Hey people! 🙂
Today, let’s listen to a song in Icelandic. I believe Kaleo is one of the more popular Icelandic acts outside of Iceland, as I know quite a handful of people from other countries who like their music. I’ve known and quite liked Kaleo for years, but this particular song was recommended to me last year by SadiRose and I instantly liked it a lot and was happy to hear that they make music in Icelandic as well, as previously I thought they had exclusively English lyrics. This song was originally a love poem, which was then made into a song in the 60’s and sung by Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson who was a very famous singer in his home country. I think his version is also really nice but Kaleo’s speaks to me a lot more. I’m not sure who wrote the original poem, but both Vilhjálmsson’s and Kaleo’s credits of this song credits on Spotify mention someone called Jonas Jonasson (which perhaps should be Jónas Jónasson if he was Icelandic). I just can’t seem to find any info on a poet with this name. The Vaglaskógur mentioned in the song is a forest in the north of Iceland. It seems that the YouTube video of this song includes some English subtitles, but for people like myself who are blind and don’t speak Icelandic, the translation is below:
The night is ours, spring in the wood of skies
We head to the heath with our tent, where the berries grow
Take me, dear friend to the mirth of yesterdays
Where our creek runs free and the birch will blowLight in the mountains, scent from our dearest fountains
The wind is counting your hair in the light aglowThe dew comes forth, our valley is swept with peace
Our dreams come true, who sleep in the wood of skies
On the berry hearth, the last touch of sunlight dies
And the calm is deep where the quiet waters flowLight in the mountains, scent from our dearest fountains
The wind is counting your hair in the light aglowLight in the mountains, scent from our dearest fountains
The wind is counting your hair in the light aglow
The wind is counting your hair
My Inner MishMash 