Helvetia, an independent and experimental alternative music group from Seat… Read Full Bio ↴Helvetia, an independent and experimental alternative music group from Seattle, Washington, was created by Jason Albertini after the dissolution of the band Duster (in which he played drums). Helvetia's first record, "The Clever North Wind" (2006), was released on The Static Cult Label and distributed by Up Records. Their first national exposure was achieved by touring with Built To Spill. Helvetia is produced/performed by Jason Albertini and sustained by a rotating live line-up, which has included C. Dove Amber, Jim Roth and Scott Plouf. Their third release, "Headless Machine of the Heart" (2008) was recorded entirely on a 4-track tape machine. Helvetia continues to release music through The Static Cult Label (which is helmed by Duster-mate Clay Parton). The name Helvetia is the female personification of Switzerland, the childhood home of Jason Albertini.

The Thing
Helvetia Lyrics

We have lyrics for 'The Thing' by these artists:

A.I. Zero Rollin' in the drop top Big smoke, no hotbox Cruising round …
Al Cohn Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never…
Angelo De Augustine Sufjan Stevens This is the thing about people You never really know what's…
Atumpan CHORUS Small girl, you don't know the thing I am teaching yo…
Atumpan ft Stone (Bradez) Small girl, you don't know the thing I am teaching you…
B-People 니가 나한테 어떻게 이럴 수 있어? 나만 완전히 바보 만들어 놓고 뭐?…
Beverley Sisters Blow me a kiss from across the room Say I look…
Bing Crosby & His Hollywood Guests How are things in Glocca Morra? Is that little brook still…
Bob & Ray Ooh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah (yeah yeah yeah) Ooh yeah,…

Bob and Ray Little things that you do Make me glad I'm in…
Brains Brains Brains Everywhere I go I see you in my phone Hear you in…
Curtis & The Creepers I like things I like synths I love girls I…
cut-ex She's obsessed with the little things The sticks and stones …
Cyrus & Hoffman Sha, sha, sha I probably shouldn't say this But at times I…
Da Mike So You're tryin' to tell me that You've never heard of this?…
Diarmuid O'Leary & The Bards Moon leaves on the pillow Caress the face I wish my cats…
Dracula and his band the Draculas I got that bass boom kicking, it's 2003 Too many motherfucke…
Engorged [lyrics-Kevin] From beyond the stars it came Trapped ben…
FM4 Sunny Side Up Vol.3 Eyes to the heavens the city folk say "Holy cow, it's…
Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby Great big houses with great big rooms Were not fashioned fo…
Harris Phil While I was walkin' down the beach one bright and…
Jb & Dj Spice I've been seein things lately, baby, its crazy How it looks…
JB & Spice You know I don't wanna know, Don't wanna know about…
Jb and DJ Spice AAW! Oh! Say it now! I'm back! I'm back! …
JB and Spice You know I don't wanna know, Don't wanna know about…
June Carter Sunshine and showers And everything comin' up daisies Oh, wh…
Junkbreed Warning The thing is out again Beware It's uglier than what …
KITCHEN 1 - Sufjan Stevens The only thing that keeps me from driving this car Half-ligh…
Kurt Russell; Wilford Brimley; T.K. Carter; David Clennon; Keith David In the stillness of the dawn Our love is dead and…
M. Fusion 前のめりに生きてみなまだやり残したことばかりでたまには息抜きしていいな街角に座り休め Don't say "Do …
Marie-José Tired of falling down the stairs Trying to find someone who…
Marty Paich It don't mean a thing If it ain't got that swing (doo…
Michael Howell The clock strikes midnight and my heart is unprepared I've w…
Municipal Waste Antarctica winter 1982 research was going steady, And there …
Musically Achieved Excellence (M.A.E.) It’s a big step to a new life And I feel…
Nat King Cole What does it matter if we're rich or we're poor Fortune…
Odell Brown & The Organ-izers There's a hole out the back of the place where…
One2 Its Strange In your eyes I see strange things yeah When we…
OST S.T.A.L.K.E.R Tell me everything's alright And I will run out of this…
Paladins The i want to tell you about somthing that i call…
Patti Page A heart that longs for you Two arms that will be…
Phil Harris While I was walking down the beach one bright and…
Phil Harris & His Orchestra While I was walkin' down the beach one bright and…
Pixies I was driving, doing nothing on the shores of great…
Ray Charles While I was walking down the beach one bright and…
Ray Charles And Betty Carter Well, I swear I didn't see you with your wife's…
Rick Nelson You gave so many things to remember you by Like a…
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow Of Chernobyl Tell me everything's alright And I will run out of this…
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OST อยู่อยู่ก็เสียหลัก โดนคนรักกันมาหลอก ก็มันทั้งช้ำมันทั้งช็อก…
Scatman Crothers The moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are…
Sin.é Tell me funky good thing 目覚めよ Funk-tears Tell me funky good …
Spheres Caught behind the Wall Down in a strange hole Buried in anot…
stone Go put the cat outside Go put the cat outside Go put…
Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine This is the thing about people You never really know what's…
sufjan stevens; The only thing that keeps me from driving this car Half-ligh…
Teresa Brewer While I was walking down the beach one bright and…
The Crusaders Baby I don't know where it's going And Baby I don't know whe…
The Fuzztones There's a new sun Risin' up angry in the sky And there's…
The Paladins i want to tell you about somthing that i call…
The Thing / Joe McPhee 何度も愛のコトバ言わないでたやすく愛の中に逃げないでカタチにする度大切なものを失くす気がするよたぶん足り…
The Ugly Things I don't remember How the hell'd we get here?…
Two and a Half White Guys 바람은 점점 쌀쌀해지고 우린 어른이 되지 가을 바람 불어 하늘 높아지듯이 누런 호박들은 거름이…
Urbs & Cutex Or just a girl who says i love you so.!?? Progression…
V.A. Talk to me baby You trust nothing I've got emptiness Bought …
Various Artists เฝ้ามองดาวครั้งเราผูกพัน แต่ความฝันเมฆคลุมมืดมน ปรอยฝนโปรยลง…
Various Cold Heat - Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974 Vol. 1 I've tried playing it cool But when I'm looking at you I…
Vic Dickenson & Scatman Crothers The moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are…
Vyvyan James Hope-Scott I keep thinking that I'm growing That I've found a forward…
With Gourley And Rust There's this thing about my love It'll stress you out…
Y. Blues All the things you said Keep going through my head Like a…
YAR Shapes of things before my eyes, Just teach me to despise. W…
Zot Sims & Al Cohn Oh! Will you never let me be? Oh! Will you never…

