Werewolves

[baleanoptera]

Some people like vampires, others like ghosts- personally I've always been fascinated with werewolves. Maybe it's the metamorphosis and the fact that they are normal people large parts of the month that intrigues me. At any rate - there are some really good medieval ballads that tell of the werewolf-myth, and some of them have been performed by Garmarna.

Garmarna is one of my favorite bands, and they create music that is usually described as neo-folk. I have posted a few of their songs before, including a few of the werewolves songs - but that was a long time ago, and I promised someone I'd upload them again. Just be warned as some of these songs are pretty dark and gruesome.

Garmarna: Varulven/Werewolf

The song at first seems rather straightforward; a girl, alone in the woods, gets eaten by the wolf. But there are sings that the story might be a bit more complex. First of all the title is "Werewolf", thereby indication that she isn't attacked by a normal wolf. Then there is the mention of linden trees quivering in the grove.

The Linden is in Nordic folklore a symbol of family, and the quivering linden trees give the impression that something is threatening the family. Secondly the expression of being "taken by the wolf" was sometimes used as a euphemism for loosing once virginity. Then there is the last line in each verse "She was carrying the fruit of love" which seems to indicate that the maiden is pregnant.

In swedish this line is slightly more ambiguous and could also be translated as "she was by love bound". When Garmarna have chosen to translate it as carrying the fruit of love it’s probably based on the lore that Scandinavian werewolves were particularly dangerous to pregnant women.


Jungfrun hon skulle sig åt stugan gå
Linden darrar i lunden
Så tog hon den vägen åt skogen blå
Ty hon var vid älskogen bunden

Och när som hon kom till skogen blå
Där mötte henne en ulv så grå

Kära ulver du bit inte mig
Dig vill jag giva min silversärk

Silversärk jag passar ej på
Ditt unga liv och blod måst gå

Kära du ulver bit inte mig
Dig vill jag giva min silversko

Silversko jag passar ej på
Ditt unga liv och blod måst gå

Kära du ulver du bit inte mig
Dig vill jag giva min guldkrona

Guldkrona jag passar ej på
Ditt unga liv och blod måst gå

Jungfrun hon steg sig så högt i ek
Och ulven han gick ner på backen och skrek

Ulven han grafte den ek till rot
Jungfrun gav upp ett så hiskeligt rop

Och ungersven han sadlar sin gångare grå
Han red litet fortare än fågeln flög

Och när som han kom till platsen fram
Så fann han ej mer än en blodiger arm

Gud trösta Gud bättra mig ungersven
Linden darrar i lunden
Min jungfru är borta min häst är förränd
Ty hon var vid älskogen bunden

In English:

The maiden she would to the cottage go
Linden trees quiver in the grove
So she took the path through the forest blue
She was carrying the fruit of love

And when she reached the forest blue
There she met with a gray wolf

O dear wolf please don't bite me
To you I will give my silver gown

The silver gown won't suit me at all
Your young life and your blood must go

O dear wolf please don't bite me
I will give you my silver shoes

Silver shoes won't suit me at all
Your young life and your blood must go

O dear wolf please don't bite me
I will give you my golden crown

A golden crown won't suit me at all
Your young life and your blood must go

The maiden she climbed up high in an oak
The wolf he paced the ground and howled

The wolf dug up the oak by the roots
The maiden gave a heart-rending cry

The young page saddled his gray steed
He rode slightly faster than a bird could fly

And when he came to the wooded place
He found nothing more than a bloody arm

God comfort, God improve me, young page
Linden trees quiver in the grove
My maiden is gone, my horse is dead
She was carrying the fruit of love


Garmarna: Straffad Moder och Dotter/Mother and Daughter Punished
- this song comes from on of their earlier albums, and its style is a bit rougher and more unpolished than later albums. That said it has a drive and a use of vocals that I absolutely adore. Here its both a wolf and a fox that have once been human, and they regain their humanity by drinking their mother's heartblood.

I suppose some symbolism can be seen in that they take a life to regain their human lives.


