Nebelung - Vigil

There they're rooting out the forests,
With the ruiners I want to fight,
This God in my left,
This ore in my right.

Blessings drip the golden flowers,
And they sanctify my weapons,
For I bring prayers to all
Which I myself have not created.

See, the gnat of a small life,
And how light is it to kill.
Yet they cannot knead from clay,
Yet they can't whistle from the pastures.

Only sometimes shakes the hunger;
Tender meat is good for eating,
And just as I murder the boar,
So will the wolves eat me.

Yet stays a Friend and willing
What ducks in shrubs and corners.
The wise snake calls me Herbs,
A Toad, the metal veins.

Brothers house in far-off cities,
Where they butcher, play and smoke.
Since there's much what they have,
And little of it is what they need.

For to me, these things are lavish:
Spears and arrows, when I hunt
And a woman for my nights,
And a child for my days.

To the roots I may fall
From the battle with the ruiners,
In the same earth will
Someday their bones rot.

-original from Die Roder

Band: Nebelung

Album: Vigil

Genre: Neofolk

Country: Germany

Year: 2008

More info Here and Here.

I discovered Nebelung in the summer of 2009, and this was my favorite song of theirs from the beginning. Recently I found a load of CDs I burnt at the time and put them in my car's track player, meaning that for the past few weeks I've heard this song every morning. When translating songs I try to make them fit the original pace of singing so they can be sung, the fact of which English is similar to German is to be thanked for.

On their album Vigil, this is definitely the "best" song. The other ones are toned down, mellower, and what you would expect from Neofolk. But they are good nonetheless, the lyrics are provocative and meaningful, and the music is soothing if not uplifting at times and dramatic. Again I gave the album a chance because of the cover art, which is superbly ambient and nicely done.

Rated 7.5/10 for Neofolk Organic neofolk with a few memorable songs and thoughtful lyrics


About the rating system: 5 is average, 0 is atrocious, 10 is the best thing you ever heard.