We have lyrics for these tracks by Helvetia:

1 To The 4 I'm out of time just cause you're around It's alright, it's…
A Car That Drives Working overtime These robot's they are demanding It's not t…
A Circle Town Dust off that need for flyin' Shake off your tires Take it…
A Great Division Come save Me from another change Of this consequence You kno…
An End In the states where you try To succumb to those hands…
Bermuda You can go off to Bermuda Yeah, you should do that You…
Broken Bones You forget i got this far without you Im not the…
Cagayake! Girls Chatting Now ガチでカシマシNever Ending Girl's Talk 終業チャイムまで待てない遅刻…
Crumbs like Saucers It’s by the slum, way past the corridor Over bridges, down…
Dove's Song There's a feather in your hair Everytime I think of you Man,…
Doves Song There's a feather in your hair Every time I think of…
Down In That Burning Still out, it's been too many days now These black dots…
Feeling The Warm Hair Down on my knees with the busy busy bees Scrounging up…
Fiction I found you, by the railroad Where you laid with my Wouldn't…
Find Your Feet Sister youve found your own and it's all Here you'll always…
Fuck Off Stepping so hard to show off Feeling you must want me…
Honest Gods Don't let me sink you honest gods 'Neath the skies You make…
Hot Pink (Hot pink) hot pink volcano And part of a tornado Shaking th…
Hybrid Moments If you're gonna scream, scream with me Moments like this nev…
Incestuous Future Fable Did you hold out and reduce the thing? Be there alone…
Junk Shop Take this busted heart to the junk shop Close up the…
Kris This boy was just another Kris We wore his style the…
Leading Towards An End In the states where you try To succumb to those hands…
Marea So this is how you feel, real bad? Walking with the…
Mighty Ben Summer times with no intent Half blanks powder the wind we…
Moon Jumper Slow way down to touch ground Could this be the place…
Moving That Behind Your wake storming superior now were found Moving that behin…
New Mess I listen to all that and nothing else I'm hearing all…
no more it stop I just grows moss, cold stone And thought to be free,…
Not A Captain For they are from last resort There's a lot of pressure…
Nothing In Rambling Waited on the rocks for them Off the burning sand We only…
Old New Bicycle You don't know You don't know What it is So is so So is…
Old New Bycicle You don't know you don't know What it is so is…
Psychomagic I got a shit ton, plenty of nothing But I got…
Right Now Again I'm falling for this right now, again I wouldn't believe it…
RyBro You’re still running tracks, now you’re talking I’ll make yo…
Sargent Slaughter Five shapes and a handle Turned out, saying soak up the…
shit Please, clap yourself alone I can′t You can do anything you …
Slim Arms and Crosseyed Walking the roads that cross Down on us, keep for dream Don'…
So Sick With It I can't help but wondering about all The stupid things I've…
Summer Spent the summer wasting in the sun In the sun Time we…
That Was Always An Accent Where did this money come from? They say it'll decrease my…
The Acrobats It's not the clock that stopped It’s going down Falling into…
The Flooding '98 Why is my bed on fire? Is this the picture your…
The Long Drop Had the sense to pull the plug On this long drop…
The Ocean Floor One more thought before we start Draw my paths, read my…
The Road Crew The bandages You cut off to let the blood flow Clearing your…
The Rubber Maids Push me if you want to Feel strong and pitiful My arms…
This Don't call me this way Where was you when I was…
This Is Always Helm is pushing towards the fallen side Systems fail Couldn'…
Triple Zero This is all, this is all, this is all (wrong) This…
Walking The Cow Tried to remember Feelings can't know for sure Tried to reac…
Watermelon Sugar Tastes like strawberries On a summer evening And it sounds j…
What It Did West side of town In the crowd You'd have to try to…
Whatever Nano Hey, robot don't be so cross With a jealous flash burn…

炉心融解街明かり華やかエーテル麻酔の冷たさ眠れない午前二時全てが急速に変わるオイル切れのライター焼けつくよ…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

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01Pumpkin Rose2:50

02RyBro2:44

03Old Dirty Rockers3:16

PT3M54S

09Nothing In Rambling3:35

10The Organ That Fought3:56

11What You Wanted3:06

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Comments from YouTube:

Warwin Lee

2y↑9

We should all be so proud of our European ancestry. They worked so hard, provided for themselves, very talented & very intelligent!

