The Varangian Way
Album - 28 maggio 2007 - Debaser id 405802

Far beyond the sea and distant lands
Came men with thirty ships
Had wanted to reach the Neva by night
But the weather was not on their side

And as the wind grew stronger and stronger
The rain ran down our cheeks
The bow was turned towards Gardar
The sail flew up again

Holmgard and beyond
That's where the winds will us guide
For fame and for gold
Set sail for those lands unknown

Osmo and Dalk, Kyy, Kokko and Ulf
Were glad to be off the oars
Turo had eaten too much again
Now hanging himself overboard

The Tostensson twins were excited as always
Adventure was their game
Myself, Hakon the Bastard
was out to find my name

Holmgard and beyond
That's where the winds will us guide
For fame and for gold
Set sail for those lands unknown

Who is "I" without a past?
A river without a source?
An event without a cause?

Threads of different lengths
Some longer, some shorter
So many of them spun together

The crones keep on weaving
The algorithm of our lives
Cause and effect, the fates of men

We know the way to Aldeigju
Upstream the river Alode
You take us to the portage
And further (South)

Long is the way to the unknown
Long are the rivers in the East
Far lies the land that Ingvar
And his men desire to reach

Many dangers lie ahead
Some of us may never return
Rather sold as a slave to the Saracens
Than chained to your bed, chained by your life!

Holmgard and beyond
That's where the winds will us guide
For fame and for gold
Set sail for those lands unknown

We've sailed across the sea
Rowed for miles and miles upstream
Passed by Aldeigjuborg
Seen Lake Ilmen gleam
Ingvar took the lead
After Holmgard as agreed
What the end of Lovat meant
Was soon to be seen

Dripping with sweat a new day dawn on
The ropes cut flesh, as they've done in times foregone
I see my breath, my hands are going numb
Far from home we have come

An endless trail in front my eyes
A swift take off, had no time for goodbyes
What will we find and what was left behind
There's no return, get it off your mind

The water's changed to sand
Lakes and rivers turned to land
Plough up the rocky seas
Ride felled down trees
Foot by foot we edge
Once a ship, now a sledge

Six regular edges and six vertices
Six equilateral triangles
Six square faces in another direction
Plato's earth transparent

Give me all you have!
Pull as hard as you can
Plough up the rocky seas
Ride felled down trees
The water's changed to sand
Lakes and rivers turned to land

The rug has been pulled from under my feet
All my life made of lies and deceit
All I have left is a symbol on my chest
My only lead on my desperate quest

Branded at birth with the sign of Perun
East of the sun and West of the moon
The road now continues, Northwind be my guide
Wherever I'm going, the Gods are on my side

Curse on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Curses on thy life forever! Once thou wert of little value Having neither form nor beauty Neither strength noe great importance When in form of milk thou rested When for ages thou wert hidden In the breasts of God's three daughters Hidden in their heaving bosoms On the borders of the cloudlets In the blue vault of the heavens Thou wert once of little value Having neither form nor beauty Neither strength nor great importance When like water thou wert resting On the broad back of the marshes On the steep decline of the marshes On the steep declines of mountains When thou wert but formless matter Only dust of rusty color Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Cursed be thy life forever! Surely thou wert void of greatness Having neither strength nor beauty When the moose was trampling on thee When the roebuck trod on thee And the bear-paws scratched thy body Surely thou hadst little value When the skilful Ilmarinen First of all the iron-workers Brought thee from the blackened swamp-lands Took thee to his ancient smithy Placed thee in his fiery furnace Truly thou hadst little vigor Little strength, and little danger When thou in the fire wert hissing Rolling forth like seething water From the furnace of the smithy When thou gavest oath the strongest By the furnace, by the anvil By the rongs, and by the hammer By the dwelling of the blacksmith By the fire within the furnace Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Now forsooth thou hast grown mighty Thou canst rage in wildest fury Thou hast broken all thy pledges All thy solemn vows hast broken Like the dogs thou shamest honor Shamest both thyself and kindred Tained all with breath and evil Tell all who drove thee to this mischief Tell who taught thee thy malice Tell who gavest thee thine evil! Tell me! Now tell me! Did thy father, or thy mother Did the eldest of thy brothers Did the youngest of thy sisters Did the worst of all thy kindred [Give to thee thine evil nature?] Not thy father, nor thy mother Not the eldest of thy sisters Not the youngest of thy sisters Not the worst of all thy kindred But thyself hast done this mischief Thou the cause of all our trouble Come and view thine evil doings And amend this flood of damage Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Cursed be thy life forever!

Long is the way we have come
Still, nothing changes under the sun
The day we lay ahold
The wind rocks the fields of gold

Zer sum is the name of the game?
Gain or lose
My win
Is your loss
Have your cake and eat it too

Long is the way we have come
Still nothing changes under the sun
Few have found the stone
Searching for the fields of gold

The finest of craftsmen forged
For day and night
Deep down
Lost at sea
Their great feat now lies

Is a draw the only win?
Would a tie double the loss?
A fight
For existence
Life-death: 0-0

Long is the way we have come
Still nothing changes under the sun
Firmly we keep our course
Fighting for fields of gold