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ARFUR · Track 8

Blóð af blóði

Old Icelandic

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Lyrics

Bræður mínir dóu í höll þinni, Þú hlóst, þú hélst að ég gleymdi, Þú tókst mig sem konu, ekki sem hefnd, Þú vissir ekki hvað ég ber í mér. Synir okkar léku sér við fætur mína, Ég horfði á þá, ég hugsaði um Gunnar, Ég tók hnífinn minn með rólegri hendi, Móðurást brann til ösku þá nótt. Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Ég sagði honum sannleikann að lokum, Hann fölnaði, hann skildi loksins, Kaleikur hans var hauskúpa sonar hans, Kjötið hans var hjarta eigin blóðs. Étið! Étið! Blóð af blóði! Étið! Étið! Blóð af blóði! Étið! Étið! Blóð af blóði! Étið! Étið! Blóð af blóði! Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Hvað hef ég etið? Hvað hef ég drukkið? Synir þína, Atli. Blóð af þínu blóði. Ég brenn fyrir þetta! Þú brennur í nótt, í eigin höll. Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Guðrún hefnir, Guðrún tekur, Synir hennar verða að gulli og blóði, Guðrún ber fram kaleik og hjörtu, Atli étur það sem hann elskaði mest. Höllin brennur, hefndin er lokið, Höllin brennur, hefndin er lokið. Höllin brennur, hefndin er lokið, Höllin brennur, hefndin er lokið.

My brothers died in your hall, You laughed, you thought I would forget, You took me as a wife, not as vengeance, You did not know what I carry in me. Our sons played at my feet, I watched them, I thought of Gunnarr, I took my knife with a steady hand, A mother's love burned to ash that night. Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. I told him the truth at the last, He went pale, he understood at last, His cup was the skull of his son, His meat was the heart of his own blood. Eat! Eat! Blood of your blood! Eat! Eat! Blood of your blood! Eat! Eat! Blood of your blood! Eat! Eat! Blood of your blood! Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. What have I eaten? What have I drunk? Your sons, Atli. Blood of your blood. I will burn for this! You burn tonight, in your own hall. Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. Guðrún avenges, Guðrún takes, Her sons become gold and blood, Guðrún brings out the cup and the hearts, Atli eats what he loved most. The hall burns, the vengeance is finished, The hall burns, the vengeance is finished. The hall burns, the vengeance is finished, The hall burns, the vengeance is finished.

Story Behind The Song

Guðrún Gjúkadóttir was married to Atli after Sigurðr's death. When Atli killed her brothers Gunnarr and Högni for the Rhine gold, the vengeance fell to her, and the sources let her take it in full. Atlakviða and Völsunga saga agree on what she did. She killed the two sons she had borne Atli, had cups made from their skulls, and served him their hearts and their blood mixed with wine. She told him what he had eaten only after the meal. Then she set the hall alight with Atli and his men inside, and killed him herself. The poem does not moralise about it, and neither does the song. The logic is the feud's own: a killing is answered by a killing that costs the killer as much as it cost the avenger. Guðrún destroys her own children to take everything from Atli, and the last thing left standing in the story is the fire. The brothers' side of the same feud is the previous track, Þögnin okkar.