Sæterreise [English translation]
Sæterreise [English translation]
The fields are turning green, the snow are melting
The mountains become bare and the trees are budding
The wild Primrose1 grows in the valley
The cows can eat their fill
All thing alive begins to move
The bear emerges from his den
Outside the barn happy
Cows and calves and sheep and lambs run around
Come cattle, follow on
Come Golden-spotted, come Spelin!2
Cows, calves! You are leading on
Wanting to get up to the Sæter-pasture.
Without fear we shall live
The shepherd-boy keeps the bear at bay
And those who do not fear him
Fears the horn of the Budeie3
Juicy grass you shall feed on
Drink from clear water springs
Each day shall be a feast
The food(the grass) shall reach up to your knees
Now you shall be rewarded for the frost and cold
And the hunger and starvation of winter
No Huldr only cattle
Like yourself shall (sorry don`t know)
We have done all that should be done
Cured cheese and churned butter
Now all that remains is to put the Kløv4 on the horse
And put a lock on the Sæter door
Here is no more sustenance
Neither for heathen or Christian
We are happy to return to the village
And the cows are even happier
Goodbye you pasture which made
The softest field of flowers for me
When I, tired from the days work,
Ran and threw myself down (in the grass)
Goodby small sæter, my dear cabin
That witnessed so much of my work
Wonder If you also sensed something
When that boy lay next to me.
Goodbye fields on which the cattle grazed
Where I shepherded so often
Goodbye forest that often would echo
With my horn and tunes and songs
Goodbye huldr who lived there
Move you now into the sæter.
In winter it is bad to be outdoors
Exposed to the cold weather and the wind
Come now everything that is on the Sæter
Come along down to the village
All of the earth is now reddening in the colors of autumn
Every last straw belongs to the cattle
Hurry up, the folks are waiting back home
They want bufærslefsa5
Here there is nothing more to do
People and cattle, let us go.
1. Murinykjl = maria nøkleblom = Wild Primrose /cowlip2. These are common phrases used when gathering and herding animals up to pasture in the mountain. They would normally contain names of cows and cattle mixed with sounds without any specific meaning.3. A woman responsible for the livestock – milking, cleaning, hearding and gathering and protecting the cows/sheep/ calves etc. Often a special horn with a loud sound was used to scare of animals threatening the livestock (wolves, bears etc)4. Kløyva = a Kløv is a special kind of harness used on animals such as oxen, donkeys and horses so as to be able to use them to carry heavy loads. I´m not 100% sure if Øykjon means horse, mule or donkey.5. Lefse= Traditional Norwegian food. A thin pancake often buttered, with cheese or sugar, folded into a square.
- Artist:Folque
- Album:Vardøger