MacGougan at Large

Notes on A Trip to Norway - 18

Norway Song

This is the last posting of my Norway series. It’s our tradition here at “MacGougan at Large” to end every series with what I call a song but others might call simply lyrics since you need to provide your own music if you want to sing it as a song.

(This can involve more than one tune. Typically there’s a verse and a chorus and sometimes a bridge. In the unlikely event that you’re Paul McCartney, you’ll also want an opening riff and a closing riff.)

One tradition of Norwegian culture I find very appealing is the “hytte” (pronounced somewhere halfway between “hoot-ah” “hut-ah”. This is a cabin somewhere out close to nature. Pretty much every person or family has one. The ideal is not a fancy, modern vacation home, but something very simple and timeless. A place to get away to.

The pictures I’m attaching are from a family trip in 2006 that included some time at the former hytte of Linda’s family. (I describe hiking to its trailhead back in episode 2 of this series.) Sorry for the low resolution, but hey- it was 2006 and we thought it was pretty good at the time.

Back to the song, I don’t know what role, if any, hyttes play in the courting rituals of Norwegians. For the purposes of this posting, we’ll assume that they could loom large - at least in the singer’s imagination.

“MY COZY, LITTLE CABIN”

Long nights are oh so pretty
Why waste ‘em sittin’ in the city?
You know you coulda
Come to my hytte
It’s got the goods
My little cottage
Is missin’ your wattage
My cozy, little cabin in the woods!

We’ll be a
Couple weekenders
On some
Hot cocoa benders
With our
Feet in felt slippers
Except in the Summer when we’re rowing boat skippers.

Long days are bright and sunny
Why waste ‘em chasin’ after money?
So come and sate yer
Hunger for nature
You’ll be beguiled
And you really oughta
Try my frittatas
In my cozy, little cabin in the wild!

We’ll be a
Couple of otters
When we
Play in the waters
With our
Hair bleached and skin browned
Except in the winter when it's the other way round.

If it’s dark all day, we’ll sit on the porch
And strum our air guitars.
If it’s light all night, we’ll sit on the porch
And pretend to see the stars.

This place is here each season
I ask you: for what reason?
It's time you shoulda
Come to my hytte
It’s got the goods
Drive there or hike it
Ski in or bike it
You really will like it
My cozy, little cabin -
My cozy, little cabin -
My cozy, little cabin in the woods!

(Next: Notes on Word Games)