song info
category ▸ Hymns
text ▸ Kolbeinn Tumason (1208)
music ▸ Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1973)
listen here 🔈 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4dT8FJ2GE0
“Heyr, himna smiður” is one of Iceland’s most beloved hymns. The lyrics were written by Kolbeinn Tumason, a powerful chieftain and poet, in 1208; according to legend, he wrote them on his deathbed after being mortally wounded in battle. The hymn is a prayer addressed to God, calling upon the divine as the creator of the heavens to provide mercy, guidance and strength. The music that accompanies the text was composed by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1938–2013) at the request of Róbert Abraham Ottósson, a German emigré who was at the time the Music Director of the Icelandic Lutheran Church. Sigurbjörnsson later described how the music had come to him all at once as he was driving home from the meeting with Ottósson, on a snowy afternoon in Reykjavík in January 1973.
Heyr, himna smiður
Heyr, himna smiður,
hvers skáldið biður,
komi mjúk til mín
miskunnin þín.
Því heit eg á þig,
þú hefur skaptan mig,
ég er þrællinn þinn,
þú ert Drottinn minn.
Guð, heit eg á þig
að græðir mig,
minnst, mildingur, mín,
mest þurfum þín.
Ryð þú, röðla gramur,
ríklyndur og framur,
hölds hverri sorg
úr hjartaborg.
Gæt, mildingur, mín,
mest þurfum þín
helst hverja stund
á hölda grund.
Set, meyjar mögur,
máls efni fögur,
öll er hjálp af þér,
í hjarta mér.
English translation
Hear, smith of the heavens
Hear, smith of the heavens,
what the poet pleads,
may your mercy come
softly unto me.
For I call upon you,
you who have shaped me,
I am your servant,
you are my Lord.
God, I call upon you
to heal me,
remember me, O gracious one,
I need you most.
Drive away, O king of the sun,
noble and mighty,
every sorrow
from the fortress of my heart.
Guard me, O gracious one,
I need you most
in every moment
upon this earth.
Set, O Son of the Virgin,
fair words upon my lips,
all my help is from you,
within my heart.
Lyrics reproduced under fair use for artistic commentary.