They met properly first in the 50s while they were working for radio and television and after their first successes in the revue business they started the comedy company AB Svenska Ord together. They continued this work together until Tage's tragic death in 1985.
Over the years several of swedens comedy elite passed through the revues, shows and films and some even reached stardom through their collaborations with Hasse och Tage. Gösta Ekman, Gunnar Svensson, Monica Zetterlund, Sonya Hedenbratt, Lasse O'Månsson, Birgitta Andersson, Lena Nyman, Lissi Alandh, Fatima Ekman, Lars Ekborg, Martin Ljung, Stellan Skarsgård and Lena Olin can be counted among them.
Hasse & Tage also collaborated with the illustrator and animator Per Åhlin for several films.
Den gamle förtroendemannen
Hasse & Tage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
men det var faktiskt inte illa ment.
Å, efter alla dessa år, det känns.
Jag ber om ursäkt för min existens.
Att det blev sent berodde på min dumhet.
Alltnog - vi satt där i det inre rummet,
bakom församlingssalsexpeditionen,
och räkna' röster enligt traditionen.
sexhundrafemtitusenhundratio,
sexhundrafemtitusenhundraelva.
Då hände det som ni kan fatta själva.
Fru Sjögren öppna dörr'n till rummet då,
vid sexhundrafemtitusenhundratjugotvå.
Vid sexhundrafemtitusenhundratjugotre
Så fråga hon försynt: "Vill ni ha te"?
Nej tack, fru Sjögren, det är så jag har ju bara några hundra röster kvar.
Sexhundrafemtitusenhund... eh... hundra,
sexhundrafemtitusenhundra...
Fan, Fru Sjögren.
Ett, två, tre, fyra, fem, sex...
The song "Den gamle förtroendemannen" by Hasse & Tage tells the story of a man apologizing for his mistake, which caused a delay in the vote counting process during an election. The singer admits that it was his fault that they were running so late, but he didn't mean to cause any harm. He expresses his remorse for his existence and asks for forgiveness. The group was in a small room behind the congregation's office, counting votes as per tradition. The lyrics mention the exact count of votes they counted, which was 650,291-650,211-650,211. At this point, something happens that the listeners can understand for themselves. The narrative resumes with Fru Sjögren's entry into the room at vote number 650,222, offering tea to the group.
Line by Line Meaning
Det var mitt fel, det blev så sent
I take full responsibility for how late it got.
men det var faktiskt inte illa ment.
But believe me, I never meant any harm.
Å, efter alla dessa år, det känns.
After all these years, it still weighs heavily on me.
Jag ber om ursäkt för min existens.
I apologize for simply existing and causing inconvenience.
Att det blev sent berodde på min dumhet.
It was due to my own foolishness that we ended up staying so late.
Alltnog - vi satt där i det inre rummet,
Anyway, we were sitting in the inner room,
bakom församlingssalsexpeditionen,
behind the congregation's sex department,
och räkna' röster enligt traditionen.
counting votes according to tradition.
Sexhundrafemtitusenhundranio,
Six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred and one,
sexhundrafemtitusenhundratio,
six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred and two,
sexhundrafemtitusenhundraelva.
six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred and eleven.
Då hände det som ni kan fatta själva.
And then, as you can probably guess, something happened.
Fru Sjögren öppna dörr'n till rummet då,
That's when Mrs. Sjögren opened the door to the room,
vid sexhundrafemtitusenhundratjugotvå.
at six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred and twenty-two.
Vid sexhundrafemtitusenhundratjugotre
At six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred and twenty-three
Så fråga hon försynt: "Vill ni ha te"?
She politely asked, "Would you like some tea?"
Nej tack, fru Sjögren, det är så jag har ju bara några hundra röster kvar.
No thank you, Mrs. Sjögren, I still have a few hundred votes to count.
Sexhundrafemtitusenhund... eh... hundra,
Six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred... um... one hundred,
sexhundrafemtitusenhundra...
six hundred fifty thousand nine hundred...
Fan, Fru Sjögren.
Oh, damn it, Mrs. Sjögren.
Ett, två, tre, fyra, fem, sex...
One, two, three, four, five, six...
Contributed by Alexander O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.