Which of you my brothers two
Either gard my ship behind the island
Or would you rather walk into the mountain
And get out the pretty maid?
Which of you my brothers two
Either gard my ship in hardship,1
Or would you rather walk into the mountain
And get out the lovely virgin?
Just like Åsmunds brothers two
They were young and shy:2
We hear it from the brothers wife
That he'd want to know how he died3
Rather would we, wise4 brother,
Gard your ship behind the island
We don't dare walk into there
And get out the pretty maid
Rather would we, wise brother,
Gard your ship in hardship,
We don't dare walk into there
And get out the lovely virgin.
1. "Under lide" "lide" can be hardship or suffering, but it can also be dialect of "lite" meaning being trusted with something, making the whole line about being trusted to gard the ship. 2. "Blauge" might also mean cowardly, the word probaly share an origin with "blaut" meaning soft. Going by that soft-connection it might also mean unpractised. It could also be something else entirely, as it's not in the dictionary. 3. I am unsure about this line, and I'm not certain I understood the one before right either. I guessed as well as I could, and hope I'm not too wrong. 4. "fregdan" could be related to "frod" meaning wise or "frege" meaning to ask. I thougt wise sounded better than asking. This is also a word not in the dictionary.