The song describes small frogs that are seemingly fun to watch, due to their lack of ears and tails, and is accompanied by dance moves to represent ears and tails. The song then mimics the croak and the dancers hopping like frogs around the pole.

Perhaps you have seen Swedish actor Peter Stormare sing the Tom Cruise song in the 2002 American action film Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg. Or maybe you have seen Swedish celebrities demonstrate the dance , as Alicia Vikander in the clip below. Maybe you were just stunned when the frog dance erupted at a Swedish summer solstice party.

Here’s how the song unfolds:

By Små Grodorna

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.

Little frogs, little frogs, are funny to watch.

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.

Little frogs, little frogs, are funny to watch.

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

No ears, no ears, no tails.

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

No ears, no ears, no tails.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Where does it come from?

Although it is a pinnacle of Swedish culture, the song actually originates from France.

It borrows from the French military march The Song of the Onion (Le Chant de l’Oignon), sung by the Napoleonic army. The onion was an important food source for the French army, and the choir, used for croaking in the Swedish version, goes “In step, comrade, in step, comrade, in step, in step, in step” (Au pas, comarade) in the French original.

As for the involvement of the frogs in the song, it is generally believed to be due to a parody version sung by the English, who at the time were bitter enemies of France. The English called the French derogatory “frogs” or “frog eaters” and rewrote the words of “In step, frog” (At the walk, frog).

It is not known how this song got into Swedish lore, but the first recorded instance of “Little Frogs” was in the carpentry and culture classes given at Nääs Castle in the late 1800s. These classes were provided to teachers where they could learn songs and traditions to pass on to schoolchildren.

The song is also sung in Norway as “Små Rumpetroll” and in Denmark like “Små Frøer”. But he is relatively young in terms of Swedish children’s ballads. Some other summer solstice classics, such as “Räven Raskar Över Isen” (The Fox Hurries Across the Ice) dates back to the Middle Ages, according to Mats Nilsson, professor of ethnology at the University of Gothenburg.