Islandica

Maístjarnan → English translation

Original lyrics

Maístjarnan

Ó hve létt er þitt skóhljóð

ó hve leingi ég beið þín,

það er vorhret á glugga,

napur vindur sem hvín,

en ég veit eina stjörnu,

eina stjörnu sem skín,

og nú loks ertu komin,

þú ert komin til mín.

Það eru erfiðir tímar,

það er atvinnuþref,

ég hef ekkert að bjóða,

ekki ögn sem ég gef,

nema von mína og líf mitt

hvort ég vaki eða sef,

þetta eitt sem þú gafst mér

það er alt sem ég hef.

En í kvöld lýkur vetri

sérhvers vinnandi manns,

og á morgun skín maísól,

það er maísólin hans,

það er maísólin okkar,

okkar einíngarbands,

fyrir þér ber ég fána

þessa framtíðarlands.

Translation

The May Star

Oh how light are your footsteps

oh how long I’ve been awaiting you,

A spring snow is lashing at the window,

a biting wind that whines,

but I know of one star,

one star that shines,

and now finally you’ve arrived,

you have come to me.

These are difficult times,

there's a labor dispute,

I’ve got nothing to offer,

not a scrap that I can give,

just my hope and my life

whether I’m awake or asleep,

this one that you gave me

it's all that I have.

But tonight the winter comes to an end

for every working man,

And tomorrow the May sun will shine -

It is his May sun;

It is our May sun

It is our chain of solidarity

For you I bear the flag

for the future of our country.

Thanks! ❤
thanked 14 times

Submitted by

ibn as-sabil on 2017-02-04

Author's comments:

This is a song about May 1st, the International Day of Worker's Solidarity in much of Europe, back in the olden days at the beginning of the 20th century.

I compared, and borrowed from, but did not necessarily use verbatim, translation work previously produced at:

http://www.phrasebase.com/archive/icelandic/maandiacute-stjarnan.html

Any suggestions for further improvements would be most welcome.

Islandica: Top 3

1.	Á Sprengisandi (Ríðum, ríðum)
2.	Maístjarnan
3.	Kvöldsigling

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Islandica

Maístjarnan → English translation

Maístjarnan

The May Star