Lana Thomas

2y↑3

What a pure clean life, I had no idea the Swiss were in Appalachia. What a great documentary. Beautiful country

Buck54

2y↑27

I am so proud to live in WV. I remember growing up in the sixties and how self-sufficient my parents and grandparents were. WV is in many ways is stuck in a time warp that is bueatifiul. I love and cherish the simple life and still live it as best I can. Still living in the mountains I love and will never leave. But I do miss the old country stores that used to serve each small cummity.

Juli E.

2y↑13

I grew up in North Dakota & a lot of this is similar. It's sad to think of all the kids that will never experience celebrations & traditions like this because their noses are stuck to a video game or phone. Think of all they'll miss out on! Thankfully, there are still pockets of heritage & culture.

Kathy Hewitt

3y↑57

Thank you for making this video. Nice to see generations appreciating each other enjoying life together and keeping family traditions

oksills

2y↑9

Wonderful , these people and their culture are such treasures! Thank you for making this!

ola infree

3y↑74

I absolutely loved this. The Augusta Heritage Center of Davis& Elkins is a treasure. The music is enchanting; the harmonies and yodeling are great. My Polish grandparents farmed in a similar way in Western Pa, I remember my grandmother making cheese and churning butter and canning in the same way. We grandchildren prepped the vegetables, snapping beans and shelling others for the canning. Years ago, I visited Helvetia, and this video brought back fond memories of this place and my own childhood in PA.

Star Ali Mistriel

3y↑15

My Grandparents (my Mother's Parents---Draus Family) were of Old Forge, Scranton Pennsylvania. They passed away in their late 40s/early 50s, leaving many children, including my Mom the youngest orphaned. Very hard working people from what I am told. In the late 1960s, my family went to there to visit Mom's birthplace, family/relatives, and the neighborhood where she grew up. We flew from California to Pittsburg, PA, and I guess them seeing and meeting up with Californians was quite a novelty for them all. I was impressed with the closeness of them and their community. It is wonderful that the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College has recorded the Swiss and their culture here in America, especially the historical, personal accounts. We need to remember and appreciate those who have made America a great country. GOD Bless

Sharon Whiteley

2y↑35

Not only should the citizens of Helvetia be proud of themselves, but, ALL of WV should be as well.

If you have ever served time in the military in Germany, you will recognize the similarities.

ALMOST HEAVEN, WV.

l'interprète méhariste

2y↑2

Well, depends on where in Germany you were located. But if it was on swabian or bavarian territory, you are right. The reason is they are very strongly related to each other. And their ways of farming seem to have the same origins too... ;-)

Olivia Miller

3y↑81

Canadian here. Love this history. I’m sure farmers envy those beautiful hand milked cows. Absolutely premium cheese. Everyone looks so healthy.

Cheryl Kruisheer

3y↑12

And still so strong.

l'interprète méhariste

2y↑2

Howdy Olivia! Do you think they got an idea about whoch time in the morning swiss or Allgäu race cows wake up in the morning and quite instantly try to wake up their farmer until they see him cruising up with his milkbuckets?
Such cows can be worse than sergeants concerning waking someone up! ;-)

1 More Replies...

mpmem

2y↑14

I used to work/live in Washington, DC. For simple relief, I’d travel to West Virginia as often as I could.
Beautiful state In every way.

William Patton

2y↑2

What a GREAT VIDEO LOVED IT--GOD BLESS THEM AND THANK YOU FOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE TO AMERICA

Brian leonard

2y↑6

I'm so proud of West Virginia. And this video was just wonderful ❤ thanks so much.

The Weird Mom

3y↑75

I remember my great grandmother yodeling the opening song. That just hurt my heart as much as it warmed it 😍💔😍

mary wagner

2y↑6

I thought they were very hygienic in making their cheese. What’s your problem? We have become so germaphobic in this country; it is very sad.

Judy Ingram

2y↑1

I'm sorry, my daddy could play the guitar, fiddle, banjo, I also miss my daddy so much.😪🙏😪

lgrubb01

2y↑17

Have not been to Helvetia for 25 years. Loved eating at the restaurant. We would also visit relatives in Elkins, especially during the Forest Festival. They are all in heaven. I need to go back again now that my son, who was small at the time, can now take his son. His father, my husband, has since passed away. Yes, the CHEESE is delicious. Thank you for posting.

charlotte white

2y↑1

Elkins,WV, I have family there . it's beautiful and clean.i love visiting and swimming there.

