Hoppípolla (4:29)

“Hoppípolla” (Icelandic for “Jumping into puddles”) is a song by Icelandic band Sigur Rós from their 2005 album ‘’Takk…’‘. It was released as the album’s second single on November 28 2005. The lyrics are mainly in Icelandic, with some lines sung in Vonlenska (“Hopelandic”). Written with spaces, the song’s title would be “Hoppa í polla” (the “—a” in “hoppa” is not pronounced). As with many of the band’s songs, it was given a nickname in the early stages of writing. Hoppípolla was “The Money Song”, as the band was certain they had written a song which would have commercial success. The single also featured a studio remake of “Hafssól”, a song previously released on the band’s 1997 debut album, ‘’Von’‘. The title appears as “Hafsól” on the single.

“Hoppípolla” was used in 2006 advertisements for the BBC’s ‘’Planet Earth’’ TV series, giving the band one of its rare exposures to a mainstream audience. When Sir David Attenborough received his National Television lifetime achievement award, the piece was used for the moving anthology of his work, made especially for the occasion. Following this, there has been a high demand for the single, which has led to a re-publishing of the commercial version in May 2006, distributed by EMI. The re-release of the single brought critical acclaim for the band in the mainstream music media, including being named Jungalist Single of the Week on 1 May 2006. The song was used in the closing credits of the BBC’s coverage of the 2006 FA Cup final, and BBC News 24 also used it to promote their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The song was also featured in the ‘’Doctor Who Confidential’’ episode “End of an Era”.