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Original lyrics
Ec Man Iötna
Ek man jǫtna ár um borna,
þá er forðum mik fœdda hǫfðu;
níu man ek heima, níu íviði,
mjǫtvið mœran fyr mold neðan.
Áðr Burs synir bjǫðum um ypðu,
þeir er Miðgarð,
sól skein sunnan á salar steina,
þá var grund gróin grœnum lauki.
Hittusk æsir á Iðavelli,
þeir er hǫrg ok hof hátimbruðu,
afla lǫgðu, auð smíðuðu,
tangir skópu ok tól gǫrðu.
Tefldu í túni, teitir váru,
var þeim vettugis vant ór gulli;
unz þrjár kvámu þursa meyjar
ámátkar mjǫk ór jǫtunheimum.
- mjötvið:
Another uncertain meaning, but probably a kenning for Yggdrasil.
- íviði:
The meaning of the word "íviði" is unknown still nowadays. Some interpretations see it as "sustains" to the nine worlds, so Yggdrasil's branches. Other connect it to the term "íviðja", a rare word for "giantess, ogress".
- Burs synir:
Odin, Vili and Vé, who created the worlds.
- Iðavelli:
This place will play no role in Norse mythology again, until the end of Ragnarök, when the surviving gods will meet there to give new shape to the post-apocalyptic world.
Submitted by 
Nutsa Rowan on 2019-02-24
Nutsa Rowan on 2019-02-24Last edited by 
Icey on 2022-09-14
Icey on 2022-09-14Translation
Remember the giants
I remember the giants of yore,
Who gave me bread in the days gone by;
Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
With mighty roots beneath the mold.
Then Bur's sons lifted the level land,
Midgard the mighty
The sun from the south warmed the stones of earth,
And green was the ground with growing leeks.
At Idavold met the mighty gods,
Shrines and temples they timbered high;
Forges they set, and they smithied ore,
Tongs they wrought, and tools they fashioned.
In their dwellings at peace they played at tables,
Of gold no lack did the gods then know,--
Till thither came up giant-maids three,
Huge of might, out of Jotunheim.
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