinking song. Rautavaara was not only a talented and popular singer but also an Olympic gold medalist for javelin. You could hardly ask for more suitable candidate to represent Finland culturally.

  25. I would add a bunch of songs from PMMP, popular and influencal pop duo from 2002 to 2013. Their songs deal a lot with Finnish culture.

    PMMP – Joutsenet

    PMMP – Rusketusraidat

    PMMP – Matkalaulu

    PMMP – Lautturi

    PMMP – Joku raja

    And also

    Paula Vesala – Missä tytöt ei soita kitaraa

    Later the other PMMP vocalist, Paula Vesala, has been one of the most successful modern Finnish musicians: Vesala has continued with her own music career and also composed tons of music music, for example in theater plays in Finnish National Theatre, etc.

  27. J. Karjalainen – *Hän.* That song is from 1988, but so far it’s the Finnish song with the most plays on commercial radio stations (reported on in 2020), speaking of its popularity and renown.

  28. As [another commenter said](https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/127cjq9/what_are_some_songs_that_define_finland_culturally/jee3xld/) “everything by Irwin Goodman”. The problem is selecting just one. As [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irwin_Goodman) puts it, he sang with humor about poverty, taxes, drinking and alcoholism. Those are important themes in Finnish culture.

    Perhaps we should select one of the irreverent protest songs. *Haistakaa paska koko valtiovalta* (*The whole government can go fuck themselves*) is perhaps a little too crude and *Ryysyranta* leans too much on the old novel that it takes inspiration from.

    There’s so many songs about alcoholism from the early popular songs celebrating drinking, *Ei tippa tapa* (*A drop won’t kill*) and *Työmiehen lauantai* (*A working man’s Saturday*) (containing the catchphrase “At five go to sauna, and at six go to jail”) to the late unfliching summation *Vanha juoppo* (*The old drunkard*). I’ll go with the masterpiece, *Rentun ruusu* (*The rose of the wastrel*), a bitterly humourous love song.

    * [Youtube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr8I7PkyFQw)
    * [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/4ieWnZxkolHTJcintQuCj5?si=c0bee9a1f7324294)

  29. Vesa-Matti Loiri – Lapin kesä

    Timeless classic. Originally a poem by Eino Leino composed in 1902, which was popularized as a song by Vesa-Matti Loiri in 1978. Poem is about how life is short and should be enjoyed using Lapland’s short but vibrant summer as its metaphor.

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