Dawn Love

Yes, the Hutte restaurant

Indy Gal

2y↑3

This charming video made my day, bringing back cherished memories of the wonderful things my grandmother Ena taught me to do. I am fortunate enough to have created similar memories and embrace continuing traditions with my parents even now. Thank you for focusing on home and hearth ~ a heartwarming break from the fast pace of our mostly disposable society these days. ~Blessings to you and yours 🙏🏻

Taliesin

2y↑10

WONDERFUL everything.
Wonderful people, traditions, lineages and SELF-RESPECT.

John Holland

3y↑30

So encouraging the work ethic of these people. This could be required curriculum in schools across our confused nation.
Gerry, I keep seeing Jesse everywhere on utube... with a brand new family!

Daren Smith

Great idea! My dad was of German Ancestry . Dad canned tomatoes and green beans every year. He also made sauerkraut and a mean tomatoes salsa!

Davey Das

3y↑70

Excellent. These people have such a beautiful balanced culture.

Joanne CEO

3y↑12

@Davey Das You said it: balanced and beautiful. I never knew there was a Swiss enclave, in all places, in West Virginia.

la de la tierra

3y↑23

Their values and knowledge came from their beautiful indigenous culture that lived in deep respect and balance with nature and the nature spirits (vættir) and creatures of the land which is now called Sweden . This culture was persecuted. Beautiful people beautiful knowledge. Sending love💜

Janice Johnson

2y↑6

I really enjoyed this video. We have so much to learn from our elders. My family is German. They were part of a large group of Germans who left Germany several hundred years ago and moved to Ukraine. My grandparents came from Kiev and they always referred to it as Russia. They fled Germany because of persecution because they were Christians and the government took their boys to fight in their wars for reasons that my family didn't agree with. Also, they were all farmers and needed their boys to help work the fields.
Then they ran into the same problems that they had had when they fled Germany. So, they, along with many other German families came to America. Most of them first settled in the Dakota's. The winters were so harsh there and a large group of them moved to Lodi, California. This was around the turn of the century. I have some great pictures of ancestors who built dugouts in the side of low hills. Eventually, as they prospered they built lovely homes from wood.
My grandparents spoke German but their English was good. My mom and her seven siblings all spoke German as well. But, it stopped with my generation. I was born in 1952 and by then the only time German was spoken around us was when they didn't want the kids to understand what they were saying.😒
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents while growing up. They were landlords, having several properties that they rented out. But, they lived on a small farm. They had one cow that my grandma milked every morning. They had chickens for their own eggs. They had orange trees, some grape vines, figs, and a big black walnut tree with a great swing that my grandfather made for us. My grandmother made her own butter and baked all of their bread. They were small dense, dark loaves made from whole wheat and rye. There was a piano in the living room. We had huge family gatherings and most knew how to play the piano. We all sang. There was some outstanding musical talent among my aunts, uncles and cousins.
This video just made me think of my grandparents and another time.
The country home that my grandparents had lived in surrounded by grape vineyards was torn down a few years back. It and the vineyards around it have been covered with big new houses that look alike and have no charm. Also every kind of store or franchise you could think of. It makes me so sad that every trace of that simpler time has been erased. 😥

Janice Johnson

2y↑1

I should add that my father was German also and his family was part of that group who first emigrated to Ukraine and then to the Dakotas ending up.in California.

Judy E

2y↑2

It certainly is ashame that younger people don't value and preserve the older places and the way things were done. We all have such wonderful memories and no one can take them away. Just close your eyes and travel back and enjoy. 💟

charlotte white

Very interesting.thanks for sharing this. Sounds like you miss it.immensley. I would to.

WhoDrankAllTheKoolaid

3y↑193

Honestly, how crazy this world has gotten.......this lifestyle looks more appealing every day!

Ginny Churning

3y↑17

Reminds me of how my Great grandmother lived. These people know what real independence is all about.

pip fox

2y↑11

hard work though, up early to do the milking and fairly endless round of things needing doing. But I know what you mean, there's fresh air, green all around and a lot of peace and people knowing they need each other to make it work.

Sigma 34

2y↑16

It’s funny how people always made fun of W.Virginia. Everything is beautiful and spread out. Yet the powers want everyone packed on top of each other, and demands “social distance”...

Bart

So go on.. do it.. tell us now it works out for you.

21 More Replies...

Jenjenilou

2y↑9

Watching from the UK. Absolutely loved every moment of this programme. Thank you!

Daren Smith

2y↑2

German - Swiss American here! 🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇲! Thank you for this wonderful program! I have a Swiss Great-Great Grandmother who was born in 1812 and died in 1902 at the age of 90 years! She had 13 children, 10 of whom survived into adulthood! They lived on a farm and a tree her husband was cutting down fell and killed him. She raised those children trucking fruits and vegetables ! In fact that company is still in business! I went to s Bob Evans Restaurant and I saw a Truck Mattingley Farms Fruits & Vegetables! The Burkey family was Swiss and married into the Mattingley Family! Many Swiss & German people live in West Virginia, Western Maryland because the mountains probably reminded them of Switzerland and Germany! Love hiking, camping , anything to do with the great outdoors!

