Amerikanen Reacts to Svenska Klassiker: Povel Ramel - Gräsänkling blues

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  • Опубліковано 26 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 119

  • @svenhellman4542
    @svenhellman4542 2 роки тому +85

    This flew over your head. Povel was a comedian and entertainer. This is a pastish or parodi of a blues. Performed on stage in variety show. Not to compare with genuine bluesartist haha

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +8

      Regardless, it was bad

    • @Stefan-
      @Stefan- 2 роки тому +6

      Yes it was way more about the lyrics as i would say was common with Povel, and i do think it fits doing the more restrained vocals to describe feeling perhaps hung over after a lot of partying like in the song.

    • @EllakGr
      @EllakGr 2 роки тому

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 I was thinking about subscribing before but the last few reactions including this badly researched and unfunny reaction made me change my mind. And that is my honest reaction.

    • @EmmelineSama
      @EmmelineSama 2 роки тому +5

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 well, this man was about entertainers and making people laugh. And the humor changes from a decade to another. I'm sure you wouldn't love the kind of humor they laughed at in the U.S at that time..

    • @audhumbla6927
      @audhumbla6927 2 роки тому +4

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 No its not, if you know the context and the genre and time and him, you cant expect fkn muddy waters, you dont know what youre talking bout so dont be rude

  • @listonheinz9103
    @listonheinz9103 2 роки тому +52

    It’s a joke song, dude. You didn’t get the joke…😂

  • @olsa76
    @olsa76 2 роки тому +34

    Det är ett skämt.Ironi. Det hade inte varit bra att sjunga med mera känsla eftersom det ju faktiskt inte är synd om en karl för att han festat för mycket när frun är borta. Povel var en fenomenal textskrivare och jag skulle vilja kalla honom för komiker/underhållande. Det var inte sången han var känd för.

  • @charlottepersson2343
    @charlottepersson2343 2 роки тому +44

    Herregud, det är Povel Ramel. Han var ingen bluessångare och ska inte bedömas som en sådan heller. Du har helt missat poängen!

  • @QueenMegaera
    @QueenMegaera 2 роки тому +10

    I know Povel is only a serviceable singer, but the alliteration of "jag själv är lika vissen så som sissusen ser ut" always makes me smile. ☺️

  • @Firensid
    @Firensid 2 роки тому +20

    To quote a person I respect; ”That was bad, that was a bad [music reaction]”.
    The whole point is that it’s a person you’re not supposed to feel sorry for, you can’t play blues if you don’t have a soul and the character portrayed in this song is not somebody with a soul, it’s not somebody you’re supposed to feel sorry for, it is somebody to be laughed at.
    I will admit that this is a bit old and it is humour for the generations before me but I still see what Povel was doing, I see your answers in the comments that you did understand it, and I’m inclined to believe you but that doesn’t change the fact that you did not highlight that in the video. You went on about things that most people would find irrelevant in the context of this song like how he almost got into it by the end and so on, when he never intended to perform good blues, he just intended to tell a story about a funny character to snicker at.
    That being said, thank you for always being honest, you know I love your channel Jonathan and I hope to listen to your videos until I’m as old as Povel got before he passed away. I hope the comments, including mine, didn’t discourage you. I think you’ve gained an audience that is really passionate, with all the positive and negative side effects that comes with having that kind of audience.

  • @bbeightynine
    @bbeightynine 2 роки тому +31

    Povel was never aiming for any “imitation” of blues. It was an intentional low key “parody” of blues in a typical swedish silly comic style - and about a guy who really hasn’t any real big problems. That was the thing. You kind of got it but also not haha. It was intentional sung that way.

  • @sannaolsson9106
    @sannaolsson9106 2 роки тому +18

    It's Povel Ramel lol. I know that doesn't mean much to you, but he was doing comedy. You took this way too seriously and this is not to be taken seriously at all. Ask people you know about him and they would agree.

  • @momma636
    @momma636 2 роки тому +29

    He has the blues! His wife is away. So it's not the blues blues you think of. He want his wife to come home again. It is a joke song. And he had been a naughty boy during his wifes abscence.

