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Proofreading requested
Original lyrics
Öll Of Rök Fira
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hversu máni heitir,
sá er menn séa?
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hversu máni heitir,
heimi hverjum í?
Máni heitir með mǫnnum,
en mylinn með goðum,
skyndi jǫtnar,
en skín dvergar,
kalla alfar ártala.
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sú sól heitir,
er séa alda synir?
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sú sól heitir,
heimi hverjum í?
Sól heitir með mǫnnum,
en sunna með goðum,
eygló jǫtnar,
alfar fagrahvél,
alskír ása synir.
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sá marr heitir,
er menn róa?
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sá marr heitir,
heimi hverjum í?
Sær heitir með mǫnnum,
en sílægja með goðum
álheim jǫtnar,
alfar lagastaf,
kalla dvergar djúpan mar.
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sá eldr heitir,
er brennr fyr alda sonum?
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sá eldr heitir,
heimi hverjum í?
Eldr heitir með mǫnnum,
en með ásum funi,
kalla vág vanir,
frekan jǫtnar,
kalla í helju hrǫðuð.
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sú nótt heitir,
in Nörvi kennda?
Ǫll of rǫk fíra.
Hvé sú nótt heitir,
Heimi hverjum í?
Nótt heitir með mǫnnum,
en njól með goðum,
óljós jǫtnar,
alfar svefngaman,
kalla dvergar draumnjǫrun.
Í einu brjósti
ek sák aldrigi
fleiri forna stafi;
miklum tálum
kveð ek tældan þik:
nú skínn sól í sali.
- Öll of rök fíra:
The line following this was cut, leaving half of the sentence out. The full sentence would be "Segðu mér þat Alvíss, - öll of rök fira vörumk, dvergr, at vitir, ...".
- skínn sól í sali:
Thor's purpose was to keep Alvíss talking all night, until the sun would rise, turning the dwarf to stone.
Submitted by Маг Добра on 2019-09-20
Last edited by Icey on 2022-09-14
Translation
The fate of all people
The fate of all people.1
How is the moon called
that all men see?
The fate of all people.
How is the moon called
in each world?
Moon it is called by men,
while reddish2by the gods,
haste giants,3
and the shining the dwarves,
elves call it year-measurer.4
The fate of all people.
How is the sun called
That is seen by the sons of men?
The fate of all people.
How is the sun called
in each world?
Sun it is called by men,
while sunna5by the gods,
the everglowing giants,
the beautiful wheel elves,
the all-shining the sons of the Æsir.
The fate of all people.
How is the sea called
where men row?
The fate of all people.
How is the sea called
in each world?
Sea it is called by men,
while ocean6by the gods,
home of eels giants,
elves water,7
dwarves call it deep blue.
The fate of all people.
How is the fire called
burning for all the sons of man?
The fate of all people.
How is the fire called
in each world?
Fire it is called by men,
while flame by the gods,
giants the greedy,
in hell it is called the swift.
The fate of all people.
How is the night called
born of Narfi?
The fate of all people.
How is the night called
in each world?
Night it is called by men,
while darkness by the gods,
the lightless giants,
elves the pleasure of sleep,
dwarves call it the dream weaver.
In one sole mind
I had never seen
more ancient knowledge;
from a great deceit
I will tell you you were deceived:
the sun is now shining in the hall.9
- 1. In this line, a bit of the sentence was cut: “I know that you, dwarf, know…”. The song shows parts of a speech between Thor and the dwarf Alvíss (“All-knowing”).
- 2. Term of unclear meaning. Other texts translate it as “flame” or as “fake sun”.
- 3. Another line was cut here, were “call it” was expressed and then implied here, hence the absence of "by". It happens almost all-along the song.
- 4. The word “máni” (as well as all its Germanic related terms) is thought to derive of the proto-Indo-European “*meh₁-”: “to measure”. From this word, not only would the word “moon” descend, but the verb “to measure” itself, as well as some substantives like “meter” or “month”.
- 5. A more elegant synonym of the previous “sól”. The words addressed in the poem as used by the gods are mostly poetic variants of the common word, indicated as the one used by men.
- 6. Literally “lying flat”. In this case again it’s a poetic synonym of “sær”.
- 7. Very obscure term. Some interpretations want to read it as “prepaing-thing” (where “prepare” stands for “food”), hence “water (to cook or to drink)”. Some other suggest to link it to Laguz, the rune of water.
- 8. A word that could bear multiple meanings, from “wildfire” to “wave”.
- 9. Thor kept Alvíss talking through his questions all night long, until the sun rose and its rays invaded the whole hall and turned the dwarf to stone.
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Submitted by Icey on 2019-10-24
Last edited by Icey on 2020-03-24
Author's comments:
The lyrics are a shortened and cut version of Alvíssmál, from the Poetic Edda. in the poem, Thor challanges the dwarf Alvíss (“All-knowing”) to prove his wisdom by asking him a long series of questions, to which the dwarf answers promptly. However, Thor’s real intention was to keep the dwarf answering until the sun would rise and, touching him, turn Alvíss to stone.
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Collections with "Öll Of Rök Fira"
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« Translation requires two things: humility and arrogance »
Name: Anna
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