Evert Taube

Not counting 18th century poet Carl Michael Bellman, Evert Taube is without any doubt the number one Swedish troubadour, inspiring a great number of followers, leaving behind more classics than anyone else, and being translated to many foreign languages. Born in 1890, he grew up on the small island of Vinga, where his father kept a lighthouse. Taube studied art in school, but at the age of 17, he ran away to Stockholm, where he, according to the tradition, spent his first night by the grave of Bellman. Unsuccessfully he tried to make a living as a painter, and when his father heard about his whereabouts, Taube faced the ultimatum of going back to school or becoming a sailor. He chose the latter and was to spend the coming years onboard a number of freighters. Arriving in Argentina in 1910, he decided to settle down and made a living as a railroad worker, journalist, and tram conductor. The time spent there and at sea was later to prove an important inspirational source for Taube, both in teaching him how to play tango and in giving him motifs for his production. When World War I broke out, he travelled home to do his military service, ending up as a marine after being refused a place in the cavalry. In 1917, he published his first song, "Resan till Spanien," which was printed in a weekly magazine, and soon after, he made his first public performance. Still not having recorded anything, he spent the following years working as a journalist, publishing his second novel, and trying to be a painter. Nothing of this was very successful, but with the songbook Sju Sjömansvisor och Byssan Lull, Taube finally got recognition as a songwriter. This was a dilemma that would follow him through his entire life. Wanting to be a part of the cultural elite, writing high poetry and prose...