Tacidian

Your great great grandmother was a strong woman having to raise 10 children alone, working to provide for them.

Debra Braz

2y↑7

Absolutely wonderful! Loved every minute of this. So sad how things have turned. God bless...

1fancygirl

2y↑4

My Great Grandparents were Swiss (Gpa), and German (Gma). Very talented people (for many generations), and hard working. Built, baked, and stitched, everything from scratch. Makes me sad that much of that seems to have ended with my generation.

Sandra Sue Taylor

The gentleman using a froe, and doing blacksmith work.

Donna Mays

2y↑6

This is a real gem! What a beautiful life these lucky folks live🙏💖

che cle

2y↑2

My ancestry is German but the traditions, food, music and language depicted here is amazingly just so very familiar. Daddy, 3rd generation, still speaks a little Deutsche. They came from Baden - Wurttemberg 1840's to OH. I am a distant cousin to Roethlisberger family who came from Switzerland to OH in 1866.

Tacidian

Baden-Württemberg is very similar in culture to the German-speaking part of Switzerland, due to not only their proximity, but also the various Alemannic dialects traditionally spoken there which are closely related Swiss German.
Greetings from the Black Forest/Schwarzwald.

MagPie Texas

3y↑11

Thank you for sharing this. I'm so glad I came across it. Putting the pieces together - my great grandmother was born in Bern and ended up in North Texas. This video got me wondering and I found that her family lived very near here, in Beverly, in 1882. Now - why would they have left here for the plains of north Texas?!

Karen Kroll

My family was in the North Dakota plains, mostly English (been here hundreds of years) and from Germany and Norway later. Many, many similarities. My grandparents were lessons in hard work and impeccability, knew how to keep things pristine with no money. All of the grandchildren were really educated. I was not raised in a similar way as I see here, but now I wish maybe I had been! Thank you so much for sharing. Love the comments!! I found my way to the Montana mountains, that's what I consider home even though I'm in southern Minnesota, with lots of people who remember the similar landscape of Germany.

Michael Schmidt

3y↑19

Very interesting that Swiss German has survived in this community into the late 20th/early 21st century. Also interesting that out of the first two men we meet in the film the older one speaks a pretty pure Swiss German dialect while the younger one's Swiss German is diluted with High German (the standard German understandable to all German speakers which is also the written German).

Å. Đ.Ř.

2y↑5

Jo, das isch absolut richtig, was Sie sägan 😀. Wahnsinnig wia pur dä Dialekt vo dem ma ältara Ma isch 🙂
... it is so mice to hear Swiss Getman in the States 😊 ... and Swiss Music and Traditions and some way of "farming" ... My grandparents and uncles had a farm in the Swiss Alps , some how I quite similar memories of my summers there, i th 60s / 70s.

1 More Replies...

C. Hay

3y↑20

This documentary is very well done. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

Dee Jaye

2y↑4

My people on my mom's side came from Switzerland, 1860's. Made it all the way out to CA. The hardships they incurred! Sadly in 100 years lots of things happened and families disperse. I'm happy WV kept kept it going!

Jeremy White

2y↑2

This is phenomenal im very proud to say 2 things 1st my mother is D&E valedictorian alumni and as a musician ive always loved Augusta that i grew up in Mill Creek WV maybe 25 miles from Helvetica and had a few high school teachers from there and the local restaurant is amazing once again great job guys thumbs WAY UP

Mitzi Flanery

2y↑7

It’s like spending an evening with family that are in Heaven now. Great documentary

B&W Out Channel

2y↑1

Fantastic. Wonderful traditions and skills etc. Great family cohesiveness.

pip fox

2y↑7

loved the harmony singing! very pretty.... reminds me of a trip to Ireland (west coast) and all the singing that was part of everyday life there then.... in the evenings at the pub. People making music together is an incredibly fun thing to do. Nowadays we merely watch others on TV, when we ALL used to be part of a creative culture, one way or another....this absence of a creative life is partly how mental unbalance begins.

pip fox

2y↑1

37:44 this parade with all the children and adults reminds me of Tanunda, a German town here in South Australia. The exact same! used to happen every autumn, a harvest festival I guess. Lots of fun, this brings back special memories of Tanunda days gone by...

Jyoti Fraser

2y↑1

Pip Your point about the connection between lack of creative outlets and onset of mental troubles ... I believe, and observe in my local community, is a deep truth. Getting into the soil and growing stuff helps greatly I reckon. Let's get city dwellers at it. a bit of the Green Revolution!

Marie Katherine

42w

This is an interesting place. I “discovered” it back in 1989 while on a car camping road trip through the back roads of West Virginia. Having lived with Amish from Indiana, the “Schweitz Deitsch,” I discovered I could understand the language quite well. In 1990, I convinced my folks to rent an RV and drive from NY for a camping vacation. They really liked it. They ended up buying their own RV so they could explore remote places and still have a toilet, a cook stove, a bed not on the floor, water, etc., a little motel room on wheels! P.S. The cheese was excellent! I remember having French onion soup at the restaurant.

Mary L Thompson

2y↑5

Beautiful, wish I could found more history of WV. Married my husband about 10 yrs ago who is from WV. And we now live here.

