Lyrics to Emblas Saga
Ek dreyma umb eldr
Ek dreyma umb dauðl
Hvar stjornur hrjóða grima himinn
Eldr ok dauðl - myrkr ok rauða
Tveir andilt þú hafa
O grima þǫgn
In the beginning there was only darkness
Of icy mist and smoke
A darkness so completely dark
By war and death invoked
Sparkling flames would dare to reach
Across the arid void
And melt the rim of ice and frost
That framed it from the north
The birth of gods, the fall of foes
Oh, children of the tree
Now listen close, and hear the truth
Of how you came to be
First was the giant, Ymer his name
Then the cow Authumla, out of the melting ice the came
From Ymers' palm another pair of giants, born and bred
Then left and right, his feet would mate to birth a child with several heads
Authumla fed on frost in all her pride and grace
She woke the very first of gods by licking on his face
She ate away the icy cage that held him in his fury
A man of beauty and of might by the name of Burí
Burí somehow got a son, who somehow got a wife
Burí, Borr and Bestla – the avengers of their time
Then Bestla bore the children who made this story true
Vile, Ve and Odin – who created me and you
Memories will fade from man
The snow of death will fall upon
The children of Wodan
Distant echoes, whispering
Of how it all began
For the children of Wodan
Three were the brothers, three were the gods
In a world of giants, conspiring how to turn the odds
They slayed the very oldest, the one who was the first
Within the flowing blood - every giant was submerged
These waters of decay would never cease to flow
Creating every sea and every river that we know
And while the giants drowned, the gods got the idea
To take the corpse of Ymer and make the earth appear
His body would become the soil, his skull became the sky
And then they threw his giant brains aloft to form the clouds
His teeth became the rocks, they made mountains from his bones
And on the meadows through his hair the summer breeze was blown
Out of the ashes and into the light
The dead will make room for the living
Deep in the darkest of nights
The end is another beginning
The fire in my dreams
The death so long foreseen
The darkest sky
Adorned by lights
What does it hide?
Out of the ashes rise
The glowing seed of life
The darkest sky
Two faces hides
Oh, silent night
When the gods were done
They took a little break
A stroll upon the beach
To take a breath and contemplate
Two logs of ash and elm
Lay stranded on the shore
The children of the forest
The children of the gods
From dead to animated
And no longer adrift
For like the fairy godmothers
They gave them special gifts
The first would grant them spirit
And life beyond the plant
The second gave them movement
And the wit to understand
The third would give them faces
Their hearing and their sight
And thus the very first of humans
Were brought to life
Memories will fade from man
The snow of death will fall upon
The children of Wodan
Distant echoes, whispering
Of how it all began
For the children of Wodan
Ek dreyma umb dauðl
Hvar stjornur hrjóða grima himinn
Eldr ok dauðl - myrkr ok rauða
Tveir andilt þú hafa
O grima þǫgn
In the beginning there was only darkness
Of icy mist and smoke
A darkness so completely dark
By war and death invoked
Sparkling flames would dare to reach
Across the arid void
And melt the rim of ice and frost
That framed it from the north
The birth of gods, the fall of foes
Oh, children of the tree
Now listen close, and hear the truth
Of how you came to be
First was the giant, Ymer his name
Then the cow Authumla, out of the melting ice the came
From Ymers' palm another pair of giants, born and bred
Then left and right, his feet would mate to birth a child with several heads
Authumla fed on frost in all her pride and grace
She woke the very first of gods by licking on his face
She ate away the icy cage that held him in his fury
A man of beauty and of might by the name of Burí
Burí somehow got a son, who somehow got a wife
Burí, Borr and Bestla – the avengers of their time
Then Bestla bore the children who made this story true
Vile, Ve and Odin – who created me and you
Memories will fade from man
The snow of death will fall upon
The children of Wodan
Distant echoes, whispering
Of how it all began
For the children of Wodan
Three were the brothers, three were the gods
In a world of giants, conspiring how to turn the odds
They slayed the very oldest, the one who was the first
Within the flowing blood - every giant was submerged
These waters of decay would never cease to flow
Creating every sea and every river that we know
And while the giants drowned, the gods got the idea
To take the corpse of Ymer and make the earth appear
His body would become the soil, his skull became the sky
And then they threw his giant brains aloft to form the clouds
His teeth became the rocks, they made mountains from his bones
And on the meadows through his hair the summer breeze was blown
Out of the ashes and into the light
The dead will make room for the living
Deep in the darkest of nights
The end is another beginning
The fire in my dreams
The death so long foreseen
The darkest sky
Adorned by lights
What does it hide?
Out of the ashes rise
The glowing seed of life
The darkest sky
Two faces hides
Oh, silent night
When the gods were done
They took a little break
A stroll upon the beach
To take a breath and contemplate
Two logs of ash and elm
Lay stranded on the shore
The children of the forest
The children of the gods
From dead to animated
And no longer adrift
For like the fairy godmothers
They gave them special gifts
The first would grant them spirit
And life beyond the plant
The second gave them movement
And the wit to understand
The third would give them faces
Their hearing and their sight
And thus the very first of humans
Were brought to life
Memories will fade from man
The snow of death will fall upon
The children of Wodan
Distant echoes, whispering
Of how it all began
For the children of Wodan
