A Song Good for the Soul

At the moment, I don't have a traditional 9-to-5 job. In the interim, I hang out with an older set of individuals on Wednesdays -- the majority of whom are ladies. There can be anywhere from five to fifteen participants during "Cafe Brønden".

One of the first things I learned after landing to live in Denmark was the Danes' love of exercising their vocal cords melodically. "Højskolens Sangbog" is usually used in this surrounding. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a song title. All songs are listed in alphabetical order according to the first line at the front of the book. Problems arise if someone can't remember that first line though. Those who have been at this for years have memorized certain songs they love by song number. Pages are flipped. If we are lucky enough to have accompaniment, the pianist goes through the melody once. Most of the time the melody is known, but there can be alternative melodies for the same song. In that case, with this crowd, it is seldom that the road less traveled is taken.

Though I haven't memorized numbers yet, I do have my favorites. If I don't yet know the chosen challenge I will sit quietly and follow along with the text. However if I do know the tune, am relaxed enough to participate and have heard those particular words applied, I sing right along with the natives.

The tradition of song does not stop there. Special occasions demand a special song created for that specific person or occasion. Here, the words are what matter. The known melody is written under the title. One can only assume that someone in the gathering knows how it goes to start things off.