Á Sprengisandi

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Sprengisandur

Á Sprengisandi (German Auf dem Sprengisandur ) is an Icelandic poem by Grímur Thomsen (1820-1896) from 1861, which, when set by Sigvaldi Kaldalóns, has achieved the status of a folk song .

text

Icelandic German

Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn,
rennur sól á bak við Arnarfell.
Hér á reiki 'er margur óhreinn andinn
úr því fer að skyggja á jökulsvell.
Drottinn leiði drösulinn minn,
drjúgur verður síðasti áfanginn.

We ride, ride, hunt over the sand,
the sun sinks behind the Arnarfell.
Here in this area there are many unclean spirits
who come out of the shadow in the glacier area.
Lord, lead my horse,
the last stretch will be difficult.

Þei þei, þei þei. Þaut í holti tófa,
þurran vill hún blóði væta góm,
eða líka einhver var að hóa
undarlega digrum karlaróm.
Útilegumenn í Ódáðahraun
eru kannski 'að smala fé á laun.

Pst, pst, pst, pst. An
arctic fox is running on a rocky hill, wanting to wet her dry palate with blood,
or maybe someone called out in
a strange, dark male voice.
The Ódáðahraun outlaws
may be secretly rounding up sheep.

Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn,
rökkrið er að síga 'á Herðubreið.
Álfadrotting er að beisla gandinn,
ekki 'er god að verða' á hennar leið.
Vænsta klárinn vildi 'ég gefa til
að vera kominn ofan í Kiðagil.

We ride, ride, chase over the sand,
dusk falls over Herðubreið .
The elf queen bridles her tent ;
it is not good to get in her way.
I would give my best horse
if I were over in Kiðagil.

backgrounds

Grímur Thomsen wrote to Á Sprengisandi in August 1861.

The Sprengisandur in the central Icelandic highlands is a very old route that has been used to cross Iceland from south to north since the Middle Ages. Because of the frequent weather changes and its dryness, it was feared by the locals. In earlier times Icelanders were convinced that trolls and evil spirits as well as outlaws were up to mischief here. The song describes the fear of loneliness, the ghosts and the outlaws, and calls on the riders to traverse the area as quickly as possible during the day. The valley of Kiðagil represents the safe end of the journey.

music

The composer and doctor Sigvaldi Kaldalóns (1881-1946) set the poem to music in 1913 as an equestrian song.

literature

  • Íslandshandbókin. Volume 2. Örn og Örlygur, Reykjavík 1989

Web links

Wikisource: Á Sprengisandi  - Sources and full texts (Icelandic)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hallfreður Örn Eiriksson: Sagnir og þjóðkvæði í skáldskap Grims Thomsen . In: Gripla . 5th year, no. 1 , 1982, pp. 164 ( timarit.is ).
  2. ↑ Íslandshandbókin . 2.bindi. 1989
  3. ^ Ragnar Ásgeirsson: Sigvaldi Kaldalóns, læknir og tónskáld . In: Heimskringla . No. 48 , August 28, 1946, p. 5 ( timarit.is ).