Leggja hǫfuð, liggja,

langar mik til sǫngva

hrafna arna hǫfnum’s

hlýrni tindar hýrna.

Fellum vit frá fjǫllum,

fundumsk strǫndu bundin;

enn augu ván eiga

eyks skýja of reyki.

Translation: I long to to lay down my head, to lie down in the eagles’ harbors (= mountains), to hear the songs of the ravens, to see the mountain peaks brighten in the morning sky. You and I have fallen from the mountains and found ourselves bound to the shore, but my eyes still hope to see a clouds’ beast-of-burden (= mountain) over the smoke.

The Faroes (also spelled Faeroes, or in their own language Føroyar) are internally self-governing… so this has little to do with Denmark. Denmark is a member of the EU but the Faroes aren’t. The Faroes are under the Danish crown and thus represented by Denmark abroad and protected by the Danish military, but not governed by the same laws at home.

The Faroes were settled from Norway, speak a language unintelligible to Danes, and were only acquired by Denmark because of a long chain of treaties.

Though the map says “(Denmark)” under “Faroe Islands,” their relationship with the Danish crown is more like Canada’s to the U.K.’s: They are a constituent nation of the Danish kingdom. So Elizabeth is the queen in Canada, but as far as what’s legal or illegal in Canada, that means next to nothing, and while the relationship of the Faroes to Denmark is a little closer than that, that’s not for lack of people (in both countries) advocating for total Faroese independence.

So this is like blaming the U.K. for French being spoken in Québec. Québec, and the Faroe Islands, have their own rich histories, cultures, and languages, independent of the queen that they share with a larger country that later acquired them by conquest or treaty (the U.K. and then Canada in the case of Québec, Denmark in the case of the Faroes).

(all translations and normalizations my own)

Når vi tilber tårer,

TV [teve] i oss lever;

vi fornærmer varme

vinder, og forblindes.

(When we worship tears,

television is alive within us;

we insult warm winds,

and we are blinded.)

I couldn’t be more proud. Meanwhile, these same students are starting a new blog (Det glemte landet) where they will be sharing with us their own original chronicle of a mythical land’s lost past. If you can read Norwegian and feel like dropping by, they’d appreciate your readership and comments.

Truth be told, the wild birds

ten(d) to make us men look

purty stupid, ‘part from

pray damn few as made good.

Ravens take; men rack their

riddled minds with little

rules no raven fails to

realize risk his mealtime.

“Well, reckon a wily,

wise and shrewd man dies hard,”

he whispered, white aspen,

whalloped by wind, hollered.

Still, sure seen my share o’

short luck in these ore-traps;

no ‘moun(t) of sense mine(d) from

man outsmarts the lan(d), son.

Written in much the same spirit as my Cowboy Hávamál, I composed this today in the Sierra Nevada, where I’ve thought much about the miners who settled this area and the somewhat similar history of the Idaho Springs area in Colorado near where I spent many of my formative years.

Yosemite Valley Vista. Photograph © Jackson Crawford 14 January 2012.

***

1. Use yer eyes,
and never walk blind.
There ain’t no tellin’
where there’s someone waitin’
to put one over on you.

2. Don’t be unkind to a wanderer.
You know the type: Waiting,
proud, outside your doorstep.
Give ‘im a break,
and let ‘im in.

3. Let ‘im get close to the fire,
and have a chance
to dry his clothes.
He’s been walkin’ in the mountains,
and that wears a man down.

4. You know what he’s lookin’ for:
Somethin’ to change into,
a few kind words, not too many,
a chance to tell his story,
a chance to hear what you’ll say.

5. You ought to have
a damn sight of learnin’,
before you step outside that door.
It’s a lot easier to stay at home,
but no one’ll listen to you if you stay there.

6. Now, that ain’t to say
that you ought to be showy
about your learnin’.
Don’t say too much
and you’ll say more o’ the right things.

7. And don’t ever think
that other folks
got nothin’ to teach you, either.
You only stand to gain
by keeping yer ears open, too.

8. People’s approval ain’t nothin’ you need.
Half the time it ain’t true.
Just be sure you think you’re right;
and that you’re comfortable in your own skin;
you’re all you can count on.

9. And while you should listen
to people’s advice,
don’t just do whatever they say.
You’ve got a head on your own shoulders;
use it, boy.

10. That head on your shoulders
is the best thing you’ll ever have.
And no amount o’ money
can make up for not havin’ it.
Keep it in good shape.

