quote:

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

Ah yes, Swedish drinking songs.

Helan gar.                              The whole shot goes
Sjung hopp fadarala lalan lej.      Sing hopp fadarala lalan lej
Helan gar.                              The whole shot goes 
Sjung hopp fadaralan lej.           Sing hopp fadaralan lej
Och den some inte helan ga       And the one who does not take the whole shot 
Han heller inte halvan far.          He also does not get the half shot
Helan gar.                               The whole shot goes
[Aquavite shot is drunk in one swallow here.]
Sjung hopp fadaralan lej.            Sing hopp fadaralan lej

Loosely translated    Helan  -  a whole shot of liquor,     går - is drunk

Lars

quote:

ORIGINAL: Frederyck

An interesting anecdote/legend about this drinking song is that in 1957 when Sweden unexpectedly defeated Russia in the Ice Hockey World Championships Final held in Moscow, the organisers had failed to get a correct rendition of the Swedish National Anthem on the speakers. The only song the whole team knew was "Helan Går", which they sang instead during the ceremony... [:D]

quote:

ORIGINAL: Toed

Traditionally Helan går is actually only the first 'verse' so to speak. A bit later during the meal one sings Halvan går and so on throughout all sixteen parts. However doing it that way one normaly don't drink the whole shot each time. Roughly half the first time and then less depending on your own wishes. Here is a list of the names - just swap the Helan part for the name below for the next verse and so on.

Helan (whole)
Halvan (half)
Tersen ('third')
Kvarten (quarter)
Kvinten ('fifth')
Rivan (-)
Septen ('seventh')
Rafflan (-)
Rännan (-)
Repetitionen (the repetition)
Smuttan (-)
Smuttans unge (smuttan's kid)
Femton droppar (fifteen drops)
Lilla Manasse (small manasse)
Lilla Manasses bror (small manasse's brother)
Kreaturens låteruppståndelse (the resurrection of the beasts)
Den bleka dödens dryck (the pale death)

... and that's how you get a party started [sm=00000436.gif] ... or ended [;)]


However nowdays Helan Går is usually followed by other songs to make things less repetitive.