His father died the next year, however, and the family moved from their comfortable residence to a humbler dwelling in the industrial district so that Ferlin could finish his education.

Ferlin had a minor career as an actor and debuted at the age of seventeen in Salomé by Oscar Wilde.

His lasting appeal is partly attributed to his vivid portrayal of central Stockholm before urban renewal and his association with the popular culture that flourished there then.

[2] Several statues of Nils Ferlin have been erected in Sweden: one in Filipstad of him sitting on a park bench, one in the Karlstad city square of him standing on a table, and one near Klara kyrka in Stockholm of him lighting a cigarette.

[2] Ferlin’s lyrics have been translated into English by Martin S. Allwood,[3] Fred Lane,[4] Thord Fredenholm [2] and Roger Hinchliffe.