11. The worst way to make yourself
into a goddamned fool
is to drink too much.
Stay out o’ the liquor,
‘cept you know yer limits.

12. Oh, folks’ll say this and that,
how much fun it is to drink and all.
But the more you drink,
the less you know,
and that’s a poor exchange.

13. I’ve been drunk, I’m not sayin’ otherwise.
Let me tell you what it’s like:
It’s as if a bird hovered over your head,
drinking more of your wits,
the more you drink.

14. Lord a’mighty, I was drunk,
I was shamefaced drunk.
And I didn’t have myself
near as good a time
as if I’d gone home sober.

15. So keep quiet,
keep your head clear,
and don’t back off from a fight.
You’ll be happier that way -
and you’ll die soon enough.

16. You’re a goddamned fool
if you think you’ll live forever
just because you won’t fight.
Say nobody ever kills you -
old age is no peach, either.

17. I’ll say another thing about drinkin’,
I swear I’m nearly done:
But just you think how much dumber
a dumb man is after a few drinks:
Who ever heard more awful bullshit?

18. Travel, see the country,
never miss a chance to get outdoors.
You’ll only get smarter
by knowing more people, more places,
more ways to be a man.

19. Accept hospitality, but don’t be a jackass.
Folk can only offer so much.
And if you want to talk,
just consider whether what you want to say
matters to anybody else.

20. A belly’s a sure sign
that a man’s not in control of himself.
Folks’ll laugh if you’re eating too much.
Yer stomach’s not yer head -
you can put too much in it.

21. You ever seen a fat cow?
I mean, they’re all fat, but only to a point:
They don’t eat so much they hurt themselves.
And a cow is just about the dumbest thing
on this damn earth.

22. Nothin’ to learn from a fella
who won’t but laugh at everybody else.
What he ain’t learned
would do him some good:
He’s got his own faults.

23. You should lie down to sleep
and not think about tomorrow;
you’ll take care of it then.
If you worry at night, you get nothing done,
and you’re in worse shape for the day.

24. Not everybody
who laughs with you
is yer friend.
Someone who won’t but laugh
hasn’t thought about much.

25. Not everybody
who laughs with you
is yer friend.
It’s one thing if a fella’ll laugh with you,
it’s another if you can count on ‘im.

26. You’re a damn fool
if you think you can just figure out
a way out of any problem.
It’s good to think ahead,
but sometimes things go wrong.

27. I wish more damn fools
would just keep their mouths shut.
If they did, we might not realize
just how many goddamned fools
there are in this old world.

28. Ain’t ever been a single person
who can keep his mouth shut
when it comes to other people.
But try not to gossip,
even if it makes you look smarter.

29. You will talk yourself into trouble
if you don’t think before you speak:
Hold that tongue, and think a little,
or you’ll find out that it’s a long whip,
and it’s gonna hit you from behind.

30. Don’t make fun of someone else,
even if he owes you money,
and don’t pester people with questions.

31. Sarcastic people sound smart
when they make fun of someone else.
But making fun doesn’t make you smart,
and that’s time you could be putting
into somethin’ more worthwile.

32. A fella might be nice enough;
there’s still something
that’ll make ‘im want to fight.
Where there’s more than one man,
you’ll eventually have a fight.

33. You shouldn’t sit around
and wait to eat all day.
Go ahead and eat,
unless you’re eatin’ later with a friend,
otherwise you’ll just be useless.

34. Don’t concern yerself
with anybody
who won’t repay yer friendship in kind.
Better to walk a long way to a friend,
than a short way to some ornery jackass.

35. Don’t overstay yer welcome.
Folks like company, but not too much,
and start to resent a guest ‘fore long.
So git goin’ after a while,
or you’ll git on people’s nerves.

36. It doedn’t matter where you live,
long as you have a roof over you.
Better to call some place home,
even if it ain’t much to look at,
than to beg for everything.

37. It doedn’t matter where you live,
long as you have a place.
Better to call a place home,
or you’ll feel worse and worse,
as you beg for more and more.

38. Keep yer guns close.
I don’t care what they say,
there ain’t no tellin’
when there’ll be call for ‘em.
An armed man has a shot.

39. Don’t think a generous host
wouldn’t gladly take something
in return for yer room and board.
Never seen a man so nice
he wouldn’t like a little in return.

40. Don’t save so much money
that you don’t use any of it.
You’ll die, after all,
and it might not go to people you like.
The world ain’t aimin’ to please you.

