Blå Tåget | |
Origin: | Sweden |
Genre: | Progg |
Years Active: | 1967–present |
Label: | MNW |
Current Members: | Mats G Bengtsson Torkel Rasmusson Tore Berger Urban Yman Leif Nylén Kjell Westling Carl Johan De Geer Roland Keijser |
Blå Tåget (lit. The Blue Train) is a Swedish progg-band that used to go under the name Gunder Hägg, the name of a legendary Swedish runner, but after name conflicts occurred they changed name to Blå Tåget (which was a ride at the amusement park Gröna Lund) in 1972.
Their lyrics (mostly written by Bengtsson, Rasmusson, Berger and Nylén) cover a wide range, from marxist analysis and invitations to revolution to satire, art criticism, 1940s childhood nostalgia, images from daily life and experimental pop art works.
A recurring theme, at least in their early works, is criticism of Saltsjöbadsandan; the Swedish model of mixing capitalism with socialism through cooperation rather than conflict between government, large corporations and unions.
One song on this theme, "Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör", was covered by punk band Ebba Grön (renamed "Staten och kapitalet", with some of the lyrics omitted) and became a hit in 1980. It remains Blå Tåget's best known song today.
As Gunder Hägg:
As Blå Tåget: