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“Heyr Himna Smiður” is an Icelandic poem written in or just before 1208 AD. It was written by Kolbeinn Tumason who was a chieftain in one of the Icelandic family clans at the beginning of the most violent and turbulent time in Icelandic history. The poem is a prayer to God for strength, peace, and guidance in the face of the prospect of open inter-clan warfare. The words themselves are now over 800 years old, but music was not added to it until the 20th century.
Here the Icelandic band Árstíðir sings “Heyr Himna Smiður” in the excellent acoustics of a German train station. The video doesn’t really add anything, just click play and close your eyes.
Lyrics in Icelandic:1
Heyr, himna smiður,
hvers skáldið biður.
Komi mjúk til mín
miskunnin þín.
Því heit eg á þig,
þú hefur skaptan mig.
Eg er þrællinn þinn,
þú ert drottinn minn.Guð, heit eg á þig,
að þú græðir mig.
Minnst þú, mildingur, mín,
mest þurfum þín.
Ryð þú, röðla gramur,
ríklyndur og framur,
hölds hverri sorg
úr hjartaborg.Gæt þú, mildingur, mín,
mest þurfum þín,
helzt hverja stund
á hölda grund.
Send þú, meyjar mögur,
málsefnin fögur,
öll er hjálp af þér,
í hjarta mér.
As is often the case with a centuries old poem in a foreign language, translating it into English is a bit tricky. Translations vary depending on whether you want it to be literal, capture the ideas better, have the lines rhyme, or have a particular number of syllables per line. For example, the first line is “heyr, himna smiður.” The word “smiður” literally means “smith,” like a blacksmith, so “himna smiður” is literally “smith of the heavens.” However in this context, “smiður” could also be translated as “creator,” so “himna smiður” could be translated “creator of the heavens.” But there’s an English phrase we’re more used to which captures this idea better, even if it’s not in the literal Icelandic, making “himna smiður” into “heavenly creator” if we want. Also, translating “heyr” as “listen” instead of the literal “hear” is a little bit less awkward. So we have the literal “hear, smith of the heavens” versus the smoother “listen, heavenly creator.” And that’s just the first line. So below is both the literal translation and one arranged in a smoother Hymn form to have five syllables per line.
Lyrics in literal English:1
Hear, smith of the heavens,
what the poet asks.
May softly come unto me
thy mercy.
So I call on thee,
for thou hast created me.
I am thy slave,
thou art my Lord.God, I call on thee
to heal me.
Remember me, mild one,
Most we need thee.
Drive out, O king of suns,
generous and great,
human every sorrow
from the city of the heart.Watch over me, mild one,
Most we need thee,
truly every moment
in the world of men.
send us, son of the virgin,
good causes,
all aid is from thee,
in my heart.
Lyrics in English hymn form:1
Hear, smith of heavens.
The poet seeketh.
In thy still small voice
Mayest thou show grace.
As I call on thee,
Thou my creator.
I am thy servant,
Thou art my true Lord.God, I call on thee;
For thee to heal me.
Bid me, prince of peace,
Thou my supreme need.
Ever I need thee,
Generous and great,
O’er all human woe,
City of thy heart.Guard me, my savior.
Ever I need thee,
Through ev’ry moment
In this world so wide.
Virgin–born, send me
Noble motives now.
Aid cometh from thee,
To my deepest heart.
Footnotes
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