The song is about Tórshavn. But the lyrics use the name Havnin. Is this a nickname? A diminutive form? Dialect? Slang?
Nico responds: I am anything but an expert on these matters. But the way that works is that havn is the word for harbor, and the -in ending is a definite article; like in Icelandic, definite articles are stuck on at the end. This usage mirrors how I speak about New York, viz., “I got home to the City last night,” implying that while there are many cities, there is but one City.
]]>On the other hand, when I actually did compose for a honest-to-goodness puppet play (a handpuppet opera, actually, with Edward Gorey’s libretto and puppets), I found that the experience was anything but confining. Lou Harrison advised me, correctly, that “with puppets, you can do anything: if you want a fleet of ships to set sail on stage, you can have a fleet of ships setting sail on stage.”
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