LILLEBJØRN FALK NILSEN, THE DELIGHTFUL VOICE OF OSLO

After a few days of heavy rain, the sun has come out again in Barcelona and The Grandma wants to take advantage of this break to walk a little in the mountains and disconnect from the big city and the Christmas shopping frenzy.

There is nothing better than a good dose of reading and music surrounded by nature. The music most rooted in nature and our own culture is folk. The number of artists who have given this music is endless, from Americans like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mercedes Sosa, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, Víctor Jara, Willie Nelson, Bob Seeger, Violeta Parra... to Europeans like The Chieftains, Kepa Junkera, Al Tall, Clannad, Luar Na Lubre, Vamp, Maria del Mar Bonet, Uxía, Xesco Boix, Alan Stivell, Al-Majurqa, Mari Boine, Fanfare Ciocărlia, Miquela Lladó, Mikel Laboa... the list is endless and there are many more than you can name, but today, The Grandma has chosen one of her favourites, Lillebjørn Nilsen, the Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician, who was born on a day like today in 1950 and covered many Pete Seeger songs, including Andorra, one of the most beautiful and simple anti-war songs ever written.

Lillebjørn Falk Nilsen (born Bjørn Falk Nilsen; 21 December 1950-27 January 2024) was a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was considered by many to be a leading voice of Oslo, alongside Ole Paus, thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from the 1970s and onwards.

Bjørn Nilsen was born in Oslo and became known as Lillebjørn in the late 1960s when he and his namesake Bjørn Morisse performed as the folk duo The Young Norwegians. Because Morisse was the taller of the duo, he was nicknamed Storebjørn (Big Bjørn) while Nilsen was Lillebjørn (Little Bjørn), a stage name he kept throughout his career.

Nilsen was also a member of the Norwegian supergroup Gitarkameratene with Jan Eggum, Halvdan Sivertsen and Øystein Sunde.

In 1987, he received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award.

Nilsen collaborated with his friend and idol Pete Seeger on numerous occasions. He adapted Pete Seeger's song My Rainbow Race into Norwegian as Barn av regnbuen (Children of the Rainbow).

Nilsen died in Oslo on 27 January 2024, at the age of 73.

More information: Lillebjørn

Jeg er ingen trist eremitt.
Jeg er vel som mennesker flest, 
men ofte så liker jeg best
folk som er stille.

I'm not a sad hermit.
I'm like most people,
but often I like the most
people who are quiet.

Lillebjørn Nilsen