41. Give yer friend
a gift that’ll matter to ‘im:
Weapons, clothes, you know the kind.
This kind of giving, if he gits you back,
will mean he’ll have yer back when it counts.

42. Be friendly
to anybody friendly to you,
and repay their gifts.
Repay good with good,
and bad with bad.

43. Be friendly
to anybody friendly to you;
and to his friends, too.
But be careful not to make friends
with your friends’ enemies.

44. If you have a good friend,
and really trust him,
you should share yer mind with ‘im,
exchange gifts with ‘im,
visit ‘im often.

45. If you have another friend
and don’t trust him worth a spit,
but want somethin’ from him,
speak kindly, but don’t be surprised
if you find yerself betrayin’ that kindness.

46. Now this fella you don’t trust:
That’s not to say you shouldn’t talk to him,
laugh with him, even -
hell, who can you trust?
But repay just what he gives you.

47. I was young once, I walked alone,
and I got lost on my way.
It wasn’t on my own that I found happiness,
but in good company, good friends;
there’s no joy in loneliness.

48. Be friendly, be brave if you’re challenged,
and don’t nurture a grudge for too long.
That’s the way to spend yer life -
not on worrying,
not on shirking yer responsibilities.

49. I was walkin’ once, and I saw two scarecrows,
and that gave me the damnedest funny thought:
They were naked, so I’d give ‘em clothes.
They looked a damned sight better in ‘em, too;
a naked man just feels ashamed of himself.

50. Think about a fir tree on the edge o’ town,
once a part o’ the forest, but the forest is gone,
and now it’s surrounded by pasture.
Puts me in mind of a man no one loves -
how will he live much longer?

51. You might think you have a new friend,
but just you wait five days, that’ll test ‘im.
They say that a bad friendship
burns for only five days,
but on the sixth one it goes out.

52. You may not have much,
so don’t give much.
But I’ve won friends
with just a bowl of soup
and half a loaf o’ bread.

53. A small ocean
has small beaches,
and small brains
have damned little to give.
But the world takes all types.

54. Don’t git too goddamned smart, now,
there’s a measure for everything.
And don’t think it’s for nothing
that the stupid people
tend to be the happier ones, too.

55. Don’t git too goddamned smart, now,
there’s a measure for everything.
You’ll know you’re gone too far
when you can’t find a thing to smile about:
That’s what wisdom’s like.

56. Don’t git too goddamned smart, now,
there’s a measure for everything.
And if you think you can learn the future,
you’re a damned fool, not a wise man.
You’ll be happier not knowing anyway.

57. You won’t learn a thing
if you never talk to folks,
and nobody will learn anything from you.
If you keep yer thoughts to yerself,
you’ll never turn the lead in yer head to gold

58. Don’t sleep too late,
that’s no way to get things done.
If you mean to do business, get goin’ -
a lazy wolf never caught a sheep,
a sleeping man never earned a dime.

59. Don’t sleep too late,
that’s no way to get things done.
If you’re still sleepin’ at sunrise,
you’re losin’ the race already -
someone’s got more hours than you.

60. You know how to measure wood
and bark for a roof,
and you know the way to tell the time,
and determine the seasons.
You know this stuff, son.

61. Don’t go to see folks
with your hair a mess and your clothes dirty.
Put a damned shirt on, and some shoes,
there’s no shame in not having the best.
And eat a little first, too.

62. Consider your reputation;
if you go to town, and know nobody,
and nobody has a whit to say for you,
you’ll be like an eagle stretching out its beak,
but never catching a fish.

63. Now here’s a fact I’ve learned.
Tell a secret to one good friend,
and that secret might stay with him;
but tell two people your secret,
and everybody will know pretty soon.

64. Don’t think you’re the goddamned smartest,
or the toughest, or the best at anything,
and don’t let folks think you are, either.
Otherwise you’ll find out the hard way
that someone is always better.

65. Watch what you say, son -
what you say to other people
is often exactly what you git from ‘em.

66. There’s bein’ too early,
there’s bein’ too late,
and you can’t always predict folks’ timing.
But try to be on time;
that wins you more favor.

67. People ain’t always sincere
when they say they’ll give you somethin’;
you don’t know it for a fact
till it’s in yer hands.
Don’t take anybody at just his word.

68. A warm home is good for you,
the sunshine is good for you,
and your health, too, of course,
but don’t underestimate how good it is
to live without things to say sorry for.

69. You can never lose everything,
even if yer health looks to give out any minute.
You might still have yer kids, yer family,
yer money or something else -
or better, a job well done.

