Skip to content
ARFUR cover

ARFUR · Track 13

Ein kona, eitt öskur

Old Icelandic

Listen

Lyrics

Skrælingjar komu úr skóginum, Örvar flugu, menn mínir hlupu, Ég stóð kyrr, barn undir hjarta, Ég hafði engan stað að hlaupa til. Ég sá sverð liggja hjá dauðum manni, Ég tók það hægt, ég fann þyngd þess, Óttinn í kringum mig var eins og þoka, En í mér var aðeins ískuldi. Þeir hlupu til skipa, þeir gleymdu heiðri, Ég ein stóð eftir, ég ein valdi. Þeir hlupu til skipa, þeir gleymdu heiðri, Ég ein stóð eftir, ég ein valdi. Freydís stendur ein á ströndinni, Sverð í hendi, dauði í augum, Ég sker hold mitt, ég slæ stálið, Öskrið mitt er stríð sem þeir aldrei sáu. Freydís stendur ein á ströndinni, Sverð í hendi, dauði í augum, Ég sker hold mitt, ég slæ stálið, Öskrið mitt er stríð sem þeir aldrei sáu. Blóð mitt rann niður bringu mína, Stálið sló við hold sem gaf ekkert eftir, Ég öskraði ekki af sársauka, Ég öskraði svo þeir vissu hvað ég var. Skrælingjar sáu konu verða skrímsli, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... Þeir hlupu til skipa sinna. Þeir sneru aldrei aftur. Skrælingjar sáu konu verða skrímsli, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... Þeir hlupu til skipa sinna. Þeir sneru aldrei aftur. Ein kona! Eitt öskur! Ein kona! Eitt öskur! Ein kona! Eitt öskur! Ein kona! Eitt öskur! Freydís stendur ein á ströndinni, Sverð í hendi, dauði í augum, Ég sker hold mitt, ég slæ stálið, Öskrið mitt er stríð sem þeir aldrei sáu. Freydís stendur ein á ströndinni, Sverð í hendi, dauði í augum, Ég sker hold mitt, ég slæ stálið, Öskrið mitt er stríð sem þeir aldrei sáu. Ein stóð ég, ein sigraði ég, Ein stóð ég, ein sigraði ég. Ein stóð ég, ein sigraði ég, Ein stóð ég, ein sigraði ég.

The Skrælingar came out of the forest, Arrows flew, my men ran, I stood still, a child beneath my heart, I had nowhere to run to. I saw a sword lying by a dead man, I took it slowly, I felt its weight, The fear around me was like a fog, But within me there was only ice. They ran for the ships, they forgot honour, I alone remained, I alone chose. They ran for the ships, they forgot honour, I alone remained, I alone chose. Freydís stands alone on the shore, Sword in hand, death in her eyes, I cut my flesh, I strike the steel, My scream is a war they never saw. Freydís stands alone on the shore, Sword in hand, death in her eyes, I cut my flesh, I strike the steel, My scream is a war they never saw. My blood ran down my breast, The steel struck against flesh that gave nothing, I did not scream from pain, I screamed so they would know what I was. The Skrælingar saw a woman become a monster, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... They ran to their ships. They never came back. The Skrælingar saw a woman become a monster, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... They ran to their ships. They never came back. One woman! One scream! One woman! One scream! One woman! One scream! One woman! One scream! Freydís stands alone on the shore, Sword in hand, death in her eyes, I cut my flesh, I strike the steel, My scream is a war they never saw. Freydís stands alone on the shore, Sword in hand, death in her eyes, I cut my flesh, I strike the steel, My scream is a war they never saw. Alone I stood, alone I won, Alone I stood, alone I won. Alone I stood, alone I won, Alone I stood, alone I won.

Story Behind The Song

Eiríks saga rauða puts Freydís Eiríksdóttir, daughter of Eiríkr the Red, at a fight in Vinland. The Norse were attacked by the people the sagas call Skrælingar, and the men broke and ran for the ships. Freydís was heavily pregnant and could not keep up. She called after them that they were cowards, and that if she had a weapon she would do better than any of them. She found a dead man, Þorbrandr Snorrason, with his sword beside him. She took it and turned to face the attackers. The saga's detail is exact: she pulled out her breast from her shift and struck it with the flat of the blade. The Skrælingar were frightened by this and ran back to their boats. The two Vinland sagas describe Freydís irreconcilably. This scene is from Eiríks saga rauða. Grœnlendinga saga has no such fight and instead makes her the organiser of the killings at the Vinland camp, which is the account behind Öxin í myrkri on FORNǪLD. The medieval record does not settle which is true, and the song does not try to. It stays inside the version that is being sung.

Another telling