Amanda Hocking

That means “One for the organ, one for me,” which is about getting drunk. I think. It’s lyrics from a band called Kaizers Orchestera, which I’ve been on and off listening to for while, but I’m obsessed with them now. Their song “En for Orgelet, En For Me” is currently stuck in my head. But the song “Hjerteknuser”(which translates to “Heartbreaker”) is prettier.

I downloaded “Hjerteknuser” a few months ago on the recommendation of something. I listened to it and I liked it, and I tried to guess what language it was. My first thought was French, which I immediately dismissed. Then I thought German, and I stayed with that one for awhile, but I realized that wasn’t right either. I don’t really know much German, but it didn’t sound Germanic enough for me.

So finally, I looked up. And I discovered that Kaizers Orchestra is Norwegian, which makes me love them about a hundred times more than I already did love them. According to Wikipedia, “Kaizers Orchestra are notable for being among the first non-black metal Norwegian bands or artists singing in their native language to become popular beyond Scandinavia.” But  a citation is needed for that, so who knows if it’s true or not.

Anyway, I love Scandinavia. The mythology for the Trylle books is based on Scandinavian folklore, and many of the words and names I use in the series are Scandinavian or are derived from Scandinavians words. (If you want to see a video of me pronouncing the words from the Trylle books, here’s a blog with a vlog that I did: here.)

This is partially because I just liked the folklore I found, and I thought that since the idea came from Scandinavia the actual heritage of the Trylle should come from there too.

The rest is because I grew up in Southern Minnesota. I don’t know about all of Minnesota, because it’s a big state and I haven’t lived in all of it, but where I’m from there are a LOT of people from Norway and Sweden. It’s definitely a part of the culture around here.

My dad grew up in Northern Minnesota along the iron range, and there were many people from Finland there that worked in the mines. (Side note: This book Seven Iron Men is about my family. My dad’s mother is a Merritt.) When I was a kid, he taught me some Finnish words, like bathroom, a few phrases, and I’m pretty sure some swear words. I’ve forgotten almost of all it, because language is one of those things that you lose if you don’t use it, and I didn’t have a lot of use for a few random Finnish words.

What I do remember is “suurenmoinen poika” and “suurenmoinen tyttö.” My dad told me that meant “good boy” and “good girl.” I looked up the correct spelling using Google translate, and that is not at all how I thought “tyttö” would be spelled. It’s pronounced more like “too – tuh.”

(I recommend you go to Google translate and put it in and listen to them say it, cause it sounds cool. But according to Google translate, that’s not a literal translation of  “good boy” or “good girl.” I finally found “suurenmoinen” under one of the alternate words for “great.” Or just click: here.)

But now, thanks to Kaizers Orchestra, I can learn some Norwegian. Which is fun.

Now for your enjoyment is the song “Hjerteknuser” with optional English subtitles. You have to click on the box to turn them on, but you should cause it’s fun and the song is pretty. You’re welcome.