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +2

      I understood the lyrics completely. I just didn't like it. That is possible, ya know.

    • @momma636
      @momma636 2 роки тому

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 I don´t like that song either. He did better songs than that.

  • @johnnyjonsson1938
    @johnnyjonsson1938 2 роки тому +43

    I think you're taking Povel Ramel and his music a bit tooo seriously😂He was an entertainer and has inspired many comedians to this day in Sweden, not the singers. He's a comic legend that was more known for his wittiness than his musicality. This appears more in songs like "Var är tvålen" and maybe his biggest and well-known song "Far jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt" I recommend these songs to understand more what this guy is all about.😉
    I would also like to recommend our jazz legend Alice Babs "Swing it Magistern"

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +4

      I'm taking it too seriously? I think the rest of the people in the comments are taking his music too seriously. I just reacted honestly to what I thought was a bad song.

    • @Furienna
      @Furienna 2 роки тому +20

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 They are simply trying to explain to you what you're missing, I think.
      It is okay if you don't like this song, but we just wanted to put it into its context as a joke song from 1950s Sweden.

    • @matsjohansson2657
      @matsjohansson2657 2 роки тому

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 😂😂😂 😅

  • @Pehrcapita
    @Pehrcapita 2 роки тому +27

    For a comedian you're a bit thick when it comes to jokes. 🙂
    1. This is the first Swedish blues ever written and recorded. (by at least a decade, next one is Peps) Swedish audiences in general had never heard anything like it. Swedish jazz in the 40's and 50's was still quite woopsie. And the lyrics is written in a certain entertainment style (Karl Gerhard did it best), delicate Swedish with foreign expressions interwoven. But in those days the language would be German, French or Greek and Latin. Povel does it with English. He's even pronouncing gräsänkling with American accent. That's the artform here.
    2. He sings in character. It's about an upper class guy with servants and all, hanging with celebrities and scandal beauties. He's not been "rolling on the river", which is funny. Povel was even a duke or something in realty. There's no distasteful appropriations here, which were common for the time. I mean, check out "Naturbarn" , "Ittmah Hoa"or "Fat Mammy Brown" of his for that stuff.
    3. Povel's piano skills are dumbfounding here. I mean 8th triplet licks over a quarter triplet beat. That's some J Dilla shit. Behind his silly, crazy, corny facade, there's a music talent comparable with George Gershwin, Oscar Peterson and Burt Bacharach. Still he chooses to be silly. That's his greatness.
    If John Lee Hooker sang it it would sound better, but be less funny.
    If you want to do another Povel I would strongly recommend "De sista entusiasterna". Downright masterpiece.

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +1

      Shit was whack

    • @Furienna
      @Furienna 2 роки тому +6

      To be fair though, humor is very subjective, and not even comedians will understand what is supposed to be funny about every bit of comedy, that has ever been made.
      I can see how Jonathan can miss the point about what a comedian from 1950s Sweden was trying to do.

    • @Pehrcapita
      @Pehrcapita 2 роки тому

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 😀 Gitter dunn, Florida man!

    • @Pehrcapita
      @Pehrcapita 2 роки тому

      @@Furienna I know. Just saying there's a pattern. Jonathan doesn't like the funnies. To be fair he liked Husvagn and at least recognizes that Electric Banana Band is funky.

    • @Furienna
      @Furienna 2 роки тому +1

      @@Pehrcapita Again, it is no wonder that an American won't get Swedish humor from many decades ago.
      So I cut him some slack on this.

  • @anna-karingronberg1942
    @anna-karingronberg1942 2 роки тому +8

    Aj aj aj, det var en rejäl sågning! 😱 Har ingen aning om vad jag skulle tycka och tänka om denna sång om jag jag aldrig hört den förut och ifall jag inte visste något om Povel Ramel. Jag vet bara att låten är exakt vad den är tänkt att vara och alla gillar ju inte samma sak. Humor har ju ofta även ett "bäst före - datum".