Case K

2y↑12

It's sad to see that the younger folk all left, but then it occurred to me that things are changing and I bet those towns are going to see a rise in young people returning, or even moving to such areas for the first time.

S J

2y↑2

I hope because West Virginia is one of the few state’s that are losing people instead of gaining. Everyone is moving away to find jobs.

Case K

2y↑3

@S J People have discovered that they can do their jobs remotely ever since COVID. And there are a lot of conservatives in blue states that want to flee.
I never lived in WV, but my Mom-mom and Pop-Pop were born and lived there. I will live there one day.

S J

2y↑6

@Case Kit’s definitely a great place to live if you are conservative. My son goes to a small public school that still says the pledge of allegiance and we are able to celebrate holidays. My kids can play outside with neighbors, I know that’s unheard of in some places.

Eleanor Adams

3y↑24

I would love to find someone like them and learn how to live like that 😫 I love it

therealtoni

We all could take a lesson in rugged self-sufficiency from them!!

l'interprète méhariste

Howdy Bro! Calm down until you got informed how really hard that swiss farming lifestyle is... ;-)

BrianN

2y↑3

I come from Berne, Indiana, another little town that is self-consciously Swiss, although in my case settled by Mennonites. I'm the first generation who doesn't speak Swiss-German, sadly. Nicely done video!

Iris Collins

Why have you not kept up with the language? If you don't use it you lose it.

Jude

2y↑10

Cool. Both my parents were Swiss. I went to Helvetia or Little Switzerland as it is sometimes called years ago. A lady I talked to at the time told me that a lot of the older Swiss had passed. It would have been nice to talk to some of these people.

Tacidian

1y↑1

Did you hear a lot of Swiss German growing up?

Jude

@Tacidian I did. My parents talked to each other in Swiss at times. They wanted English to be the first language for my sisters and myself since we lived in Canada and then the U.S. Later on I lived in Switzerland and went to school and picked up more of the language from school and hearing my relatives speak.

Tacidian

@Jude
That's cool, was learning Swiss German difficult for you? Since you probably had to learn to read and write in High German and then talk in Swiss German which feels like a completely different language.

Jude

@Tacidian No, learning Swiss German came naturally. Kids learn quickly. High German was a different story. As soon as I walked into the classroom I had to communicate in this language that I had never spoken before. I did pick up some of it in that year.

Marlene

Loved every minute of video. What fortunate people to experience this lifestyle.

Gerard Johnson

2y↑3

Thoroughly enjoyed this program. Without the knowledge of our history we can have no future.

Butch Facemire

2y↑7

Growing up in Braxton County, WV I remember going there as a child. My sister and I sang at the festival. My father loved the cheese and my mother would make him put the cheese in the trunk because of the smell. Great memories.

Å. Đ.Ř.

2y↑1

Swiss Farmers and surley farmersmany other countries too, used to be also great craftsmen, they used to make different tools, and so on ... the women know such a lot of things about land, garden, how to make wool and clothes ...

My father born 1930 grew up in the Swiss alps and had all this knowledge about everything sourrounding farm, kettle, wood, hunting ...
He did not know what "being bored" meant.
I am greatful to have past at least 10 long summers at my grandparents farm and learned some stuff too. Great memories.

Mountainmen

3y↑50

Great Country (WV looks a little like Switzerland) and great people
Greetings from Switzerland (Burgdorf bei Bern)

Brandon1 Heston

3y↑4

Hi from Cameron West Virginia

Justin Ratcliffe

3y↑4

Well both places are known for being very mountainous

Mountainmen

3y↑4

@Justin Ratcliffe Thats true but our mountains are higher ;) But both are beautiful places.

TheYates27

2y↑5

That was a lot of the appeal for the German and Scots-Irish. It was very much like the land they left although not entirely similar.

LifesAjourney

1y↑1

God bless you from Saint Albans, WV ❤️🙏

1 More Replies...

Liliane van Frankrijk

2y↑19

Omigod, they're singing in Bernese dialect!!!!! Btw, this singing is still done in small towns by the yodel groups in rooms above the restaurant about twice a month--except since corona.

Jane Smith

3y↑5

Fascinating record of its time. Looks like 1990s to me if not earlier. I learned German right through to age 18 at school but that is what they call Hoch Deutsch (High German) on the film rather than the more regional versions they speak in the village. It is amazing to think Switzerland was so poor in the 1800s that people escaped it when today it is almost the pinnacle of civilisation and wealth in Europe from here in the UK.