Modern och dottern stod och bakade bröd
In kommer räven med sin päls så röd

Modern och dottern stod och silade vin
In kommer ulfven i sitt gråa skinn

Är icke du vår moder som ej gav oss liv
Nu skall du stekas opp och ätas med kniv

Är icke du vår moder som ej gav oss mat
Nu skall du stekas opp och läggas på fat

Är icke du vår moder som ej gav oss dryck
Nu skall du slaktas och skäras i styck

De togo modern och dottern och rev deras kläder
De togo modern och dottern och slet dem isär

De togo dem ifrån deras bröd och vin
Började klösa, sarga deras skinn

De togo den modern och dottern så god
Drucko begärligt deras hjärteblod

Nu var den modern och dottern död
De sögo och drucko deras blod så röd

Knappt de hade druckit deras varma blod
Förrän trollpackan allt framför dem stod

Trollpackan slog dem med förtrollad stav
Två vackra prinsar var vad staven gav

"Jag slog er med min stav, förbannelsen vek
Vållad av straffad moderns grymma svek"

In English:

The mother and daughter stood and baked bread
In came the fox in his fur so red

The mother and daughter stood and strained the wine
In came the wolf in his grey coat so fine

Aren´t you our mother who gave us no life
Now shall you be fried up and eaten with knife

Aren´t you our mother who gave us no food
Now shall you be fried up and laid on a plate

Aren´t you our mother who gave us no drink
Now shall you be slaughtered and cut into pieces

They took the mother and daughter and ripped their clothes
They took the mother and daughter and tore them apart

They took away their bread and wine
Began to scratch and lacerate their skin

They took the good mother and doughter
Drank eagerly their heart´s blood

Now the mother and doughter are dead
They sucked and drank their heart´s blood

Hardly had they drunk their warm blood
When the witch before them stood

She hit them with an enchanted rod
Two handsome princes were what that rod gave

"I hit you with my rod, the curse gave way
Caused by the punished mother´s cruel treachery."


Garmarna: Vedergällningen/Vengeance
- this song tells of a protagonist that is turned into or cursed to become a wolf by his/her stepmother. One interesting aspect is that we are never told if the protagonist is male or female - only that they in the end becomes a knight bold and good, which might indicate male. Here the werewolf curse is broken by the protagonist drinking the blood of his/her brother, and killing the stepmother while doing so. It's all very gruesome - but it does combine the aspect of the pregnant woman from the first song, and the focus on heartsblood from the second.

Jag blev född förr än tuppen gol
-Mina stigar de ligga så vida
Min moder blev död innan upp rann sol
-Själv måste hon sorgen förbida

Min fader drager så vitt om land
Så ond en styvmoder han på fann

Först skapte hon mig i nåler
och sade jag skulle tråna
Så skapte hon mig i kniver
och sade jag skulle icke trivas

Så skapte hon mig i saxer
och sade jag skulle icke växa
Så skapte hon mig i ulven grå
och sade jag skulle åt skogen gå

Hon sade jag skulle ej få bot
Förrän jag druckit min broders blod

Så lade jag mig under lida där
styvmodern min skulle framrida

Så lade jag mig under spånge
Där min styvmoder skulle framgånga
Där tager jag till med mäste
Min styvmoder utav häste

Så tog jag till med harme
hennes foster ur hennes barme
När jag hade druckit min broders blod
Så blev jag en riddare bold och god

In English:

Before the cock crew I was born
- Far are the paths that I follow -
My mother was dead before the dawn
- Long, long she awaited her sorrow

- My father travelled the country round,
An ill stepmother to me he found.

Into a needle she conjured me
And said that longing would torture me
And then she turned me into a knife
And said I would suffer all my life.

She turned me into a pair of shears
And said I'd be stunted all my years.
A grey wolf then she made of me,
And said no good would come of me.

Under this curse I was to suffer
Till I drank the blood of my own brother.

So then I lay in hiding
Till my stepmother came riding.

By the bridgehead I lay watching
Till I saw her horse approaching.
And as she passed I caught her
And down from her horse I brought her.

In vengeance cruel and bloody
I took the child from her body.
And when I had drunk my brother's blood,
I became a knight, gallant and good.

Translation by Alistar Cochrane

Lastly - if you download these songs and you like them, then please support the artist by buying the album.