  • @Furienna
    @Furienna 2 роки тому +20

    My mother sang parts of this for me when I was a kid.
    Of course I didn't really understand what the lyrics were all about until later in life.
    And as for it not being "real blues", this is probably as close as you would get to the real thing in 1950s Sweden.
    It is important to look at this song within that context to appreciate it and not just see it as "watered-down trash".
    Besides, Povel was indeed a comedian rather than a blues singer anyway.
    It is a joke song, so the lyrics will be more important than the execution here.

  • @satanihelvetet
    @satanihelvetet 2 роки тому +11

    Povel was never 100% serious. There was always happiness and at least small level of comedy in everything he did. So it's not his way to singing with a harsch vocal or a lot of bad feelings. He wanted it to be happy. I think he used the blues style in this song (and others) just because he liked the melody style. A blues that actually sounds pretty happy or lighted up is typical for Povels sense of humour.

  • @libertyjustice1620
    @libertyjustice1620 2 роки тому +16

    You're overanalyzing and focusing too much on the "blues" part. It's just supposed to be a joke song with funny lyrics, not an actual blues song. Povel Ramel was first and foremost a humorist and lyricist who chose music as his medium. Also, at the time this song was written Sweden was a much more innocent country where people didn't know as much about different international musical styles and cultural traits of other places as they do nowadays. You just have to take it for what it is - a bit of fun (even if you don't see the humour in it). Povel Ramel is part of the Swedish cultural legacy and a part of the same pantheon as the comic duo Hans Alfredson and Tage Danielsson (Hasseåtage) and Monica Zetterlund, who are still loved by many Swedes. Many people in Sweden therefore feel strongly about them, so tread carefully!

  • @herrjingjing
    @herrjingjing 2 роки тому +37

    Lol it's Povel Ramel for god sake! 😆 A master of joke songs, not singing. I think you went in with the wrong expectations! 😂

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +4

      My expectations were high. Especially with the Cornelis cover being out there. Now I'm scared to listen to that lol

    • @herrjingjing
      @herrjingjing 2 роки тому

      Lol! No need to be afraid of Cornelis version though, it has much more typical blues dynamics to it.

  • @chalphon4907
    @chalphon4907 2 роки тому +9

    It's not supposed to sound like actual blues, it's a comedy song.

  • @adamnyback
    @adamnyback 2 роки тому +11

    Det är det här som gör dessa reactions så bra. Vi har olika bakgrund och reagerar på olika sätt på grund av det. Att folk skriver att de slutar prenumerera på kanalen är ju bara patetiskt.

    • @feliciahallberg3098
      @feliciahallberg3098 2 роки тому +2

      Håller med man kan inte gilla allt, tyvärr🙂

    • @susannes7023
      @susannes7023 2 роки тому +2

      Instämmer! Är man så känslig ska man kanske hålla sig borta. Det här är ju bara på skoj! Finns ingen anledning att bli sur.

    • @Huxteble
      @Huxteble 2 роки тому +1

      Exakt! Själv blir jag sugen på att starta ett band med bara musikaliska provokationer. Glad, lättviktig blues, synth i hårdrocksversioner och tvärtom, blanda Dylan/Springsteen med Bryan Adams, blanda Lundell med Ledin, högerpolitisk reggae och göra glad schottis av Thåström. Anything goes! :P

    • @adamnyback
      @adamnyback 2 роки тому +2

      @@Huxteble Absolut. Det är ett fritt land. Man får göra vilken musik man vill och sen får man ta kritik och reaktioner eller ignorera det.

    • @Huxteble
      @Huxteble 2 роки тому

      @@adamnyback Yes, exakt! 👍

  • @UtanPersonligtAnsvar
    @UtanPersonligtAnsvar 2 роки тому +19

    It´s a joke. Nothing more. Never meant to be "blues".

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +1

      Yet it's copying to the note a standard blues melody/style

    • @UtanPersonligtAnsvar
      @UtanPersonligtAnsvar 2 роки тому +2

      @@JonathanRollinssthlm305 Yes, that´s the joke... But you´re right. It´s a bad song. Some classic songs stays in the common memory for other reasons than being good. Just like "Husvagn". A extremly bad song as well. -But still a classic.