Michael Schmidt

3y↑6

Being unscathed by both World Wars due to being neutral is what set Switzerland on its path to wealth and prosperity.

pip fox

2y↑3

and creating an opaque banking system where you could easily hide ill gotten gains had something to do with it as well! the well known ''Swiss bank account'' we heard so much about, before the Panama papers came out a couple of years ago.

pip fox

2y↑2

(the type where money flows in from all around the world, no questions asked)

1 More Replies...

KIM

3y↑6

I love these videos
I would love to sit down at the table with these amazing people and hear the stories they tell with good Ole homemade tea & food ❤

donnie mason

I really enjoy watching these people and the way they make their lives the tradition that came with them over from Swissland many decades ago, My Great grandfather and seven of his brothers came over from Scotland some of them settled here in North Carolina Some in the Lillington & Mamers area. they spread out all over. it's amazing that when I was smaller then. My Dad had was a farmer. He and my mom raised all of us on a farm all my Brothers and sisters and I lived on a farm. we were poor, I loved the fact that we Raised our own food canned in mason jars. we did not have any type of freezer. back in those days. We had an outside the outhouse (bathroom), draw water from an outside well had a Mule's to break the land for planting. we had Chickens, Hogs. those were the best years of my life.
thanks for sharing yourHeritagee

L Whitt

3y↑5

Looks like a peaceful community to live in

ALEASHA REESE

3y↑14

The quilts are AMAZING!!

Wish I could visit the candy store.

Sharon Crawford

2y↑4

I live with Amish community around me. I like going to their stores. All kinds of candy. Their donuts are the best I've ever ate.

Dee Dee 1776

Such a neat place, clean and taken pride in.

Carollyn Gillespie

2y↑9

I pray they never change. It would be truly a shame for the conglomerates to make a mess of their ways.

Tacidian

I think change is only natural, even though it hurts to see this die out in time.
Cultures mix, come and go.

Just Judy

3y↑2

Excellent video of the culture of the Swiss American community.

SeldimSeen1

2y↑1

I had the good fortune to live in Basel Switzerland and participate with the Basler's Fastnacht. A grand celebration indeed. That is where I learned to make Onion Pie.

Stephanie Lloyd

38w

My husband was born near Helvetia...the second youngest of 15 children and moved to Jerusalem, WV when he was 8 yrs old. Hard working mountain people...

Alexander McCarthy

3y↑39

The church bells go ever 15 minutes. Different chimes to tell you the time. If you hear 1 chime its 15 past, 2 chimes half past, 3 chimes quater to, 4 chimes on the hour followed by different chimes for which hour, if 3 then its 3 o clock. I'm originally from Switzerland and it amazes me how American communities have kept some of the culture and celebrate it. I want to visit places like New Glarus.

Margie Loesch

3y↑3

I love New Glarius!!!!!!

JaneyD

3y↑2

I had a cuckoo clock which chimed similar. My brother brought it back from either Austria or Switzerland.

cruisepaige

3y↑4

I live in a little village in Italy where the church bells ring 4x or more per hour.

Gems

2y↑2

My great great great great great great great grandparents were dunkard baptists out of the kentucky mountains. We kept pioneering West and now our family is huge and quite diverse. God Bless America!

Jammazzing

3y↑11

I am a new subscriber and I envy your way of life. Thank you for sharing it means so much!!!

fringedweller mccatintyre

3y↑17

This is a great video, and @ 20:30 about, the most beautiful singing starts! @ 22:30 is the best canning cellar! @ 43:57 carding/spinning wool.

pip fox

2y↑2

thanks for putting the time stamps in for us!

pip fox

2y↑2

37:42 the harvest home parade? with children and adults, everyone...so sweet to see this

Aidah Di Leoni

3y↑24

Wonderful and healthy lifestyle.

Steve Carte

We stayed at the Swiss Village twice a year during bow and gun deer seasons for many years. Eleanor treated us like family. I actually killed a 300 pound bear with a bow on Sugar Creek. My little brother Kevin loved the elderberry wine and I loved the cheese and wine both.

Liên Dương

3y↑7

Cảm ơn bạn,cuộc sống bình yên của những người chân chính.

Diablo Blanco

32w

I love old West Virginia culture.

Betty Brown

2y↑6

it is amazing these people and others eat whatever they want like years ago but they tell city slickers not to eat what they eat. They look pretty healthy to me. I am 86 years old and my grandparents lived like this.

TheYates27

Huh ? Pretty big generalization ya think ?

oksills

2y↑2

Beautiful lovely people!

wasnhas

A wonderful film, really enjoyed this !!

Kathy J

2y↑1

My family is from West Virginia. Both of my parents were born there, my mom was from Charleston and my dad was from Alum Creek. They met after the second world war, and had seven kids. They moved to Pennsylvania when my sister was 3 weeks old. Then I was born in 1958 and my younger sister was born in 1960. They had 9 kids in 12 years time. We would visit family in WV just about every year till I was a teenager. We even moved back there for a few years when I was a toddler. I always longed to go back but it didn't happen. I would exchange letters with my aunts and cousins for years. But they died and now I haven't been in touch with anyone cause I don't know of any other relatives. I wish I knew more about my family. My dad's last name was Brown. My mother's maiden name was Short. One of my grandmothers maiden name was Clarke. I think the other one was a Scott.... Oh my dad used to play the spoons on his knees and it so much fun to see.

Greg Hank

Thank you for making this video I really enjoyed it all the people are awesome I would love to go there one day and enjoy eating good food thank you again♥️✌

gonZo4shur

3y↑6

Identical to my upbringing.my grandmother and grandfather might has well have been talking.i absolutely am so pleased with whomever shared this.i truly see how lucky i really was growin up.jesus do i love bein born and buttered in west virginia and no one can take her from me nor i from her

Mitzi Flanery

I love this place. I’d beware of car sickness on the curvy roads. But I’d sure like to go one day.

