ARFUR · Track 5

Rekinn

Old Icelandic

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Lyrics

Rekinn! Rekinn! Enn á ný! Rekinn! Rekinn! Enn á ný! Rekinn! Rekinn! Enn á ný! Rekinn! Rekinn! Enn á ný! Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Þeir kölluðu mig morðingja, Þeir ráku mig úr hverju landi, En hver sá sem rekur mig út, Sendir mig að nýju konungsríki. Ís þakti landið sem ég fann, En ég kallaði það Grænland, Nafn sem lokkar, nafn sem lýgur, Menn fylgdu lyginni vestur til mín. Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Þeir ráku mig sem úrgang, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... Ég kom aftur sem konungur eigin ríkis. Sonur minn siglir enn lengra en ég! Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Rekinn frá Noregi fyrir blóð, Rekinn frá Íslandi fyrir stríð, Ég sigli vestur þar sem enginn snýr, Ég finn land sem enginn á. Grænland lifir, lygin lifir, Rekinn, en aldrei sigraður. Grænland lifir, lygin lifir, Rekinn, en aldrei sigraður.

Driven out! Driven out! Once again! Driven out! Driven out! Once again! Driven out! Driven out! Once again! Driven out! Driven out! Once again! Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. They called me a killer, They drove me out of every country, But whoever drives me out, Sends me on to a new kingdom. Ice covered the land I found, But I called it Greenland, A name that lures, a name that lies, Men followed the lie west to me. Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. They drove me out like refuse, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... I came back as king of my own realm. My son sails further still than I! Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. Driven from Norway for blood, Driven from Iceland for strife, I sail west where no one turns back, I find a land that no one owns. Greenland lives, the lie lives, Driven out, but never defeated. Greenland lives, the lie lives, Driven out, but never defeated.

Story Behind The Song

Eiríkr Þorvaldsson, called Eiríkr the Red, was exiled twice. His family left Norway when his father was outlawed for killings. In Iceland he was outlawed himself, first from one district and then from the whole country for three years, after feuds that ended in more deaths. He used the sentence to sail west and look for land that had been sighted but not settled. He spent the three years exploring the coast, and when the term ran out he came back to recruit settlers. Eiríks saga rauða states his reasoning for the name plainly: he called it Grœnland because men would be far more willing to go there if the land had an attractive name. Twenty-five ships sailed; fourteen arrived. The song takes him at his word on all of it, including the naming. He does not present it as discovery so much as consequence. Each expulsion moved him further west, and the last one put him at the head of a settlement of his own. His son Leifr, whose voyage is on FORNǪLD, went further.

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