Thursday, July 17, 2008

Kasztany - Yö saaristossa


Eija Merilä (real name Eija Muhonen) was a promising new singstress already in the 60's, but her breakthrough came in 1971 when she recorded the cover of Lynn Anderon's "Rose Garden". In 1964, however, her second single was "Yö saaristossa" (A night in the archipelago). This beautiful song has became a Finnish dance band classic, and is guaranteed to fill the dance floors, at least in the dance balls for elderly people ;-). The song sounds so much like a traditional Finnish song, that it was a big surprise to find out that it is in fact of Polish origin. The original was called "Kasztany" (Chestnuts), and was recorded in 1956 by a popular Polish singer Natasza Zylska (real name Natasza Zygelman). She had many hits in Poland in the 50's and 60's, but in 1963 she emigrated to Israel.

Here's the pair:

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