Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu

Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu (English: "Verses by Rosa of Vatnsendi") is a traditional Icelandic song. The lyrics are a poem written by Rósa Guðmundsdóttir (1795–1855); the melody is a traditional lullaby, arranged by Jón Ásgeirsson (1928–) in 1960.

Lyrics[]

Augun mín og augun þín,
ó, þá fögru steina
mitt er þitt og þitt er mitt,
þú veizt, hvað eg meina.

Langt er síðan sá eg hann,
sannlega fríður var hann,
allt, sem prýða mátti einn mann,
mest af lýðum bar hann.

Þig eg trega manna mest
mædd af tára flóði,
ó, að við hefðum aldrei sést,
elsku vinurinn góði.

Engan leit eg eins og þann
álma hreyti hjarta.
Einn guð veit eg elskaði hann
af öllum reit míns hjarta.

Þó að kali heitur hver,
hylji dali og jökul ber,
steinar tali og allt, hvað er,
aldrei skal eg gleyma þér.

Augað snart er tárum tært,
tryggð í partast mola,
mitt er hjartað sárum sært,
svik er hart að þola.

Beztan veit eg blóma þinn,
blíðu innst í reitum.
Far vel Eyjafjörður minn,
fegri öllum sveitum.

Man eg okkar fyrri fund,
forn þó ástin réni.
Nú er eins og hundur hund
hitti á tófugreni.

English translation:

My eyes and your eyes,
Oh, those beautiful stones
Mine is yours and yours is mine,
You know what I mean.

A long time ago I saw him,
He was truly beautiful,
All that could adorn one man,
Most of the people carried him.

I am the most sad of men
Tired of tears flooding,
Oh, that we had never seen each other,
Dear good friend.

I did not look like anyone like him
Alms move the heart.
One god knows I loved him
Of all the field of my heart.

Although frozen hot geysers,
Cover valleys and glaciers,
Stones talking and all, what is,
I will never forget you.

Tears touch the tears clear,
Guaranteed in split pieces,
My heart is sore,
Betrayal is hard to endure.

Ever I know your flower,
Kindness at the edge of the horizon.
Good luck my Eyjafjörður,
More beautiful all the lands.

I remember our previous meeting,
Ancient though love rained.
Now it's like a hound dog
Met on a spruce branch.

In Popular Culture[]

The song is most famous for its performance for Hector Zazou's album Chansons des mers froides (Songs from the cold seas) by Icelandic singer Björk; it also appears on Björk's third Possibly Maybe single CD.^{[citation needed]}

It has also been performed by the Swedish artist Nåid, Icelandic singer Ragnheiður Gröndal, and Belgian folk band Griff.^{[citation needed]}

In the film Zack Snyder's Justice League, “Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu” is sung by a group of Icelandic villagers as Arthur Curry / Aquaman dives into the ocean after meeting Bruce Wayne / Batman. The village, where Batman first meets Aquaman, seems to be reliant on the latter for survival and to have built him up as a quasi-mythical figure.^[1]

References[]