Satumaa
"Satumaa" (roughly, in English "The Fabled Land" or "The Fairytale Land") is the quintessential Finnish tango. It was written by Unto Mononen, and published in 1955. The most famous recording is probably the one made by Reijo Taipale in 1962. The lyrics tell a story of a distant land beyond the sea — a happy paradise — however, the narrator can only reach it in his thoughts. The song has been recorded countless times, mainly by male Finnish tango singers.[1]
The most unlikely artist performing it on record is perhaps Frank Zappa, who played it as a request at a live show recorded in Helsinki in 1974.[citation needed] It was released on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 (although, since the singer, Napoleon Murphy Brock, cannot speak Finnish, the results are largely incomprehensible).[citation needed] Dweezil Zappa and his ensemble Zappa plays Zappa played a part of the song 6 June 2009 on their concert at the same venue.[citation needed]
The name "Satumaa" is also mentioned in a pop rock song "Satumaa-tango" by Finnish Maija Vilkkumaa.
The song is sometimes called "the national anthem of the Sweden Finns".[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Finnish music quarterly Esittävän säveltaiteen edistämiskeskus (Finland), Luovan säveltaiteen edistämissäätiö (Finland), Sibelius-Akatemia (Helsinki, Finland) - 1991 "The classic example of the remorseful hit is, however, the tango Satumaa (Magic Land, 1955) by Unto Mononen (1930-1968), which may be regarded as one reflection of the Kyrie eleison melody:"
[edit] Recordings
- Reijo Taipale, 1962
- on Tango notturno Isabel Bayrakdarian, CBC
[edit] See also
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