1. |
Valhalla Calling
00:34
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2. |
A Song of Blood and Mead
03:50
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A Song of Blood and Mead
Far to the north where the howling wind,
Whips the billows of the ocean grey.
There lies a fair isle, good and green,
Where Christian men did brew and pray!
Long ago, on that Holy isle,
Monks that dwelt there crafted mead.
By Lindisfarne it shall be known,
North of the Humber, south of the Tweed.
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
Of sweetest grapes and honey!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
A fortifying medley!
Cruel famine befell Northumbria,
Fiery dragons streaked the sky,
Suffering for all their sins,
Fearful folk allowed did cry.
Such signs there were, portents of doom,
Whirlwinds, lightning and thunder!
And there came a fleet of ships,
Wreaking pillage and plunder!
Heathen men of blade and shield,
Across the roiling waves had rowed.
And on that holy island spilled,
The blood of monks, their deaths bestowed!
They stole the gold and drank the mead,
And by the Gods of old were blessed,
For only such a mighty brew,
For Valhalla was thought best!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
Of sweetest grapes and honey!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
A fortifying medley!
More than a thousand years have passed,
But still they brew that merry mead.
There at St Aidan’s winery,
Where the winds whip the billows of the cold grey sea.
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
Of sweetest grapes and honey!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
A fortifying medley!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
Of sweetest grapes and honey!
Oh Lindisfarne mead,
A fortifying medley!
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3. |
Hrothgar Shield King
04:56
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Hroðgar Shield-King
(Intro)
Come ye faithful host and hear,
A lay for him whose deeds we cheer.
Words of praise for Lord Hroðgar,
A brave and mighty Konungr.
With my shield-king I did fight,
Never let him from my sight.
Flag of blue and gold did fly,
Proud beneath a northern sky.
Scores of souls he slew that day,
The whale-road washed their blood away.
Chain maille gleaming in the sun,
His sword was singing death was done.
As a red sun fired the sea,
A coin of silver he gave to me.
A kingly gift that bore his name,
Hear my lay for all his fame.
Shield-king Hroðgar…
Hail our Konungr…
Hail… Hail… Hail!
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4. |
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Of Wisdom, the Well and the Tree
On Yggdrasil Lord Odin hung,
Pierced by his spear.
Above the Well of Urd he clung,
In search of wisdom dear.
Nine days and nights Lord Odin stayed,
Marked by sun and moon.
For secrets great a sacrifice made,
For magic of the runes.
(Interlude)
Allfather cast his eye to that well,
He drank its waters clear.
And unto him came knowledge of all,
He found that wisdom dear.
(Interlude)
“Then I was enriched and I became wise,
I truly grew and thrived.
From a word to a word, I was lead to a word.
From a work to a work, I was lead to a work”
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5. |
Stone-Carved Runes
04:49
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Stone-carved Runes
“Cattle die, Kinsmen die,
Thyself must also die.
One thing now that never dies,
The fame of a dead man’s deeds”
(Havamal)
Oh many long winters ago,
When the old Gods roamed the earth,
Skalds sang their songs of brave men,
Lays of valour and of worth.
In the once great halls of yore,
By the glow of the warming hearth fire,
Tales of old kings and their great deeds,
And the weaving word-smith’s lyre.
Oh many a shield maid and man,
Had their fame reverently told,
And their sons did hear them well,
For those in battle must be bold.
Oh, for awarrior of renown,
Who must live on in memory,
Carved runes folk did cast in stone,
For their kin to ever see.
(Chorus)
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
Every man is mortal,
One thing I know that never dies;
The glory of the dead.
Oh, now the mead halls are long gone,
Alas; the hearth fires burn no more,
Silent fell the weaving skalds,
As their tales passed to lore.
Yet the hard rain-beaten stones;
I have seen them firmly stand,
Old as they are still they bear their runes,
Far across the wind-swept land.
(Chorus)
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
Every man is mortal,
One thing I know that never dies;
The glory of the dead.
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6. |
The Raven Dance
00:58
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7. |
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A Great Man Returns to the Sea
Calmly play the waves along the shore,
But he will ride the billow-hall no more.
One fine ship to bear him proudly,
A great man returns to the sea.
Gently there, the wind will sing her song,
Embrace him on his final journey long.
Valhalla’s gates will open widely,
A great man returns to the sea.
Lay to rest the body of our Lord,
Send with him his shield and his sword.
In life he was just and mighty,
A great man returns to the sea.
Alas now that we must bid farewell,
Evermore his tale the skalds shall tell.
From this Middle Earth we set him free,
A great man returns to the sea.
Flaming arrows aimed, and now let fly,
Firing his spirit to the sky.
A kingly soul ablaze for all to see,
A great man returns to the sea.
Calmly play the waves along the shore,
And he will ride the billow-hall once more.
One fine ship bears him eternally,
A great man returns to the sea.
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8. |
Wayland's Saga
05:34
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Wayland’s Saga
This is a lay of a smith in lore,
A lord of elves in days of yore.
None had wisdom more than he,
Or skill in craft and trickery.
So well he loved a swan maiden,
And unto him she bore a son.
Nine years stayed she, then soared away,
Alone left him, on sorrow’s way.
One ring she gave him, ere she flew,
And he seven-hundred forged anew.
Oh Wayland!
Cruel Niðhad, a northern king,
Took for his girl the swan maid’s ring.
And in bonds the smith was laid,
Mighty gifts was forced to make.
Wayland killed the King’s own sons,
And fashioned goblets from their skulls.
Jewels from eyes, a brooch from teeth,
Royal gifts he did bequeath!
