vyssan lull

Swedish

Alternative forms

• vyssanlull

Etymology

vyss (“"lull," as an interjection”) or vyssa (“to lull”) + lull (“"lull," as an interjection”). Compare Danish visselulle (“to lull, to hushaby”).

Interjection

vyssan lull

1. Used to lull (a child) to sleep.
   • 1936, Evert Taube (lyrics and music), “Byssan lull [variation, possibly inspired by byssan (“the galley”)]”‎^[1]:

     Byssan lull, koka kittelen [kitteln] full, där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen. Byssan lull, koka kittelen [kitteln] full, där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen. Den ene är så halt, den andre är så blind, den tredje har så trasiga kläder.

     Byssan lull, cook ["boil," but also used for cooking through boiling] the cauldron full, [over] there comes three wanderers on the road. Byssan lull, cook the cauldron full, [over] there comes three wanderers on the road. One is so halt [limping, lame], the other is so blind [sic – "so blind" sounds the same in Swedish], the third has such tattered clothes [Ene/andre is usually used of two people, like in English, but occasionally of more people].

Usage notes

• Now mostly only appears in lullabies.
• The variation "byssan lull" appears in a well-known lullaby.

References

• vyssanlull in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• vyssanlull in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)