Det for två vita duvor

1. Det for två vita duvor allt upp till himmelens höjd. Det for två vita duvor allt upp till himmelens höjd. Men när de kom tillbaka så var de vänd till tre, så var de vänd till tre, så var de vänd till tre. 2. Den första var Gud Fader, den andra var hans Son. Den första var Gud Fader, den andra var hans Son. Den tredje var en speleman jag tror han spelar än, jag tror han spelar än, jag tror han spelar än. 3. Den drängen han spelte, han spelade så väl. Den drängen han spelte, han spelade så väl. Han spelade så länge tills Gud han tog hans själ, tills Gud han tog hans själ, tills Gud han tog hans själ. 4. Nu kastar jag fiolen, nu får jag bättre fröjd. Nu kastar jag fiolen, nu får jag bättre fröjd. Nu får jag följa Frälsaren allt upp till himlens höjd, allt upp till himlens höjd, allt upp till himlens höjd.

Lyrics and Music: Trad Malung.

Harmonization: Anders Nyberg

I remember how I in my youth was fascinated by this melody but at the same time I thought the lyrics were a bit embarrassing so I avoided it.

It was a prime example of how folkmusic had shot itself in the foot and let itself be influenced by movements within church and society that wanted to burn the fiddles on the altar of piety and modernity.

But then I spoke to Björn Ståbi. If anyone deserves the title Masterfiddler it’s him. It is hard to find any other individual who has meant more to the fact that the folkmusic-movement in Sweden has gone from being threatened with extinction in the 60’s to where it finds itself today. On his business card, if he had had one, he could have written not only musician and artist but also “wise old soul”. Today he sits at a home for old people in Ljusdal, bless his soul.

On one occasion Björn took me to a corner of his home Hörrgård and almost whispered to me about the lyrics of the song.

- You see, he said, this old text carries a prophetic message.

At times he hesitated in his narrative, as if he waited for me to fill the long pauses that appeared.

- This song talks about the grand shift we are experiencing. When we go from two to three and in to a time that looks beyond the physical parameters. A time that understands music, and not only blindly stares at the fiddles.

- And two to three?

- We will go from the dualistic thinking to a more spiritual. And in that shift the fiddler is important. It is culture that will take the story forward. The scientist starts to realise that it is not enough with facts. It has to be put into context and be rooted down in the culture in order to be operative. That is how societies fundamentally are immunised and made resilient. The new time also means that Science and Culture will come closer to each other when they realise their symbiosis.

- And the Father, the Son and the Fiddler, is that to go from the Old Testament age of the Father via the New Testament age of the Son and in to the age of Spirit, represented by the fiddler?

- Yes, you can say so: in order to tell the big story you have to be able to let go of the small. You follow tradition by risking to break it. In order for it to live it needs to be earthed into new soil. The tune needs to be alive every time it is played.