I sought the songs
I sent the songs
The the deepest of wells
Gave me drops so harsh
From the Father of the Slain's pledge1
I know it all, Odin
Where you hid your eye2
Who will sing for me?
Who will throw me in the sleep of death?
When I walk the path to Hell
And I trade your steps
It's cold, so cold
Early or by the end of days
Only the reven knows if I'll fall
When you stand by the gates of Hell
And you must tear yourself away from life
I'll be following you
Across Gjallarbrú with my song3
You'll be undone from the binds that bind you
You're undone from the binds that bound you
Cattle die
Friends die
And you will die as well
But never shall die the fame
Of those who built a good one
Cattle die
Friends die
And you will die as well
But I know something
That never shall die:
The judgement about those who died4
1. One of Odin's many names. The pledge named in the lyrics is the eye that Odin left in Mímir's spring (or well) of knowledge (see following lines). Odin offered it to Mímir in exchange for permission to drink from the well. So, the drops named in the lyrics are actually Odin's tears.2. Norwegian translation of two lines from stanza 28 in the Völuspá ("Prophecy of the Seeress"), first poem from the Poetic Edda.3. Bridge that spans above the river Gjöll and divides the world of the living from Hel: the underworld of Norse mythology.4. While the first part of the song is in nynorsk Norwegian, the bits in italic are stanzas 76 and 77 of Hávamál ("Speech of Hávi"), second poem from the Poetic Edda, and they were left in Old Norse.