På låven sitter nissen
På låven sitter nissen (in German: The nisse sits in the barn ) is a Norwegian Christmas carol based on a traditional text by Margrethe Munthe , who published it for the first time in a songbook in 1911, at that time under the title Nissen og rotterne ('The nisse and the rats'). This song is the oldest and most widespread non-Christian traditional Christmas carol in the Scandinavian-speaking countries. The melody resembles the German song Im Grunewald, in Grunewald there is a wood auction by Franz Meißner (melody) and Otto Teich (text), which was written around 1890.
content
This song has three verses and is about a Nisse (Christmas nitty) who sits in the barn next to the house and eats his beloved - traditional in Norway - Christmas groats. Here he is disturbed by rats who also want to get some of the grits. After all the scolding and threatening with the spoon didn't help, he finally threatened to fetch the cat and managed to drive the rats away.
literature
- Egil Hovland (Ed.): I denne glade juletid. Sanger and sangtekster for julen with noter. Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo 1994, ISBN 82-5430-462-9 .