Endelig! (Finally!) Following a skikkelig dårlig vintervær (really bad winter weather) – where even the inland parts of Østlandet (Eastern Norway) had less snø (snow) than usual – many Norwegians have been able to enjoy a bit of vår (spring). According to NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting), this Saturday was one of the hottest mars (March) days in recent history. The temperature reached 15.3 °C in Bjørnholt in Oslo, while the people in Vats in Vestlandet (Western Norway) were blessed with an extreme 17.4 °C (63.32 °F). Members of my family told me the temperature passed 16 °C in Bergen, where people koste seg med utepils i sola (enjoyed themselves with ”outdoor lagers” in the sun) in the historical Bryggen area.

I don’t know if it’s årstida (the season) or just me getting nostalgisk… Anyway, i dag fikk jeg ei låt på hjernen (today a song got on my mind): ”Jenter” (”Girls”) by Di Derre (”Those  There”). It’s some years old, but already a modern classic in Norway. Anyone who’s spent a winter in Norway knows that våren (Spring) works miracles and makes hjerter (hearts) beat – no matter if you’re a gutt (boy) or jente. The first verses run like this:

Jeg traff henne på St. Hanshaugen sommer’n 89

I met her at St. Hanshaugen in Oslo during summer 1989

Hun gråt når hun var full og sang når hun var blid

She cried when she was drunk and sang when she was kind

Jeg elsket henne høyt, hun elsket meg villt

I loved her highly, she loved me wildly

Høsten kom, døra smalt og etterpå ble det stillt

Autumn came, the door slammed and afterwards it got silent

 

Så jeg traff ei lita jente en regnfull vår

Then I met a little girl in a rainy spring

Med bløte konsonanter og regnvått hår

With soft consonants and hair wet with rain

Hun lovet meg troskap, jeg lovet henne alt

She promised to be faihtful, I promised her everything

Vinter’n kom, troskap gikk og etterpå ble det kaldt

Winter came, faithfulness went and afterwards it got cold

 

Jenter som kommer og jenter som går

Girls coming and girls leaving

Jenter som glipper, jenter du aldri får

Girls vanishing/letting go, girls you never get

Jenter som smiler en tidlig vår

Girls smiling in early spring

Jenter og en litt sliten matador

Girls and a somewhat tired matador

 

Hey, hey!

Hey, hey!

Hey, hey, hey

 

The ”bløte konsonanter” thing indicates that the girl says things like ”bag” instead of bak (back, behind),  and ”båd” instead of båt (boat). So, if you know your Norwegian dialects, you can figure out she must be from Kristiansand or Stavanger or anywhere along the coast between those two cities! 😉