I can never say enough great things about the Norwegian band, Hellbillies. They are, in many ways, the Norwegian equivalent of The Eagles or the Allman Brothers Band — the latter of which was and remains a great inspiration for them.
They are called "country rock" but their music goes far beyond that and they are one of the most satisfying and musical bands I enjoy listening to.
There are very few really good concert or regular videos of Hellbillies available on the Internet. This is unfortunate. I know that the Hellbillies have made a couple of videos — for television — two or three of which the Multe Music crew saw last June while in Norway — and I'm hoping they may eventually choose to make those available on the Internet at some point.
Meanwhile, here's one of the better videos available. It's a clip from a televised concert performance of their huge hit, "På Ål stasjon (At The Ål Train Station)". It's one of my favorite songs by the group.
The song is based on a true story and tells the story of a young boy from the small town of Ål in Hallingdal who is at the train station and suddenly sees a person of a different color. He remembers what it was like to see a black person (who could speak some Norwegian!) for the first time in his life.
The chorus says:
I saw him first on the platform,
For me it was a sensation.
He came on the train from Drammen.
A black man stood at Ål train station.
It's important to note that the word used to describe the black man in the song, "neger", is actually the Norwegian word for the color "black". It is not a derogatory word in that language, although a similar looking word is considered offensive in the English language.
Hellbillies has made a video of this song, which I really like. It is set in perhaps the late 1950s or early 1960s and is filmed from the point of view of the young boy. It emphasizes the response of the people at the station to seeing someone of a different color. One can only imagine what it might have been like for people in such a rural part of Norway — which, at that time, was really homogenous — to have that experience!
Here are the words in Norwegian. They are in the Hallingdal dialect.
Når togji kryssa va 'ræ morot sjå,
for engorn skull reise, og are skull tå.
Der rek det ferdafolk ifrå land og by.
Dit kom dæ folk frå Nesby'n,
ell endå lenger sy.Eg såg 'n fysst på perrongen.
For meg so va'ræ ein sensasjon.
Han kom med toget frå Drammen.
Ein neger stod på Ål stasjon.Han hadde krullut hår og dubbeltspent frakk.
og norsk det kunna'n, eg høyrde'n sa "takk".
Åsso gikk 'n beint burt åt drossju'n hass Per.
Eg lurde på kor'n skull' åv, og ko'n vilde her?Han va fysste neger'n eg såg.
Eit pust ifrå are lånd.
Eg fårde med heilt te lys og bil,
vart røykjile vekk uppved Strånd.
The Hellbillies' lead singer, Aslag Haugen, was seriously injured in an accident at a festival in northern Norway in July, which caused the group to cut short their summer and fall tour plans. I understand that he's apparently well on the road to full recovery and Hellbillies will probably be going into the studio during the coming year making a new album (can't wait to hear it!) and resuming touring afterwards.
The fantastic Hammond B3 organ opening to the song (which sounds like a train coming down the track at the beginning) is done by Lars Christian Nærum. And I always like the fact that Arne Moslåtten plays chromatic button accordion on a number of their songs, including this one.
One of these days, I'll tell you the story of how the town of Northfield, Minnesota may have been responsible for the birth of the Hellbillies. It's true!
