Icelandic folk songs are recorded on various instruments, then the recordings become sampling material for new sound creations, re-imagined mythology.
Fyrir Átta Árum is about saying goodbye, and 8 years going by. I recorded it on piano then created two tracks entitled "Infinity", because 8 is a symbol for infinity, and time can feel infinite.
...So it was eight years ago,
that I said goodbye to you with tears,
the day you sailed from here.
A lament from the sea bore
my heart while it followed. "
Einar Markan / Tómas Guðmundsson
Sofðu Unga Ástin Mín is a lullaby Written by Jóhann Sigurjónsson (1880-1919) for a play he wrote about the famous outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur in 1911. A song that Halla the outlaw sang to her daughter to lull her to sleep before throwing her off of a waterfall.
Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu (English: "Verses by Rósa of Vatnsendi") is a traditional Icelandic song. The lyrics are a poem written by Rósa Guðmundsdóttir (1795–1855); the melody is a traditional lullaby, arranged by Jón Ásgeirsson (1928–) in 1960.
English translation:
My eye and your eye,
oh, those beautiful stones,
mine is yours and yours is mine,
you know what I mean.
Long it's been since I saw him,
truly beautiful he was,
all that could adorn one man,
he excelled most among men.
For you I grieve most of all men,
worn by a flood of tears,
oh, that we had never met,
my dear good friend.
I never saw another like that
shining man.
God alone knows I loved him
with every inch of my heart.
Though hot geysers should freeze,
valleys should cover with glaciers bare,
stones should speak and all that is,
never will I forget you.
The eye is quickly clear of tears,
loyalty breaks to pieces,
my heart is wounded,
betrayal is hard to endure.
Best I know your blossom,
the beauty deep in your fields
Farewell, my Eyjafjörður,
the fairest of lands.
I recall our first meeting,
though ancient love recedes.
Now it's like two dogs should
meet at a fox's den
oh, those beautiful stones,
mine is yours and yours is mine,
you know what I mean.
Long it's been since I saw him,
truly beautiful he was,
all that could adorn one man,
he excelled most among men.
For you I grieve most of all men,
worn by a flood of tears,
oh, that we had never met,
my dear good friend.
I never saw another like that
shining man.
God alone knows I loved him
with every inch of my heart.
Though hot geysers should freeze,
valleys should cover with glaciers bare,
stones should speak and all that is,
never will I forget you.
The eye is quickly clear of tears,
loyalty breaks to pieces,
my heart is wounded,
betrayal is hard to endure.
Best I know your blossom,
the beauty deep in your fields
Farewell, my Eyjafjörður,
the fairest of lands.
I recall our first meeting,
though ancient love recedes.
Now it's like two dogs should
meet at a fox's den
The original Icelandic folk song is about wanting a fairy tale that doesn't exist. It describes, "no one knows where the wishing stone lives, old fairy tales no longer happen, he wants to have a royal daughter but she doesn't exist".
Original lyrics by Tyr Jami, inspired from p.14 Amma Raular I Rokrinu
The calm that we wished for, may cause no surprise
Each breath repeats the strongest kind
May we come back to this moment, forgive us
How long can anything last, the future is unforgivable
Resembling a dream you can’t remember
A path that remains to be
Forgot to take off yr shoes may you not believe the truth
How should you feel, what would you expect
The lights are flickering, battery is low
Clarity follows thunder, the strongest kind
Resembling a dream you can’t remember
A path that remains to be
Wait for the sun, to reach the other side
Your safe, your the one, you’re half of me now
Wait for the sun, to reach the other side
Your safe, your the one, you have to go now
Once you can see me, I’m invisible
Once you can see me, I’m invisible
I’m invisible, I’m invisible
