To Holmgard And Beyond

(album: The Varangian Way - 2007)

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