One ring he craved, from his love true,
Claimed in fury ere he flew.
Revenge!
On wings of bronze,
And the plume of a swan,
He flew away,
He soared away!
Oh Wayland!
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9. |
The Last Huscarl
04:11
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The Last Huscarl
So, this hill of blood,
Where his Lord and kin have proudly stood,
Will be where he’ll fall,
Nevermore his horn will loudly call.
To his King he swore,
In his heart, an oath he dearly bore.
Cast his life away,
Even when his Lord in ruin lay.
England’s brave men slain,
Loyally they fought and died in vain.
None would have a grave,
Left as carrion for all they gave.
There alone he fought,
The last huscarl’s death and glory bought.
Now I sing his fame,
In honour, yet I know not his name.
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10. |
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Ealdgȳð Swann Hnesce (A Ballad of Edith the Fair)
Through ruin she walked on a hill of blood streaming,
Where many lay fallen among shattered steel gleaming.
They came o’er the sea on cruel winds of greed,
To claw at our crown, on our land to feed.
She came unto carnage at withering dawn,
Ten thousand good men lay butchered and torn,
And gazed at the horror, oh Edith the Fair,
Most gentle a swan, and wept in despair.
Our good king she sought, for only she knew
The marks he kept secret, his body they hew.
With valour he stood and bravely he fought,
Yet all were cut down by the malice they wrought.
A dim field of phantoms in pale light of day,
Somewhere in the slaughter so wretched he lay.
Stripped of his lordship, of honour deprived,
Thecorpse of our king, for her love she cried.
(Chorus)
Farewell my king, my love, my Lord,
Bereft of life, of crown andsword.
I’ll cry for thee for evermore,
Thy soul shall ever guard the sea and shore.
(Spoken)
"By the Duke's command, O Harold, you rest here a king, that you may be guardian still of the sea and shore"
Upon a tall sea cliff, a warrior-king’s throne
Where laid in his grave, and marked by a stone.
Remorseless they were in breaking her heart,
Her love cast asunder, now she must depart.
And oh how she cried her sad song to the wind,
Pale graceful bloom and bright eyes were dimmed.
Her beauty thus faded, Edith the Swan
Decayed and forgotten in years far long gone.
(Chorus)
Farewell my king, my love, my Lord,
Bereft of life, of crown and sword.
I’ll cry for thee for ever more,
Thy soul shall ever guard the sea and shore.
(Outro)
Darkness befell the heart of a swan,
Nightfall enshrouds but no star ever shone,
To light her legend. The wind ne’er proclaimed
A song of her sorrow, or spoke of her name.
Oh, the grief she did bear,
Oh Edith the fair.
Her bones are laid but none know where,
Oh Edith the fair.
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11. |
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12. |
Ragnarok
10:10
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Ragnarok
“Dark days among men,
Many a life lost.
An axe-age, a sword-age,
Shields shall be cloven.
A wind-age, a wolf-age,
Ere the world falls”
“And no man shall have mercy on another”
Winter thrice at once has passed,
And bereft of summer’s warmth and sun.
Come, twilight of the Gods at last,
ShiningHeimdall has sounded Gjallarhorn!
Yggdrasil trembles, mountains roar,
Once bright stars have lost their silver light.
Fathers, brothers come to war,
Day descends to ever-night.
From his bonds Fenrir has broke,
And has swallowed whole the noble sun.
Muna has died; a blackened cloak
The ending of all has thus begun.
Awake! Arise Aesir and men,
Who dwell in Asgard’s golden halls.
Come to the field ye Gods and men,
Darkness reigns, the world shall fall!
Serpent slithers from sea-borne lair,
Jormungandr unfurls his coil,
Spitting venom through poisoned air,
Dark oceans heave, the billows roil.
A rift has opened in the sky,
Surtur rising, sword in flame.
The Sons of Muspell forth now fly,
Across the Rainbow Bridge left lame.
The trickster Loki, Hordes of Hel,
And Hrym with many giants of frost,
Join the fray, oh creatures fell!
Mortal men are stricken, lost!
Awake! Arise ye brave men slain,
Who dwell in mighty Valhalla.
Ride with Odin lest in vain
The world will fall, ye Einherjer!
Allfather, old and wise,
By the wolf Fenrir he dies.
But Fenrir’s life is also done,
Slain by Vidar, Odin’s son.
Lord Tyr, loyal and true,
Garmr the hound he bravely slew.
Alas the battle His life claimed,
His glory once forever famed.
Mighty Thor, He without fear,
Slays the Serpent with Mjolnir.
Alas the venom His life claimed,
The Thunderer forever famed.
Lord Heimdall, of watchful eyes,
Battles Loki, both will die.
Alas the battle His life claimed,
His wisdom once forever famed.
Frey, the Lord of sea-faring,
Slain by Surtur’s sword flaming.
Alas the world has come to naught,
Alas the earth in fire wrought.
And yet the Earth shall rise anew,
From blissful oceans pure and blue.
The daughter of the sun shall fly,
Far green land will bloom in golden light.
“Baldr, the lord of glistening light will return from Helheim to rule, and there too will be the sons of Odin and of Thor. In a field of heavenly green they shall recount memories long past.
Midgard shall bear mortal men once more, the first of them nourished by the morning dew.”
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ElvenDale England, UK
Hailing from the heart of Mercia, ElvenDale brings you ancient music from the mead
hall!
ElvenDale is an ancient music project from Nottingham, England. The music is comprised of wistful voices and musical instruments from Dark-age Northern Europe.
... more
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