FORNǪLD · Track 12

Valkyrjan Sem Valdi Sjálf

Old Icelandic

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Lyrics

Ek reið yfir valinn áður en ek átti nafn meðal manna Valkyrja Óðins ek valdi hverjir féllu Hjálmgunnar átti sigurinn faðirinn hafði ákveðið En ek leit á Agnar og ek valdi sjálf Valkyrjan sem valdi rangt valkyrjan sem valdi sjálf Óðinn dæmir af hásæti en hjartað dæmir hraðar Svefnþorn fyrir óhlýðni eldur fyrir vegginn En sú sem reið yfir valinn beygir sig aldrei Hann stakk mig svefnþyrni batt mig við dauðlegt líf Þú skalt giftast sagði hann eins og hver önnur kona Ek svaraði sofandi þá set ek skilyrði aðeins sá sem óttast ekkert aðeins sá í gegnum eldinn Valkyrjan sem valdi rangt valkyrjan sem valdi sjálf Óðinn dæmir af hásæti en hjartað dæmir hraðar Svefnþorn fyrir óhlýðni eldur fyrir vegginn En sú sem reið yfir valinn beygir sig aldrei Hann sagði þú munt aldrei aftur velja sigur Ek svaraði þá vel ek hverjum ek giftist Hann sagði þú munt elska og missa Ek svaraði betra en að hlýða og lifa Og eldurinn reis um salinn og ek svaf og beið Valkyrjan sem valdi rangt valkyrjan sem valdi sjálf Óðinn dæmir af hásæti en hjartað dæmir hraðar Svefnþorn fyrir óhlýðni eldur fyrir vegginn En sú sem reið yfir valinn beygir sig aldrei Beygir sig aldrei

I rode over the battlefield before I had a name among men Odin's valkyrie I chose who fell Hjálmgunnar had the victory the father had decided But I looked at Agnarr and I chose myself The valkyrie who chose wrong the valkyrie who chose herself Odin judges from his high seat but the heart judges faster A sleep-thorn for disobedience fire for the wall But she who rode over the battlefield never bows He stabbed me with a sleep-thorn bound me to a mortal life You shall marry, he said like any other woman I answered in sleep then I set conditions only he who fears nothing only he through the fire The valkyrie who chose wrong the valkyrie who chose herself Odin judges from his high seat but the heart judges faster A sleep-thorn for disobedience fire for the wall But she who rode over the battlefield never bows He said you will never again choose victory I answered then I choose whom I marry He said you will love and lose I answered better than to obey and live And the fire rose around the hall and I slept and waited The valkyrie who chose wrong the valkyrie who chose herself Odin judges from his high seat but the heart judges faster A sleep-thorn for disobedience fire for the wall But she who rode over the battlefield never bows Never bows

Story Behind The Song

In the Eddic poem Sigrdrífumál and in Völsunga saga, a valkyrie named Sigrdrífa was punished by Odin for defying his will in battle. She had been commanded to grant victory to Hjálmgunnar, an old king and one of Odin's favorites. Instead she gave victory to Agnarr, a younger warrior. Odin's response was to stab her with a sleep-thorn and decree that she would never again decide the outcome of battle, and would instead marry. He surrounded her sleeping body with a wall of fire and left her there. She set a condition before she slept: only a man who felt no fear would be able to ride through the fire and wake her. In Völsunga saga, that man is Sigurðr Fáfnisbani, the greatest hero of the Norse legendary tradition. He rides through the fire, removes her helmet, and wakes her. She teaches him runes and wisdom. They swear oaths to each other, and the relationship becomes one of the central threads of the Völsung cycle. The song focuses on the moment of disobedience and the argument between Odin and the valkyrie, before Sigurðr arrives. The core of it is the refusal to accept the terms of the punishment. She negotiates even in sleep: only the man who fears nothing, only the one who comes through the fire. She does not say she chose wrong. She sets conditions and waits for someone who meets them.

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