Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: GUEST,Deborah Goschy
Date: 30 May 14 - 03:15 PM

I made the original request for the Go Fetch the Water lyrics. Thank you so much for posting them!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 21 Nov 13 - 12:34 PM

At first I was cynical about this song, because it seemed that the (male) singer was sending his girlfriend out to carry water and fetch the firewood. (In many cultures, 'tradition' says that it's the females' job to carry water, whether it's reasonable or not.) Well, anyhow, now I think the singer is a man whose job keeps him indoors. Maybe he's a musician or a tailor. He's telling the other men to be real he-men and go work hard in the cold, but he himself is going to stay in town and enjoy the pretty girls.

Tailors in particular were objects of suspicion. What were they up in the village to while the real men were clearing forests, raising cathedrals and digging canals?

But do the other verses of the song support my view? We need somebody who knows Norwegian.


I'm sending a MIDI to Joe. Meanwhile, here are the chords. The original is in F, and I'm keeping it that way, because transposing it to the more guitar-friendly key of G pushes the top note up to an E, which is uncomfortable for most of us.

O
F/ fetch the wa-ter and
B-flat/ haul the
F/ wood. o
B-flat/ haul the logs where
C/ ice is fro-
F/ zen. O haul whom-e'er you
B-flat/ think you
F/ should. I'll
B-flat/ haul the girl [girl gets 2 notes]
C/ I have cho-
F/ sen. The
C/ cheeks a-glow-ing and the
B-flat/ eyes of
F/   blue. The
C/   pret-ty maid-ens all I
B-flat/ love, I
F/ do. And
B-flat most, the
F/ one I'm
B-flat/   prom-ised
F/ to! So
B-flat/ life in-deed is
C/ worth the liv-
F/ ing!

The MIDI (which should appear here soon) will let you hear how the accompaniment in 3/4 dovetails with the dotted timing of the melody.
I listened to a man singing it on YouTube to get the idea. (The video were a woman sings it to a Jamaican acc. was too complicated for me, but I recommend watching it anyhow.)

---

Click to play (joeweb)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Nov 13 - 05:23 AM

Anybody have the Ginn & Co. Singing in Harmony book? It's supposed to be in that book, and I'd love to see how it was treated there.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 20 Nov 13 - 09:24 AM

Thanks, Joe. The recording is delightful! I love the way he makes the syllables 'swing.'

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Nov 13 - 01:14 AM

There's a nice recording in Norwegian at the Library of Congress (click)

This Danish page has the entire Norwegian lyrics:

Å kjøre vatten og kjøre ve (Å kjøre vatn å kjøre ve') Tekst: Norsk folkevise, Melodi: Norsk folkemelodi Der findes en del tekst versioner af denne sang, og i en del sangbøger er det ofte version 1 som bruges. Der er også skrevet mange tekster og lejlighedssange på melodien. Her kommer et lille udvalg. (Version 1) 1. Å kjøre vatten å kjøre ve' å kjøre tømmer over heia, å kjøre å hvad dom kjøre ve', je kjører gjenta mi eia. De røde roser å de öine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den je vi ha, så er det morosamt å leva. 2. je var på bakken å var lidt fuld men der je aldrig skal komme! Der stal di fra me en tobaksrull å fire skilling a mi lomme. De røde roser å de öine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den je vi ha, så er det morosamt å leva. 3. Å Gud velsigne hu gamlemor, som går på golve å stuller, hu tar ifra me det tomme glas å sætter åt me det fulde. De røde roser å de öine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den je vi ha, så er det morosamt å leva. 4. Å kjøre, hvad dom kjøre vil, je kjærer kjørringa mi eia, hu er så god, hu er så snill, je ka vist aldrig bli' lei a. De røde roser å de öine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den je vi ha, så er det morosamt å leva. (Version 2) 1. Å kjøre vatn å kjøre ve, å kjøre tømmer over heja, å kjøre hvem, som kjøre vi' je kjøre jenta mi eja De røde roser å de øine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den, je vi' ha, så er de' morro å leva. 2. Det står et tre i min faders gård, som har så underlige grene. Og blir je inte gift i år, så vil je leva alene. De røde roser å de øine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den, je vi' ha, så er de' morro å leva. 3. Og Gud velsigne hu gamlemor, som går på golve og stuller, ho tar ifra mig de' tomme glas og sætter for mig de' fulle. De røde roser å de øine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den, je vi' ha, så er de' morro å leva. 4. Og kjøre hvem som kjøre vil. Je kjøre kjærringa mi eja. Hu er så go', hu er så snil, Je kan vist aldri bli lej'a. De røde roser å de øine blå, de vakre jenter holder je utå, helst når je får den, je vi' ha, No er de' morrosamt å leva.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Nov 13 - 01:10 AM

This page (click) has a different translation:

A kjore vatten, aa kjore ve

       Haul the Water and haul the wood
               and haul the lumber over the hill!
         Let everyone haul what they like to haul;
                I'll haul that girl of mine!
          I love the pretty girls
                with the rosy cheeks and blue eyes.
          And when I get the one I want,
                  then it is fun to live.

Subject: Lyr Add: O Fetch the Water (Norwegian)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Nov 13 - 01:02 AM

Somebody e-mailed me a request for a Norwegian song titled "O Fetch the Water." Ordinarily, I'd just post the request, but tonight I thought I'd show off my amazing songfinding skills....


O FETCH THE WATER

O fetch the water and haul the wood!
O haul the logs where ice is frozen.
O haul whome'er you think you should;
I'll haul the girl I have chosen.
The cheeks a-glowing and the eyes of blue,
The pretty maidens all I love, I do
And most, the one I'm promised to!
So life indeed is worth the living.


Aa Kjøre Vatten Aa Kjøre Ve'

Aa kjøre vatten, aa kjøre ve'
Aa kjøre tømmer over heia!
Aa kjøre va døm kjø vi',
Je kjører gjenta mi eia.
De røde roser aa de øine blaa.
De vakra gjenter haaler de utaa.
Helst naar je faar den, je vi' ha.
Saa ær 'e marrosomt aa leva.


Source: The Botsford Collection of Folk Songs, compiled and edited by Florence Hudson Botsford (copyright 1922, Young Women's Christian Association), Volume 2, pp. 90-91