title: Reino Helismaa
text: # Reino Helismaa
  
  Reino Vihtori "Repe" Helismaa (12 July 1913, Helsinki – 21 January 1965) was a Finnish singer-songwriter, musician and scriptwriter, mainly known for his humorous, yet homely songs. One of his best-known interpreters was Tapio Rautavaara. He also scripted the comic strip Maan mies Marsissa, drawn by Ami Hauhio.
  
  ## Works
  
  Song lyrics: Helismaa wrote over five thousand song lyrics. Some of the most famous include:
  
  * Balladi Villistä Lännestä (A ballad of the Wild West)
  * Daiga-daiga-duu (Diga-diga-doo)
  * Hiljainen kylätie (A quiet village street)
  * Kaksi vanhaa tukkijätkää (Two old lumberjacks)
  * Kulkuri ja joutsen (The tramp and the swan; translation of originally Swedish song Vagabonden och svanen by Lasse Dahlquist)
  * Kulkurin iltatähti (The tramp's evening star)
  * Lentävä kalakukko (The flying kalakukko)
  * Meksikon pikajuna (The Mexico Express, original: Orient Express)
  * Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen (The sunbeam and the goblin)
  * Rakovalkealla (At the campfire)
  * Reppu ja reissumies (The knapsack and the travelling man)
  * Rovaniemen markkinoilla (At the Rovaniemi fair)
  * Suutarin tyttären pihalla (At the shoemaker's daughter's yard)
  
  Other works by Helismaa include 8 plays, 10 revues, 32 film manuscripts and 104 radio plays.
  
  * Screenplays for several Pekka ja Pätkä -comedy films made in the 1950s.
  