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Staffan Stalledräng
Staffan Stalledräng
MP3 (2 MB, sung by the author herself)
Tune: Swedish folk song
Staffan Stalledräng
MP3 (ext.link to variant of original song)
Staffan was a servant boy,
He tended to the stables
And he worked in King Harald's byre.
And friend the horses called him
As he left the barn one night,
A host of riders loomed in flight
before him.
Their lord, he alighted then,
He tended to the stables
Eight strong legs his steed displayed.
And friend the horses called him
Staffan, awestruck by them all
Mutely bade them go to Harald's hall
to warm them.
On that cold Midwinter's eve
He tended to the stables
Staffan spent the extra time,
And friend the horses called him
Groomed and fed each stranger's beast,
And so he missed the Yuletide feast,
which vexed him.
Saddened by the feast he missed,
He tended to the stables
He cried in a soft he-goat's fleece.
And friend the horses called him
Thus he slept the night away
There nestled with the straw and hay
about him.
In the dark of early morn
He tended to the stables
The great host to their mounts returned.
And friend the horses called him
The goats to their master told
Of care and tears they saw with cold
night 'round them.
Master of the Goats then said
He tended to the stables
To Staffan, You have shown this night
And friend the horses called him
You are worthy of reward.
To bless you well I give my word
unbroken.
Off the host rode in the sky,
He tended to the stables
And Staffan thought he'd had a dream.
And friend the horses called him
But the stars he saw that night:
The goat-drawn wain was shining bright
above him.
© Copyright 2005 by Analemma
McKee-Schwenke.
This document may be freely copied and distributed for noncommercial purposes
provided it is copied unchanged and in its entirety, including this notice.
Analemma´s Heathen Glass
Art /
Heathen Handicrafts
About "Staffan Stalledräng":
Staffan Stalledräng is a mythical figure in the Swedish Christmas/Lucia
celebration.
He is traditionally the bringer of water to horses, and by some people regarded
as the god of "bakfylla", a form of "meditative state" the youngsters of Sweden
achieve
in Luciamorning after a long night of celebration.
The word "bakfull" translates as "hung over",
so it seems as though Staffan Stalledräng has become a kind of patron of
alcohol. ;-)