Alfvén arranged this folk song from Dalarna while in Leksand during his summer vacation in 1936 – he would retire one year later from Uppsala University. The version for mixed choir is dedicated to the Siljan Choir. However, Alfvén was not the first to take up the song: earlier arrangements for choir were made by Herman Berens, Jacob Niclas Ahlström, Gustaf Hägg, Emil Sjögren, et al. But these circumstances did not prevent Alfvén from setting to work with full self-confidence and with the assurance that his own arrangement would still get a wide circulation.

Å inte vill jag sörja men sörjer ändå
Han kommer väl igen om ett år eller så.
När liljorna de blomstra i marken,
han kommer väl igen, min hjärtans lilla vän,
för kärleken slutar så sena.

In English:
I do not want to mourn, yet I mourn even so.
He just might still return in a year, or in two.
When fragrant lilies bloom in their splendour,
He'll be back soon again, my one of all the men,
For love conquers many a mountain.

Translation: Annika Vallgren