Song of the Koster Girls

The author of Kosterflickornas visa “the Song of the Koster Girls” is Evert Taube (1890-1976). It is one of the 200 popular and beloved songs he wrote and which have made him one of Sweden’s “national poets”. His popularity and greatness is madeevident since he is honoured to be on the new 50 Kronor banknote which will be issued during 2015. The Koster islands are the most westerly inhabited part of Sweden. The islands are situated in the northern part of the county Bohuslän, not far fromthe Norwegian border. The song text goes:

Here is the sea that embraces our Bohuslän islands

and carries our father and brother in a rocking boat.

Come to the beach, come with me, come singby my side

out over Skagerack inthe calm summer night.

The arrangement for flute and wind band is written by Jerker Johansson (born 1967), who is conductor of the Göteborg Wind Orchestra, which has made a CD-recording of the song with Evert Taube’s son Sven-Bertilinterpreting his father’s work.