  • @bosundborg5895
    @bosundborg5895 2 роки тому +10

    Men asså, detta var nog minst 20 år innan nån hört talas om BB King här. Det var underhållning där begreppet blues var förknippat med långsam jazz med lite svensk bluesfeeling

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому

      That doesn't make it good to me 🤷🏾

    • @Huxteble
      @Huxteble 2 роки тому

      Musiktekniskt är det en s.k. bluestolva som går runt runt, dvs. riktig blues.

  •  2 роки тому +7

    Blues=a feeling of sadness or depression I've got (a case of) the blues. Not always a song style. Povel is a true classic.

  • @Cookie_moonlove
    @Cookie_moonlove 2 роки тому +5

    you are missing the point. it is gräsängklingsblues, not blues just like he isn't a änkling because she is just out of town, not dead. The thing is the swedish married man is whining about his small self-inflicted problems because his wife left him alone for a short time. Singing it full out blues soul would not be the right thing. He is telling a story, the way he is singing it is a part of it. Swedish parody.

  • @feliciahallberg3098
    @feliciahallberg3098 2 роки тому +13

    Jussi Björling - Till havs 😉

    • @Stefan-
      @Stefan- 2 роки тому +4

      Den är helt grym, vilken sångare han var, han kallades till och med mästare av Pavarotti.

  • @tangfors
    @tangfors 2 роки тому +7

    It's a parody of Bluse. He is super privileged and complains about shitty things, therein lies the comic. Povel was noble so it would sound quite bad if he did a serious Blues song.

  • @Huxteble
    @Huxteble 2 роки тому +5

    När nya musikstilar kommer hit har de ofta använts som humor först. Så lyssna på Ulla-Bella Rap från 1984 om du vågar... MOAHAHAHA! *evil laughter*

  • @asahenriksson1981
    @asahenriksson1981 2 роки тому +9

    Cornelis Vreeswijk:
    Ångbåtsblues
    Balladen om Fredrik Åkare

  • @susannebjorklund4204
    @susannebjorklund4204 2 роки тому +7

    What I heard that Povel says the storyline in song is true.
    So he did a joke song about it. Someone heard that to?
    If you listen to Povel, you do it for is magic with words, his lyrics.
    Not is capacity as a blues singer.

  • @goranferm5968
    @goranferm5968 2 роки тому +3

    Med Povel är det viktigaste, orden och rimmen, då han var en mästare på detta.

  • @rasmuswi
    @rasmuswi 2 роки тому +6

    I can't believe that you've never reacted to Hootenanny Singers! They've made droves of amazing songs. Probably the best one is "Omkring tiggarn från Luossa" but the list of great songs is long. Sizzi, Lilla vackra Anna, Där björkarna susa, Aldrig mer. Song writer and lead singer was Björn Ulvaeus, 25 % of Abba.

  • @davidlevy4340
    @davidlevy4340 2 роки тому +5

    You have to understand that this is a very early Iteration of the blues in Sweden. Povel probably enjoyed the blues form and wanted to use it somehow. The problem is that the acceptance of it was probably only possible in this joking kind of way.
    This fact might have some kind of racial subtext but with my limited knowledge, it’s not for me to judge.

  • @jerryhall5709
    @jerryhall5709 2 роки тому +1

    Povel Ramel had a style that reminds me of Danny Kaye. Both were idiosyncratic word equilibrists.

  • @cecilialofgren1396
    @cecilialofgren1396 Рік тому

    This a mix of humour and music. It would have been a miracle for you to get this!!🤪

  • @tommiejonsson8952
    @tommiejonsson8952 2 роки тому +3

    Translated verbatim, the term "gräsänkling" would be "Grass-widower" and the female version "Gräsänka" Grass-widow. Wikipedia had this to say (since you can read swedish, I'm not going to translate it): sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%A4s%C3%A4nka

  • @n.g.4852
    @n.g.4852 2 роки тому +2

    Andreas Johnson - Glorious
    Arja Saijonmaa - Högt över havet
    One more time - Den vilda
    Nick Borgen - We are all the winners
    Lili & Susie - Oh mama
    Gemini - Mio min Mio
    Roger Pontare - När vindarna viskar mitt namn

  • @kimpalaine431
    @kimpalaine431 2 роки тому

    He was an intellektual 40`s dude😎 this was way before Peps and everything. A big inspiration for many artists.

