"Byssan Lull" in Lucidity

I haven't followed the development of 2D puzzle/platformer Lucidity very closely, so imagine my surprise when I tested the demo version on Xbox LIVE Arcade and suddenly heard this hauntingly beautiful rendition of a well-known Swedish lullaby while staring at the otherwise completely English main menu.

Turns out that the composer at Lucasarts had been actively searching for a non-English lullaby as well as an opportunity to work with a Swedish singer named Lisa Eriksson, and then decided to combine these two ideas by picking "Byssan Lull" as the game's title theme. For more details on this interesting turn of events, read this:

http://lucasartsworkshop.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/say-what/

As is evident from the blog post, the exact origins of "Byssan Lull" are difficult to pin down but what's certain is that the song become widely known through the efforts of legendary Swedish artist, songwriter and musicologist Evert Taube (1890-1976). The complete lullaby is much longer than this short excerpt, by the way...

The Lucasarts composer provides a partial translation of the lyrics on his site which I used as a starting point for writing the subtitles included in this video.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Byssan
• Lull
• Lucidity
• Lucasarts
• Lisa
• Eriksson
• Jesse
• Lullaby
• Evert
• Taube
• Swedish
• Folk
• Music
• 2D
• Puzzle
• Platform
• Steam
• Xbox
• LIVE
• Arcade

[pandablahblah]

what a very beautiful voice!

i love it!!

i need the lyrics...

pls some body put the lyrics here to me or give me the link....

pls pls

[Demiath]

Apart from the subtitled lyrics which are already included in the video, the original Swedish lyrics as well as another English translation is available in the blog post which is linked in the video description.

[Kottplockarkommunist]

The developer that added this (Japanese I believe) said "I wanted something that Thor himself could have listened too."

I think the developer was working with a swede, so they chose this song.

However, for me as a swede, this song is just pretty ugly. Would've been better if I wouldn't know the language.

[Demiath]

Feel free to dislike the song, but at least get your facts straight (or better yet, read the video description before posting).

The developer is American (Lucasarts) - not Japanese - and there's no evidence that the Norse god of lightning had anything to do with the choice of music in this game.

Skärpning, alltså...

[Kottplockarkommunist]

What I mean is that "the developeR" aka one developer, (and you didn't seriously believe that I thought this game was made by ONE person?) that chose to include this tune was japanese, or at least of japanese heritage (The newspaper didn't specify which one).

And probably this tune isn't old enough to be associated with the vikings, But the japanese guys opinion was that it sounded a bit viking themed, and it was after all Swedish.

Think a bit further before posting next time, please. -.-

[Demiath]

Again, unless you start using the standard method for presenting factual claims (i.e. by providing references which other people can verify for themselves), you should refrain from making assertions about individual developers' intentions and supposed penchants for Scandinavian mythology.

However, if you DO have relevant links - or at least a name for the "newspaper" you mentioned - which support your claims, I'd be happy to add that info to the video description on the left.

[CaliforniaTD]

Pretty eerie for a lullaby.

[TONYLOVESU]

The music and the voice is extremely haunting and amazingly good.

When I first downloaded the demo, it was this song that made me purchase the game instantly. It captivated me so much that I just had to complete the game.

[guilemaster147]

Look up Lokka Tattur for a great version of this lullaby sung in Faroese =)

[waggie]

@CaliforniaTD Any scandinavian lullaby is more or less eerie..It is the haunting charm of the north

[tomRstincts]

my dad used to sing me this song when i was little....

[weyvind]

@pctheninja And basically all norwegians know.

[SniperPandan]

@CaliforniaTD I know your comment is a year old, but I can't help to answer :P It is made eerie because the game wants it that way :P It's not this eerie normally x)

[TheSakura4w]

wow i love this song it so majestic and beautiful i used to sit there on luciditys game menu just to hear it

[PrinnyBlack]

@CaliforniaTD Us Sweeedish people are an eerie folk~

[pctheninja]

@pctheninja

Hahaha! totally my bad xD I didnt read it :P only saw a big block of text :P Pardon my ignorance

[Demiath]

@pctheninja Hmm, you seem to be implying that non-scandinavians are incapable of reading video descriptions... ;)