Life Blood

Lifeblood
(A Viking Drinking Song)

tune/lyrics c. 1993--Karen Unrein Kahan




Drink, for the wind blows cold and
Drink for The Wolf runs free.
Drink to the ships with sails like wings and
Drink to the storm-tossed seas.

Drink to the lasting nights
and those who warm our beds.
Drink to the mead that warms our hearts
and the cold that clears our head.

Drink to the Allfather's Eye
for Odin's sons are we.
Drink to the World-Tree where he hung
and the Runes of Mystery.

Drink to the truth of steel
and blood that falls like rain.
Drink to Valhalla's golden walls
and to our kinsmen, slain.

Drink to the Glory-field
where a man embraces death, and
thank the gods that we live at all
with our joyous dying breath!

Drink for the wind blows cold and
Drink for the Wolf runs free
Drink to the ships with the sails like wings
for Odin's sons are we!

Here's a video of that song.
Good choice Cynan !



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ueHz2GCvI

yes, singing this song in rounds (or whatever you call it when you have 2 or more groups singing at slightly different places in the song) has an excellent effect with this song. I did it once with Camile at Pensic, and it was my best performance EVER in my life, the best performance I've ever been a part of... but you need at least 2 people who can sing the song solidly. Camile also has a really nice voice and her female voice was a good contrast to my male voice I think.... Anyway if you try to do rounds with people that don't know the song or what they are doing with rounds they may get confused doing that :-)

I'd love to do it with some of the lions one day... once this summer (when I had already drunk a few drinks) I thought of trying it with the lions but realised shortly later that no one else knew the song well enough to back me up... maybe with the video you posted and the lyrics up here next summer may be different?

what a fantastic song Life blood is. Bloody haunting!