www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCoJv192VY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCoJv192VY)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1Tn3Cz3LY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1Tn3Cz3LY)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4XB4fSj_UI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4XB4fSj_UI)
Abraham’s Daughter
Abrahámes Dohtor
by
Arcade Fire
Abraham took Isaac’s hand
Abrahám nam Isaáces hand
And led him to the lonesome hill
And lædede hine þǽm ánhyll
While his daughter hid and watched
Ðá hwíle þe his dohtor hýde and waċede
She dare not breathe, she was so still
Héo ne dearre éþian, héo wæs swá stille
Just as an angel cried for the slaughter
Efne swá án engel béad þæt wæle.
Abraham’s daughter raised her voice
Abrahámes dohtor hóf hiera stefne.
Then the angel asked her what her name was,
Ðá ascode sé engel híe hwæt hiere nama béo,
She said, “I have none.”
Héo cwæþ, “Iċ næbbe nánne.”
Then he asked, “How can this be?”
Ðá ascode hé, “Hwá mæġe þís?”
“My father never gave me one.”
“Mín fæder nǽfre mé nánne ne geaf.”
And when he saw her, raised for the slaughter
And þá seah hé híe, ġeræred for þǽm wæle.
Abraham’s daughter raised her bow
Abrahámes dohtor hóf hiera bogan
“How darest you, child, defy your father?”
“Hwá dearst þú, ċild, spurnan þín fæder?”
“You’d better let young Isaac go.”
“Ðú bet forlǽtest ġeong Isaác.”
Songwriters:
Régine Chassagne, T Bone Burnett and Win Butler.
The above popped up over the end credits to the original Hunger Games film, which I was surprised to find worthy of the book. I am far too fogey to know any more about the song and an arcade fire sounds like a foolish and irresponsible prank. I just caught the Biblical theme amongst that telluric snare beat ( then found I liked Kingdom Come by the Civil Wars too) leaving me intrigued enough to buy the CD, Songs from District 12 and Beyond. And not, as some people seem to think, for some hit by Taylor Swift. Who I’ve only lately stopped calling Taylor Smith and actually find Safe and Sound gets a bit irritating after prolonged listening.
Anyhow, here it all is in the hope that other ġesíþas will like the music and even share my perverse curiosity as to how it scans in Old English.
As usual, spare my grammar etc. no criticism. For the moment I’m under the impression that, a) bet is the adverbial incarnation of ‘better’ and that betera is a comparative adjective and so, presumably, ought only to qualify nouns, and b) that éþianneed not, and had better not, be *néþian.
Yet if there are other positions on those, I’d be glad to hear how they go.
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The moral right of the author to be identified as the streaker who stopped the Hunger Games has been asserted.