Var är den vän / Where is the friend Melody

Some background comments:

This hymn, possibly Wallin's most wellknown, was the only one in the old hymnbook that did not include any religious terms. The divine is referred to as "the friend", and "the source". Wallin is said to have written it after being told that it is easy to write hymns - just add a few religious terms and cliches. Ingmar Bergman used the lyrics quite extensively in his "Wild Strawberries" in an argument about God's existence.

The song is a favorite of mine. I heard it as a child at the Kvillselen fäbod in Malung. It was sung quite fast and unsentimentally by shrill ladies voices. Wallin's longing lyrics coupled with childhood memories enticed me to treat it differently and give it a slow and yearning character.