Gubben Noach is a traditional Swedish drinking song ("Old Man Noah"), written by 18th century composer Carl Michael Bellman. It is published as the 21st song in Songs for the Philologists in 1936.
Two verses of the Swedish original are included here, together with 3 verses of an Icelandic translation, by Eiríkur Björnsson.
Swedish original
Gubben Noach, gubben Noach var en hedersman:
När han gick ur arken,
plantera ban på marken
Mycket vin, ja, mycket vin, ja: detta gjorde han.
Han väl viste, han väl viste, att en mänska var
torstig av naturen
som de andra djuren —
därför han ock, därför han ock vin planterat har. [note 1]
Icelandic translation
Gamli Noi, gamli guðhræddur og vis;
mikilshattar maður,
mörgum velviljaður.
þott hann drykki, þott hann drykki, þa samt bar hann pris.
Aldrei drakk hann, aldrei drakk hann of mikið i senn,
utan einu sinni
a hann trui eg rynni.
Glappaskotin, glappaskotin, ganga svo til enn.
Viltu vinur, viltu vinur vita hvar hann sat?
Bustaður einn batur,
Borginn var rjett latur,
Gamli Noi, gamli Noi hæst a Ararat.
External links
- Gubben Noak on Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ This is the exact form as is printed in the Songs.