ETA: Cross-posted to told_tales

Comments

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

Wow, what an amazing post. Your posts are always fascinating but this one made me regretful/glad that I wasn't sitting around a camp fire as you recounted the stories :D

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you!

made me regretful/glad that I wasn't sitting around a camp fire as you recounted the stories :D

Well, I have always found that recounting the stories, and being the storyteller, is a much easier and safer position to have. In a way you are then in control.
To be a listener (or a viewer) is something completely different - then you are at the mercy of the story, and that can be very terrifying!
(and one of the reasons why I don't watch that many horror movies. Thrillers are fine, horror is a big no-no. I have too vivid an imagination. ;D )

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I'm going to download those right away, even though I'm not going to understand them. You must have seen Neil Jordan's In the Company of Wolves. What did you think? I confess to loving it, even as non-linear as parts of it are. I love Brotherhood of the Wolf, too, though strictly speaking it's not really a werewolf movie.

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

I hope you like them, and that the translations give you some idea of what they are about. I love old medieval ballads - some of them are simply terrifying. For instance all the songs about girls being taken by trolls. *shivers*

I love Company of Wolves! (even if watching "Murder she wrote" became a little surreal after that ;P) Then again I do like non-linear storytelling and I adore Angela Carter so the movie was really suited to my tastes.

Brotherhood of Wolf is also great - and very, very French. In other words - it doesn't make sense until you have watched it a couple of times. In many ways it reminds me of French comics with it's heavy use of symbols and strange events. Also the movie has such gorgeous cinematography, and me being such a sucker for beautiful visuals, just had to love it. ;D

[richlayers.livejournal.com]

Once again I am completely fascinated. The music itself took me by surprise but I really like it. Vengeance especially has such a dark, sinister sound. Which, you know, makes sense.

Would you consider reposting in told_tales? If not the files, then the lyrics and what you said about them?

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Venegeance is dark and creepy yes. The first few times I heard that song it really scared me, and it still creeps me out. Quite a lot of the Scandinavian medieval ballads are pretty dark and terrifying, and these are no exception. *shivers*


As for reposting - I could do that, with files and all. For the entry could be locked right?

[richlayers.livejournal.com]

Yes, just lock it and only community members will be able to see it.

If you have any problem let me know but that should work... as far as I know....

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

I will give it a try - I just need to alter some of the intro text first.

[richlayers.livejournal.com]

I'll look forward to it. :D

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

It should be up now - everything looks in order from where I'm sitting, but if you could take a peak and tell me if something is amiss that would be great. :)

[richlayers.livejournal.com]

I see it, and I see the little "lock" picture, so I assume you can only see it if you're a member. :) Thanks!

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Yay! Then all is well. :D

[richlayers.livejournal.com]

I was listening to Werewolf the other night, and my tea kettle was on, and I didn't realize it was whistling right away because I thought it was part of the music!

Close call, that one.

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Hee! I have been known to be spooked by that song myself. That band has a few other songs that are also very creepy - one about a robber that lives in the mountains and so forth.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much for this post!! I am always anticipating your posts , they are so interesting and surprising always.

I am listening to "Werewolf", it is so disturbing and beautiful. I am also fascinated with the legend of werewolves and where it comes form. And the answer for my weakness to "X-men" is one - Wolverine. :D

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That is so great to hear. I sometimes fear that my posts are too weird, so to to hear that they are appreciated is wonderful. (and it also makes me blush ;) )

"Werewolf" is disturbing, and the vocalist does a wonderful job. I also like the fiddle in the background that drives the music forward - it gives a sense of urgency I think.

The werewolf myth has always fascinated me. Did you know that in 14th and 15th Century France people were actually convicted of being werewolves? And in Scandinavia seidemenn, a form of wizard, were said to turn into wolves at will - or throw "the wolf form" on others as a punishment.

And Wolverine is one of the best part of the X-men. ;D (and I'm not just saying that because of Hugh Jackman!)

[hermitlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I would very much like to listen to the songs, but all of the links say that the files are expired. Would you be able to repost them in some way?

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Sure. I'll do it when I get home from work. :)

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

They should be up now. let me know if they give you any problems.

[hermitlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! The songs are absolutely gorgeous. :)

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

I'm happy that you like them. :)