Du levande : more on the music - the dining song this time

Can someone tell me about the song sung at the formal dinner (for which we were given no subtitles)? Where did it come from? What did it mean? Why were people standing up and sitting down? This was the most memorable scene for me - especially when the guy was called out to deal with his delinquent son.

I'd like to know as well.

*bump*

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In Germany the song is called "Oh, Alte Burschenherrlichkeit". It's a song which is still sung by German fraternities.

I don't know Swedish, so I can't be absolutely sure if the lyrics are the same, but in German you can summarize the song to be a mourning on the old times.
The times at the university are long gone and the "lyrical I" looks back on his times as student.
Since several people stand up and sit down during that one part I assume that this part is about the different "professions"

Da schreibt mit finsterm Amtsgesicht
Der Eine Relationen, > Lawyer/Judge
Der Andre seufzt beim Unterricht, > Teacher/Professor
Und Der macht Recensionen; > Philosopher/Critics
Der schilt die sndge Seele aus, > Clerics (Churchpeople)
Und Der flickt ihr verfallnes Haus! > Engineer

A translation attempt:

With a frowning office face
One writes relations,*
the other sighs while teaching,
And this one makes recensions;
That one rails against the errant soul,
And this one patches her decayed house!

*back in those days lawyers were still in federal duty


So when the part about your profession comes you stand up. In the end everybody is standing

(I know my English is really bad and I appologize, but I thought that the information could be interesting for one or the other person)

Thanks for the replies, but I hope someone who speaks Swedish will give a translation of the whole song.

*
Ambient, Experimental & Neo-classical Music : http://www.myspace.com/mrdreamstream

Thanks Kateff for your information! That was really helpful.

Although being Swedish myself, I had problems understanding some
of the lyrics. However, I found an explanation to that
- the refrain is in Latin!

My translation of the first paragraph:

Oh, old sounds and times of joy,
your memory will remain,
and yet despite the grim struggle in life
a rosy shimmer it brings.
Soon all our giddy jokes will cease,
our song becomes silent, our gaiety disheartened;
o, jerum, jerum, jerum,
o, quae mutatio rerum!

Swedish lyrics:

O, gamla klang och jubeltid,
ditt minne skall frbliva,
och n t livets bistra strid
ett rosigt skimmer giva.
Snart tystnar allt vrt yra skmt,
vr sng blir stum, vrt glam frstmt;
o, jerum, jerum, jerum,
o, quae mutatio rerum!

Var ro de som kunde allt,
blott ej sin ra svika,
som voro mn av kta halt
och vrldens herrar lika?
De drogo bort frn vin och sng
till vardagslivets trk och tvng;
o, jerum, jerum, jerum,
o, quae mutatio rerum!

filosofer:
den ene vetenskap och vett
in i scholares mnger,

jurister:
den andre i sitt anlets svett
p paragrafer vrnger,

teologer:
en plstrar sjlen som r skral,

medicinare:
en lappar hop dess trasiga fodral;

o, jerum, jerum, jerum,
o, quae mutatio rerum!

Men hjrtat i en sann student
kan ingen tid frfrysa.
Den gldjeeld, som dr han tnt,
hans hela liv skall lysa.
Det gamla skalet brustit har,
men krnan finnes frisk dock kvar,
och vad han n m mista,
den skall dock aldrig brista.

S sluten, brder, fast vr krets
till gldjens vrn och ra!
Trots allt vi tryggt och vl tillfreds
vr vnskap trohet svra.
Lyft bgarn hgt och klinga, vn!
De gamla gudar leva n
bland sklar och pokaler,
bland sklar och pokaler!

It's an old song sung by students/academics at universities in Sweden.