  • @QueenMegaera
    @QueenMegaera 2 роки тому +1

    For Swedish blues though, it would be interesting to hear what you think about "främling överallt" or "om Black Jim" from the same Thåström-album as Fanfanfan

  • @eh-modo
    @eh-modo 2 роки тому +5

    Why should you compare B.B. King and Povel Ramel? It's like comparing Justin Bieber and Markoolio 😉

  • @miss.medieval.turban
    @miss.medieval.turban 2 роки тому +5

    Jag tycker Povel är best med sina komiska saker. Far jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt är jätte rolig. Inte blues alls, jag lovar. :)

  • @Maria-zn8ci
    @Maria-zn8ci 2 роки тому +3

    Tommy tycker om mig! Carola!

  • @klaskristian1
    @klaskristian1 2 роки тому +8

    What?? Its a great song!🙂 Imo anyway!

  • @goranferm5968
    @goranferm5968 2 роки тому +5

    två förslag "Droppen från New Orleans" och "Var är tvålen"

  • @ingmarxhoftovningsr6144
    @ingmarxhoftovningsr6144 Рік тому +1

    It is only ment to be fun. Also, you couldn't play blues in Sweden at the time when this was recorded, basically no-one would have understood that type of music. So, rather than seeing it as him slaughtering blues (which he did, and I am sure he and his musicians thought it was great fun doing this to blues), he really gave Swedes a little taste of blues, as much as they could muster at the time.

  • @michaeladler8716
    @michaeladler8716 2 роки тому +7

    React to ÅNGBÅTSBLUES with CORNELIS VREESWIJK

    • @asahenriksson1981
      @asahenriksson1981 2 роки тому +1

      Bra förslag! Har också föreslagit den.

    • @jonasjohnsson2130
      @jonasjohnsson2130 2 роки тому +1

      Ja. En bra skämtsång i bluesformat

    • @JonathanRollinssthlm305
      @JonathanRollinssthlm305  2 роки тому +4

      It's on the list

    • @starfish4500
      @starfish4500 2 роки тому +2

      That will be you first proper reaction to Jan Johansson, as he plays the piano on Ångbåtsblues. That song is a true classic.

  • @flogcsiddrater3251
    @flogcsiddrater3251 2 роки тому +2

    Glad u giving your genuine opinion unlike many other reactors on YT who always seem unreasonably positive towards everything they see or hear. If you don't like the song, u don't like it, simple as that and no need to pretend otherwise just to please crybabies who don't agree!

  • @wham_
    @wham_ Рік тому

    There's a roast in the lyric directed at the famous actor Stig Järrel, whose gambling problem was well known in among other entertainers

  • @susannes7023
    @susannes7023 2 роки тому +2

    Oh dear how serious some people take these reactions! "If you don't like this the way that I do I will leave this channel". If you are that into a song that you can't take Jonathan not liking it, you better not watch.

  • @annicaesplund6613
    @annicaesplund6613 2 роки тому +2

    Gräsänkling = being alone when the wife's away... Änkling = widower

  • @cynic7049
    @cynic7049 2 роки тому

    "Gräsänkling" (literally grass widower) is more precise for men whose wife (and children) have taken the children left town to spend the summer in the countryside. Very common among Swedish middle class in around early to mid 20th century after spending the summer in the countryside caught on and before middle-class mums was expected to work.
    The corresponding term for women "gräsänka" never was of much use (that situation almost never happened), "fotbollsänka" has (a women who is left alone a lot by a husband hooked on football (aka Soccer)).

