“Var det du?” (1964) – Anna-Lena * Trad. arr. Bruno Glenmark * Lyrics by Cornelis Vreeswijk * Produced by Anders Burman * Sweden EP: Åh, Vilken Fröjd Och Lycka * Label: Metronome
The late Swedish schlager singer Anna-Lena Löfgren had an especially fruitful decade in the 1960s both at home and in West Germany (although she did manage, off and on, to chart in Sweden all the way up to 1995). Due to a lifelong struggle with polio, Löfgren often made her television appearances sitting down, a visual image that matched the clear but gentle assurance in her voice, a refreshing sound from the standpoint of our present climate of vocal affectation. Among her most sublime recordings was “Var det du” (was it you), which appeared on the B-side of her 1964 version of “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Although the melody for “Var det du” comes from a folk waltz called “Var det du eller var det jag” (was it you or was it me) from the southern province of Småland, her recording of it used an updated arrangement by Bruno Glenmark with alternate lyrics by Cornelis Vreeswijk (the Dutchman soon to launch a prolific career as a Swedish troubadour). Worthwhile hit versions of the song soon appeared in Finland (Anki Lindqvist) and Norway (Kirsti Sparboe), but Anna-Lena’s remains the quintessential, full-color version. Perhaps John Sebastian came across this arrangement before crafting his “Coconut Grove.”