Ruedi Rymann
The Swiss yodeler who was a national icon
The Swiss yodeler who was a national icon
Ruedi Rymann
1933–2008
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ruedi Rymann, who died of liver cancer at 75, was not well known outside of Switzerland. But he was one of his country’s most famous yodelers, and his rendition of the traditional song “Dr Schacher Seppli” was voted “Switzerland’s Greatest Hit” in a national poll last year.
“Rymann was a master of an age-old vocal technique that relies on a quick melodic shift between a falsetto head voice and a deeper chest voice,” said The Washington Post. Usually accompanied by an accordion, he endeared himself to his countrymen with his bell-like tenor, which embodied the melodic calls that herders bellowed off mountain walls to communicate with their cattle. His signature song was the lament of a lonely wanderer; among its lyrics are, “The world is a turbulent place / I’ve observed it many times: People hurt each other just because of that damned money / How beautiful it could be down here.” Rymann was a leading emissary for yodeling, demonstrating his technique to audiences in South Korea, Brazil, Japan and the United States.
“If you put aside the Toblerone and cuckoo-clock clichés, you would be hard pressed to find a more thoroughly Swiss archetype than Rymann,” said the London Independent. “By profession, he was a man of the land; his life revolved around laboring, farming, cheesemaking, and forestry work.” He also ran a local club devoted to swingen, the national form of wrestling, in which the combatants try to toss each other outside a circular bed of sawdust. In retirement, Rymann was a huntsman. “Fittingly, one of his best known songs was ‘Der Gemsjäger’ (‘The Chamois Hunter’).”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluse
Feature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
-
Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasure
In the Spotlight Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts
-
James Earl Jones: classically trained actor who gave a voice to Darth Vader
In the Spotlight One of the most respected actors of his generation, Jones overcame a childhood stutter to become a 'towering' presence on stage and screen
-
Michael Mosley obituary: television doctor whose work changed thousands of lives
In the Spotlight TV doctor was known for his popularisation of the 5:2 diet and his cheerful willingness to use himself as a guinea pig
-
Morgan Spurlock: the filmmaker who shone a spotlight on McDonald's
In the Spotlight Spurlock rose to fame for his controversial documentary Super Size Me
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
In the Spotlight Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'