With extremely prosaic lyrics and lacking instrumental skills, Torsson rose… Read Full Bio ↴With extremely prosaic lyrics and lacking instrumental skills, Torsson rose to fame something of a novelty band in the early '80s. It is unclear how serious the band's intentions were initially, but as they sang songs about an uneventful picnic or an agricultural fair, they were verging on poetry -- of course their own unique and intentionally dull poetry. In the early '80s Torsson's amateurish attitude towards music and their overly gentle melodies put them in a position were they could be seen both as strange hometown relatives to punk rock, and as its opposite. They kept their popularity throughout the century, but in the '90s, they were much less active, and while not disbanding, Torsson gave many signs of dying.

Torsson was formed in 1976 in Lund, Sweden, by a number of hobby musicians, led by guitarist and singer Åkerström. The inspiration came from classic rock & roll as well as from country rock á la Credence Clearwater Revival, but the band was also a product of the Swedish progressive rock scene in the '70s, which stressed the do it yourself aspect of rock music. And with quite an inept band, consisting of trumpet player Lundahl, drummer Dalén, and guitarists Drejare and Svenningsson, the resulting music lay very far from the influences. In many ways it reminds of what would later be known as lo-fi, and it suited the inconclusive lyrics in a fascinating way. Torsson's had their first gig in November 1976 at a theater in Lund, and the following years saw the band playing student venues around town, hardly even attaining local fame. In 1979 they started out on a more serious career, releasing their first single, "Gå Emot Strömmen," on Kloaak. Drejare and Svenningsson left the band and Wiberg joined; two singles included on a Swedish pop compilation were followed by the recording of the debut album. By now drummer Sticky Bomb from Kriminella Gitarrer had joined the band and Att Kunna Men Inte Vilja was released in 1980, including the big hit "Det Spelades Bättre Boll," which the band would be identified with for the following 20 years.

When Torsson broke up in 1981 because Åkerström moved to San Diego to do microbiological research, Sticky Bomb left the group to play with Wilmer X. Åkerström came back in 1983 and Torsson reunited, now including drummer Manzini and bassist Persson. En Rökare I Krysset was released in 1984 and the following years were the most active in the band's career, with a number of nationwide tours and a growing following. A third album was recorded in 1987 but was reworked two years later with the help of Holst from Wilmer X and Möller from Buckaroos, and finally released as En Svensk Tiger. The inclusion of skilled musicians led to an album that sounded musically better than anything Torsson had released before, but ironically this was also its weakness. Closing in on mainstream pop when it came to the music, if not the lyrics, Torsson lost some personality. The group's fame declined in the '90s, and as it happened, the members concentrated more on their civil careers, being teachers, scientists, and physicians. Island of Hawaii was released in 1994, and throughout the '90s, Torsson played occasional concerts and released their first live album, Elvamannalag. Again regarded as a marginal novelty band and in practice being a hobby band, Torsson had came close to were they had started their career more than 20 years earlier.

(source www.allmusic.com, text by Lars Lovén)

Vagabond
Torsson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jag föddes långt upp i Nordens land
Bland samer i en kåta
Och sen drog jag med mina renar till havets strand
Mina fötter blev så våta

En vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Mitt öde är att va' en vagabond
Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond

Dömd att va' en vagabond
Vagabond

Med en flotte, kom jag till en öde ö
Som var full av kokospalmer
Och så kom det en båt med en vacker mö
Och prästerna sjöng psalmer

Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Mitt öde är att va' en vagabond
Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Dömd att va' en vagabond
Vagabond

Ett filmbolag kom och värvade mig som sin statist
I en film med Lisa Minelli
Efter fjorton da'r så blev allt så trist
Att jag blev guru i New Delhi

Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Mitt öde är att va' en vagabond
Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Dömd att va' en vagabond
Vagabond

En vagabond, en vagabond
En vagabond, en vagabond

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Torsson's song "Vagabond" tell the story of a wanderer who was born among Sami people in the far north of Scandinavia. As a child, he roamed the land with his reindeers until he reached the shores of the sea, where his feet became wet. The chorus repeats the line "Mitt öde är att va' en vagabond" which translates to "My destiny is to be a vagabond." The song goes on to describe the singer's travels to a deserted island filled with coconut palms, where he meets a beautiful woman and priests who sing hymns. Later in his journey, a film company recruits him to be a movie extra with Lisa Minelli, but after two weeks, he becomes disillusioned and becomes a guru in New Delhi. The song repeats the chorus again and again, driving home the point that being a vagabond is his only fate.

The song's imagery creates a vivid sense of the singer's various destinations and experiences, while also expressing his feeling of restlessness and discontent. It seems like the singer is resigned to his fate as a wanderer, but the repetition of the chorus may also be interpreted as a commentary on the cyclical nature of life itself, with its patterns of birth, growth, and decay. The song captures the loneliness and transience of a life on the road but also, paradoxically, hints at the deep sense of liberation that it may bring, free from social expectations and constraints.

Line by Line Meaning

Jag föddes långt upp i Nordens land
I was born far up in the northern land

Bland samer i en kåta
Among the Sami people in a tent

Och sen drog jag med mina renar till havets strand
And then I traveled with my reindeer to the seashore

Mina fötter blev så våta
My feet got so wet

En vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
A wanderer, wanderer, wanderer, wanderer

Mitt öde är att va' en vagabond
My fate is to be a wanderer

Vagabond, vagabond, vagabond, vagabond
Wanderer, wanderer, wanderer, wanderer

Dömd att va' en vagabond
Sentenced to be a wanderer

Vagabond
Wanderer

Med en flotte, kom jag till en öde ö
With a raft, I came to a deserted island

Som var full av kokospalmer
That was full of coconut palms