While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk music before turning metal. The roots of Korpiklaani can be traced back to a Sami folk music group under the name of 'Shamaani Duo', an "in-house restaurant band" created by Jonne Järvelä in 1993. An album of folk music (Hunka Lunka) was released under this name before Järvelä relocated and "Shamaani Duo" morphed into "Shaman". Shaman was the second incarnation of Korpiklaani, formed in 1996 which is notable for the heavy use of original native Sámic music elements and lyrics in Northern Sámi. The band's music was based on the folk music of Shamaani Duo. The most widely used elements are the shamanic drum, yoik and humppa. Besides yoik, the vocals vary from clean to rather aggressive growling.
The musical style of Shaman is quite distinctive, especially in the slow songs, due to its entrancing atmosphere created by the monophonic, "narrow" synth sound making the deep contrast to the spacious sound of the acoustic guitar, the shamanic drum and yoik singing. The first recording released under the name of Shaman was the demo single Ođđa máilbmi (New World in Northern Sámi). The video clip shot for the song featured a wolf breaking free from its cage and running into the forest. Besides the single CD the song was included on the band's first full-length album Idja (Night in Northern Sámi, 1999) as well. The band released another album, Shamániac, in 2002. The band underwent another evolution in 2003, and "Shaman" became "Korpiklaani" (with only Järvelä and drummer Samu Ruotsalainen remaining from the last "Shaman" lineup), with the music style to a more conventional folk metal with folk/thrash vocals instead of yoiking. Shamániac had already featured a strong resemblance to the future Korpiklaani style. In fact, the song, "Vuola lávlla", has the same music as the Korpiklaani song, "Beer Beer".
The change in name was accompanied by a change in the music. The traditional yoik vocals and the use of the Northern Sámi language were dropped while the synthesizer was replaced with real folk instruments. Jonne Järvelä credits his work with Finntroll as the catalyst for the shift in emphasis from folk to metal. Their song lyrics are often related to alcohol and partying. According to Jonne Järvelä, Korpiklaani's music would be seen as "old people's music with heavy metal guitars" in Finland.
There has been some collaboration between Korpiklaani and Finntroll, as Samu Ruotsalainen of Finntroll provided session drums for their debut album Spirit of the Forest and Järvelä provided the yoiking for the title track of Finntroll's album Jaktens Tid. Juha Jyrkäs has written some Finnish lyrics to Korpiklaani and from 2011 lyrics are written by poet Tuomas Keskimäki, who writes lyrics in the old Finnish "kalevalametre".
In September 2011 Korpiklaani announced that Jaakko "Hittavainen" Lemmetty would be leaving the band due to personal health issues which made the constant touring and recording impossible. First his replacement was violist Teemu Eerola and later, nowadays permanent member, Tuomas Rounakari. In 2013 accordion player Juho Kauppinen left Korpiklaani and the new accordion player is Sami Perttula.
Let's Drink
Korpiklaani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
little forest, lake as far as you can see
Woodshed, for my homebrewed beer
perfect place for drunkards like me
Never gonna give up my rugged life
never sell my infertile soil
Never gonna give up this simple style
Disappointment is who I live with,
gret grief only mate from then,
every morning pangs of remorse
but it's so familiar like my old black horse
Never gonna give up my rugged life
never sell my infertile soil
Never gonna give up this simple style
let's drink and enjoy
The lyrics of Korpiklaani's song, "Let's Drink," depicts the simple and rustic lifestyle of the singer. The opening lines, "Little red house, potato field, little forest, lake as far as you can see," describe the singer's idyllic surroundings. The woodshed mentioned in the lyrics is used for brewing beer, which gives a glimpse into the singer's fondness for alcohol. The lyrics suggest that this is a perfect place for someone like him, who enjoys getting drunk.
The next lines, "Never gonna give up my rugged life, never sell my infertile soil," show that the singer is determined to hold on to his simple lifestyle. He values the land that he has and is content with his way of living. The chorus, "Never gonna give up this simple style, let's drink and enjoy," further emphasizes the singer's belief in the simple pleasures of life, such as drinking and enjoying.
The final verse reveals a more melancholic tone to the song. The lines, "Disappointment is who I live with, great grief only mate from then, every morning pangs of remorse, but it's so familiar like my old black horse," suggest that the singer leads a life filled with sorrow and remorse. However, the use of the imagery of the familiar old black horse implies that he has grown accustomed to this way of living.
Line by Line Meaning
Little red house, potato field
I live in a small house near a potato field
little forest, lake as far as you can see
There is a nearby forest and a lake that can be seen in the distance
Woodshed, for my homebrewed beer
I have a woodshed where I make my own beer
perfect place for drunkards like me
My place is suitable for people like me who like to drink
Never gonna give up my rugged life
I will never abandon my simple and rural lifestyle
never sell my infertile soil
I will not sell my land, even though it is not very fertile
Never gonna give up this simple style
I will always cherish my uncomplicated way of living
let's drink and enjoy
Let's have a drink and embrace our current situation
Disappointment is who I live with,
I am constantly plagued by feelings of dissatisfaction and letdowns
great grief only mate from then,
The only companion I have is my deep sadness
every morning pangs of remorse
Every morning I feel guilty about my life and the choices I've made
but it's so familiar like my old black horse
However, these feelings are familiar and almost comforting, like my old horse
Contributed by Annabelle N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
LILOV
I'm still waiting for a featuring between Alestorm and Korpiklaani. This would be the best drunkensong in the story of alcohol.
ThePowerOf42
Also include bands like Trollfest
And Vrävarna
the battle of the booze (and debauchery)
Rezzed_out211
YES!!!
Kirill Novikov
They will be too drunk to sing
Ádám Pajor
Korpiklaani's music have a special power. It slowly makes me alcoholic. No regrets by the way, this is some awesome shit! Great music!
Laura Kimla
The best music i was fortunate to see them in concert twice when they was state side...awesome show
lil bro
Ugyan ugyan, az a magyar vérbe van benne ;) a zene csak gyorsítja a folyamatot.
Máté Ágoston
Zs Emma Mikor és hol lesz a koncert?
Ádám Pajor
Zs Emma
Kb. 3 hete ismerem a Korpiklaanit, nagy rajongójuk lettem ilyen rövid idő alatt.
Tudok a koncertről is és szeretnék elmenni. Majd meglátom összejön-e! Nagyon remélem! :D
Zs Emma
Ugye jösz te is nyáron a koncertre? :)