Min soldat should not be confused with Din soldat.
"Min soldat" (English: "My Soldier") is a Swedish song written by Nils Perne (Jokern). It was recorded by Ulla Billquist in 1940 and became one of the most popular Swedish songs during World War II.
Carroll Loveday wrote new English lyrics for the song, which became "The Shrine of St. Cecilia". It was recorded by numerous artists.
The song was written for and first performed by Naemi Briese in Gosta Jonsson’s revue Det kommer en vår at the Folkan theatre in Stockholm. In the song, a woman is thinking of her fiance who is a soldier "somewhere in Sweden" ("någonstans i Sverige"). She recalls how fashionable he was in comparison to the photograph of him in an ill-fitting uniform. He has told her that they cannot afford to get married this year, and when he arrived yesterday on leave and took her to a dance, he was so tired that he fell asleep at the table. She says she does not mind because he is her "soldier somewhere in Sweden".
Translated to English:
| Min soldat | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Ulla Billquist |
| Released: | 1940 |
| Recorded: | 8 May 1940 |
| Genre: | Schlager |
| Length: | 3:16 |
| Label: | Sonora |
Ulla Billquist recorded the song for Swedish record company Sonora on 8 May 1940. The recording was Billquist's first for Sonora after she was lured from Sonora's competitor Columbia for a monthly salary of US$700.[1] Sven Arefeldt was the arranger and led the orchestra. The song became Billquist's most popular recording in Sweden.
Several recordings was made with other female singers for other record companies. Among them were Karin Juel and Siv Ericks.[2]
The song was revived again in 1973 when the author Jan Olof Olsson ("Jolo") used a line from the song as title for his TV-series Någonstans i Sverige about World War II. Billquist's recording was used as theme song.