70. Better to be alive, no matter what,
than dead -
only the living enjoy anything.
I’ve seen a rich man’s corpse;
it wadn’t different than a poor man’s.

71. Break yer leg? You can ride a horse still.
Lost a hand? Not yer voice, too, I reckon.
Cain’t hear? Bet you can still fight.
There ain’t a damn way any life
is worse than empty death.

72. It’s good to have a son,
or someone you can call that;
there ain’t too many men remembered
‘cept those as left family behind.

73. Two-against-one, two will probably win.
And again, son, watch yer damn tongue.
And never trust that what folks keep hidden from you is for yer own good.

74. The weather can change a lot in five days,
it can change even more in a month,
and you’re a fool if you think you can predict it.
Never trust to anything
that’s not in yer own power.

75. I’ve said you should listen,
but don’t listen to goddamned idiots.
And remember: You might be poor,
someone else might be rich,
and neither o’ you has the other to blame.

76. Cows die, friends and family die,
you will die just the same way.
But if you have a good reputation,
that might survive you.

77. Cows die, friends and family die,
you will die just the same way.
The only thing that won’t die
is what folks say about you
when you’re dead.

78. I saw a rich man’s sons,
they had a good many head o’ cattle.
Now they’re beggars in the street.
Wealth’s nothin’ to count on;
it’ll leave you as soon as it finds you.

79. Now, a good thing may happen
to a pretty stupid man,
but that doedn’t make him any better.
He’ll be just as arrogant,
and not any smarter.

(81.) Don’t sing the praises
of anything that’s not over.
Not the day’s before the night,
not the work’s before its end,
not the man’s before his death.

Jeff Bridges as a very Odinic-looking cowboy in 2010's True Grit.

“People ain’t always sincere
when they say they’ll give you somethin’;
you don’t know it for a fact
till it’s in yer hands.
Don’t take anybody at just his word.”

Now available: The Cowboy Hávamál, a translation of the first constituent poem of Hávamál (the Gestaþáttr) into no-nonsense, West-o’-the-Pecos English. Full text of the translation is available as a blog page here, or you can download it as a .pdf with facing Old Norse text here.

The genesis of this idea came not from within me, but from an interesting exchange with the author of the Norwegian Håvamål for Dummies. That delightful endeavor is a summary of the Hávamál’s medieval Norse wisdom in direct, plain, clipped, Norwegian, its wisdom seeming all the more grounded for its judicious use of the author’s own sociolect.

The author of that document proposed that a translation of “Håvamål for Dummies” into English would ideally incorporate the translator’s own English/American sociolect in a similar fashion, though he expressed reservations about whether a native speaker of English might have the same relationship with the text as a native speaker of a Scandinavian language. My readers must be the judge of whether I have proven these reservations baseless or not. But I believe that my relationship with this text – going back to my early teenage years, when I discovered it and saw in it a codification of much of the attitude toward life which I had learnt at my grandfather’s knee – was deep and genuine enough to come across as respectful in a more colloquial translation than I had previously done. And having often heard this same grandfather’s voice coming through the god Óthinn’s words, I have attempted to render the poem in that voice – the voice of a Texas exile in the Rockies.

“The Cowboy Hávamál” is, then, a condensation of the wisdom of the first, most down-to-earth part of Hávamál (often called the Gestaþáttr, it comprises stanzas 1-79, give or take a few) into (mostly) five-line stanzas of western-colored English. I have not endeavored to render this dialect phonetically, but only to make an “eye dialect” of sorts to suggest the dry tones of the accent behind the words – with a “git” here and a “yer” there, which I hope doesn’t interfere with smooth reading too much. In some cases I have had to settle for rendering the dialect a little more stereotypically than I’d like – much of what is so characteristic of it is its sound rather than its diction, but diction (“ain’t” and such) is easier to represent on the page than a bisyllabic pronunciation of “then” that rhymes with “fleein’.”

I have cut out much of the front matter that precedes my more formal, more complete translation of the Hávamál: the Old Norse Pronunciation Guide, the Notes on Viking Age Old Norse, and the Recommended Reading List. I trust that interested readers will easily enough find this material in that other translation, available as a .pdf on the same webpage (http://tattuinardoelasaga.wordpress.com/translations/). The emphasis in this translation is just on the voice, sad with wisdom and cynical with experience, that I hear when I read this poem.

Du kan også lesa Hávamál (og Voluspá) i mi eiga omsetjing (til arkaisk norrøn og moderne engelsk) her.