Teresia

2y↑1

My Grandfather's family settled in Appalachia Mountains in Kentucky. It's said he was the third generation to be born there. My maiden name is Mathis. My Grandfather's people were full German. I wish I knew more information about them. Daddy said there were eight brothers who settled from Kentucky all along down to South Carolina. I'm not sure the date they arrived but my Grandfather would be 150 if he lived. Lol. So it was a very long time ago.

Melanie King

2y↑1

Just fabulous l lloved this vid. Thanks and hi from Australia. So heartwarming histroy and wonderful life style and music What a wonderful culture well worth keeping

Dinah Jackson

2y↑2

I LOOOVE THIS ! LOVE THIS ! LOVE THIS ! THANK YOU !!!!!!! ❤

Nonrev Traveler

2y↑1

Culture Anthropology 101.
Great video, thank you.

Jonathan Aman

3y↑44

Interesting Documentary. My people came over from Switzerland to New Bern NC in the 18th century.

Karin Moseley

2y↑3

mine from Switzerland to Minnesota & South Dakota

Gems

2y↑1

Beautiful. Mine from German Palatine,(Swiss Mennonites) we immigrated to Philadelphia around 1730.

Marie Katherine

2y↑3

I’ve visited Helvetia in the 1990s, just found it by chance when on vacation drive through WV.

Globe255

2y↑1

To live a life like that takes a lot of hard work.

Cowboy Kelly

Just Lovely , these were some hardworking Families . That's forsure.
Much Respect, bless their souls. 🤠🖖

KarinaTheDreama

2y↑3

I am a direct descendant of Adam Byerly of Byerly Station at Bushy Run who carved a path from Virginia to Pennsylvania wide enough for wagons & up thru & beyond The Appalachians & came in 1738 at 23yo & lived his early years in Lancaster. The Tavern & Bakery & Inn I hear is still in operation. He was German speaking but from Sweden. Never wait to tell ur children of their Heritage for sometime it may be besides their Faith the only source of identity, pride, strength & legacy. By time I learned of his great American history & being one of our forefathers close to Washington & an adopted brother to Mohawk for his skills & nobility. Seems the only good I have to hang on to in this evil & departed world.
TY for the film. I really enjoyed witness to a way of life lost & truly enjoy the song & yodel. Blessings cherished. ✌️🙏

Trutsie O

2y↑2

I used to live near there and visited. Beautiful, but so is most of WV.

ana Baird

2y↑1

I can only imagine being able to say "I like _____, so I just make my own".
Very impressive. But then, I'm in mind-numbing-AWE of those who grow & can their own produce. What a fantasy of mine! I feel so stuck in the city grime.

Taliesin

2y↑1

The FILMING work here is sensational and marvelous !

PS

This was one of the most interesting videos I've seen..Loved it!

alma Moore

2y↑2

Love to see the way peole live and the way they enjoy life Its beautiful in W. Virginia.

k j

2y↑1

So loving people!

merrywriter B

2y↑12

When was this filmed. It seems older than 2005. But even today, 2021, Helvetia is very isolated by roads, per google. Those cows are gorgeous. Are they Brown Swiss and did they bring them over when they immigrated? They look like Jersey's, but one of the Balli sisters said cows w/high butter fat are not the best for cheese, and Jersey's are high in butter fat. A cow was/is the most important part of a family so would have liked to know a little more about them, bc any Swiss could tell us.

Edward Peterson

2y↑2

Filmed in 1993.

playdressup

2y↑3

Exactly my question. My beloved Papa would have nothing but all Jersey, but he sold butter as well as milk and was looking for high butter fat. I am wondering if these are not some cross that includes Jersey because they look awfully familiar. And pretty. 🙂

Gary Highley

Yodeling is at the heart of some of the earliest American country music.

Catherine

So much beauty in simplicity

Jimmy Brock

44w

🙂🖐👍🏴‍☠️🇨🇭🇺🇲 Very proud of Bozen Arrgau Swiss-German heritage!!! Western North Carolina has cantilever barns.

Peter Allman

2y↑1

Anything that tastes like an Appenzeller cheese is fine by me. Love it. Great little film, wonder what the place is like now nearly 30 years on.

Tiffany555

2y↑1

My goodness such beautiful voices

Harry Pixler

3y↑5

I'm over there all the time .Love it

David Ryan

3y↑29

This is just a fewmiles up the road from me. I love it there

Warwin Lee

2y↑1

If you’ve never milked a cow before, it isn’t as easy at it looks! These folks have very strong hands & are real pros.

Tanya Lenmark

2y↑5

I thoroughly loved this.
this is family to me.
I want to move there. 🐎🕊️🤍

Bob Chevallier

2y↑2

Karen here. My mother-in-law, Liliane Kalin, was from Morge, Switzerland. Her father Otto and mother Mathilde came here in 1922, when she was 3 yrs old. They stayed in NYC with other Suisse, but often went to Canada to visit relatives, bought property in PA on the Delaware River, visited Switzerland and loved cheese and chocolate!