  • @japphan
    @japphan 2 роки тому +2

    So, in the blues, you traditionally sing about your problems. Disease, death, lost love. And you sing it with soul.
    Povel Ramel here performs the blues of a Swedish middle class man - his wife is away for two weeks, and now he has to clean. The lack of soul in the voice is a reflection of the lack of problems in his life.
    Does it make for bad blues singing? Oh, yes. How are you supposed to sing the blues without any reason to sing it?
    So, the singing becomes anti-blues, not as a mockery of the blues (as we can hear from the instrumentalists doing an adequate job), but as a mockery of the self pity of a man with no real problems, so, the singing is lame.

  • @anpe4970
    @anpe4970 2 роки тому +5

    Cornelis version is more blues. I think you would like it more.

    • @Raggertony
      @Raggertony 2 роки тому

      Yeah, Cornelis Vreeswijk capture the blues in this one alot better then Povel Ramel

    • @Motbilder
      @Motbilder 2 роки тому

      But his version is kind of boring. Didn't like it at all.

  • @Huxteble
    @Huxteble 2 роки тому +3

    Thore Skogman - Storfiskarvalsen

  • @johanhemblom446
    @johanhemblom446 2 роки тому +9

    KSMB - Sex Noll Två

    • @johanhemblom446
      @johanhemblom446 2 роки тому

      This is Trash - Peace, love and Pitbulls on another note ;)

  • @trumbaron
    @trumbaron 5 місяців тому +1

    I agree on what you said about the blues, but... think he took the soul out of the blues on purpose because the person he is portraying is not to be pitied, he's a klutz.

  • @Martin-gh9hy
    @Martin-gh9hy 2 роки тому +2

    Arja Saijonma - Jag vill tacka livet

  • @torbjornpetersson8393
    @torbjornpetersson8393 2 роки тому +10

    You are absolutely right. Povel was a good lyricist but certainly not a blues singer.

  • @trumbaron
    @trumbaron 5 місяців тому

    Tänker på Cab Calloway när jag hör denna av någon anledning.

  • @knoparenSOC1
    @knoparenSOC1 2 роки тому

    👌😊👌👍

  • @leiper72
    @leiper72 2 роки тому

    He did this for fun and the humour about the lyrics... it's not a blues song as the ususal, more to jazz...

  • @christerpalmgren7019
    @christerpalmgren7019 2 роки тому

    Pleeaase, Jonathan, you need to stay here a bit longer to understand Povel Ramel, obviously. This song is Swedish blues. Not american blues.

  •  2 роки тому

    Eva Eastwood - Johannestown

  • @pspsvan65
    @pspsvan65 2 роки тому +2

    There should be more blues in the blues. Right ? If you wanna hear some good Swedish blues you should listen to Rolf Wikström. You can take ansy song, he is good.

  • @fredriklarsson9568
    @fredriklarsson9568 2 роки тому

    You shoud have listen to Cornelis vreeswijks version of "gräsänkling blues" that is real Bleus.

  • @polmus
    @polmus 11 місяців тому

    Do Povel Ramel - Bråttom, Bråttom, Bråttom

  • @mintpastill
    @mintpastill 2 роки тому

    Gosh im laughing i totally with u on this with povel lmao but pls listen to further here below lol i sent two more better blues i promise ,🤣🤣🤣

  • @alexanderjohansson6903
    @alexanderjohansson6903 2 роки тому

    Du ska lyssna på Cornelis version av den den är bättre tycker jag ;)

  • @jens3280
    @jens3280 2 роки тому +2

    Han sjunger jazzigt snarare än bluesigt.

  • @gunoltegen4228
    @gunoltegen4228 2 роки тому +8

    Nu avslutar jag min prenumeration. Your comments to this 1951 ”blues” were trash. It is not supposed to be a blues by your standards. sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povel_Ramel

  • @linusdagerfallvinna9265
    @linusdagerfallvinna9265 2 роки тому +3

    React to Sjumilakliv

  • @jonassundell9366
    @jonassundell9366 Рік тому

    D e rätt bra lazz...

  • @34JohannesHeinz34
    @34JohannesHeinz34 2 роки тому

    First ever Swedish take on blues, give or take. It shows. It didn't hold up. Comedy or not