det var en gång

See also: det var en gang

Swedish edit

Literally, "there was once."

(idiomatic, at the beginning of fairy tales) once upon a time, there was ...
- 2007, Laser Inc (lyrics and music), “Det var en gång en fågel [Once upon a time, there was a bird]”:
  Det var en gång en liten fågel. Ja, en fågel. Han bodde på landet, och Roger hette han. Han ville gärna leka med sina vänner, med sina vänner, men det fick inte han. Men denna historia slutar sorgligt, för Roger blev skjuten, skjuten i magen av gamle jägar'n [jägaren] Pär. Han ville hem och äta, äta en fågel med lite potäter, men Roger hann iväg.
  Once upon a time, there was a little bird. Yes, a bird. He lived in the countryside, and Roger was his name. He wanted to play with his friends ["He wanted gladly to play with his friends," in the sense of, "He wanted, with keenness, to play with his friends" – the translation skips the gärna as it doesn't make much difference to the meaning], with his friends, but [that – to play with his friends] he didn't get to. But this story ends sadly, because Roger was shot, shot in the stomach by old hunter Pär ["den gamle jägaren Pär" matches "the old hunter Pär" – skipping "den" makes "jägaren Pär" sound lexicalized]. He wanted to go home and eat, eat a bird with some potatoes, but Roger got away [in time].