The Merry Vikings (Old Norse Song) - The Varangian's Saga │ Farya Faraji & The Skaldic Bard

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Happy New Year! Here’s a song written and performed by @faryafaraji and myself. It is part of our new symphony, The Varangian’s Saga, which I’d love you to check out if you haven’t yet. Its individual parts are best understood when viewed as part of the whole, and I’m sure you’ll love it:

For this song, we wanted to move away from some of the common conceptions and tropes of the Norsemen as mere bloodthirsty pirates. Farya spent a good while studying traditional Scandinavian folk melodies when writing the music, and we were keen to convey a cheerful sense of adventure and lust for life with the lyrics here. It’s important to remember that our protagonist is a humble farmer living a very simple life in a land with a harsh, cold climate for most of the year. The very idea of large stone towers, silks, spices and the like in far flung lands would naturally blow the mind of such a man.

Stylistically, I maintain a loose AABB rhyme scheme throughout the Norse text with the incorporation of a few kennings here and there. A lot of the lines have a high syllable count to keep the mood energetic and exciting. Linguistically, more important than the poetic devices for this one, in my mind, was the vivid scene-setting and story progression. I think we’ve all felt a spark of desire for adventure in our own lives, so perhaps you’ll relate to the situation the protagonist finds himself in.

I hope you enjoy the song. Again, please do take the time to listen through the whole symphony, whether in a single sitting or bit by bit as you find the time. You’ll then properly see this song, and the other songs to come, in their proper context.

Fun fact: it's two years to the day that I uploaded my first original song, my Varangian Guard Ballad, which also features in this symphony. Cheers to anyone that has stuck around since then!

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Lyrics:

Í kaupangri lít ek út yfir haf it bláa,
þá koma fram fardrengir langskipum á.
Á fǿtr stekk ek ok renn til strandar,
þá stend ok undra þessa brjóta hranna.

In the market, I gaze out over the blue sea,
when sea-faring lads on longships appear.
I spring to my feet and run down to the shore,
then stand and marvel at these wave-breakers.

Komið ok sjáið allir hér nú
þá hluti, er vér erlendis eignuðumsk,
Silki ok silfr, brýni ok gull–
Ójá, ei má gleyma inum meyjum fríðustu!

Come and see, one and all,
the things we won abroad:
silk and silver, spices and gold–
ah, yes, not to forget the prettiest maidens!

Ef hér á sverðshendi yðr er kalt,
má hón koma brǿðralagi váru í hald!
Ymja munu gleðisǫngvar í mjǫðrǫnnum
ok langminnigir munuð þér vera í sǫgum!

If your sword-arm is cold here,
it could be of great use to our band of brothers!
Merry songs will resound in mead halls
and you will be long-remembered in stories!

Stǫpla ok múra sáum vér þar
svá háva, at efri skýjum standa!
Ok vér hljóma undrligsta heyrðum
í þeim frjóvu ok sólheiðu lǫndum!

There we saw towers and walls
so tall that they stand above the clouds!
And we heard the most incredible music there
in those sunbright and fertile lands!

Ef hér á sverðshendi yðr er kalt,
má hón koma brǿðralagi váru í hald!
Ymja munu gleðisǫngvar í mjǫðrǫnnum
ok langminnigir munuð þér vera í sǫgum!

If your sword-arm is cold here,
it could be of great use to our band of brothers!
Merry songs will resound in mead halls
and you will be long-remembered in stories!

Ef þér vilið kenna sǿtan ilm sævar
ok yðr afla frægðar ok mikils fjár,
stígið þá, sveinar, á skip vár,
því at vér sigla munum til Miklagarðs!

If you wish to smell the sweet fragrance of the sea
and win yourself fame and great fortune,
then step onto our ships, lads,
for we will be sailing to Constantinople!

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