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ARFUR · Track 14

Upp og niður

Old Icelandic

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Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Örninn situr efst í trénu, Níðhöggur bítur djúpt í rót, Þeir hafa aldrei sést, aldrei talast, Ég ber orðin á milli þeirra. Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Ég segi erninum að ormurinn hæðist, Ég segi orminum að örninn hótar, Hvorugur veit að ég breyti orðunum, Hvorugur veit að stríðið er mitt verk. Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Upp og niður! Ratatoskr hleypur! Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Lítil skepna, stórt vald, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... Ég þarf ekki klær né tennur. Orð mín eru nóg til að rífa heiminn. Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Ratatoskr hleypur, Ratatoskr lýgur, Hvert orð stærra en það sem sagt var, Upp og niður, alla daga, alla nótt, Kaos lifir vegna mín eins. Upp og niður, upp og niður, Ratatoskr hleypur enn. Upp og niður, upp og niður, Ratatoskr hleypur enn.

Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! The eagle sits at the top of the tree, Níðhöggr bites deep at the root, They have never met, never spoken, I carry the words between them. Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. I tell the eagle that the serpent mocks him, I tell the serpent that the eagle threatens, Neither knows that I change the words, Neither knows that the war is my doing. Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Up and down! Ratatoskr runs! Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. A small creature, a great power, Ah-ah-ah-aaaah... I need neither claws nor teeth. My words are enough to tear the world apart. Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. Ratatoskr runs, Ratatoskr lies, Every word larger than what was said, Up and down, all day, all night, Chaos lives because of me alone. Up and down, up and down, Ratatoskr is running still. Up and down, up and down, Ratatoskr is running still.

Story Behind The Song

Grímnismál and Snorri's Gylfaginning both place a squirrel on Yggdrasill. An eagle sits in the branches at the top of the world tree; the serpent Níðhöggr gnaws at the root below. Ratatoskr runs up and down the trunk carrying what one says to the other. The sources are brief and do not elaborate. Grímnismál says he bears ǫgrandi orð, words of envy or malice, between the eagle and Níðhöggr. That single phrase is the whole character: the tree holds the worlds together, and the one creature that moves freely along it spends its time making the two ends of it hate each other. The song takes the obvious inference and does not go beyond it. Nothing in the sources says the eagle and the serpent ever meet, so what each knows of the other is only what Ratatoskr reports. A messenger who can edit the message is the one with the power, and the smallest animal on the tree is the reason the quarrel never ends.