artwork info | song info | legend | lyrics
artwork info
textile assemblage (Icelandic wool, vintage Icelandic suede hat, burlap, fabric)
18″H x 18″W
2025
$350
song info
category ▸ Rímur (epic tales sung as alliterative, rhyming ballads (usually a cappella) that can be traced back to the 14th century)
text ▸ Jóhann Garðar Jóhannsson
music ▸ Jóhann Sveinsson (from Flögu, Eyjafirði)
listen here 🔈 https://tinyurl.com/2cxaunwx
“Hlíða milli byggist brú” is the opening line of the poem “Í Brynjudal” by Jóhann Garðar Jóhannsson. This poem is composed in the ferskeytt meter, characterized by four-line stanzas (typically seven syllables each) and an A-B-A-B rhyme scheme. The poem reflects on the beauty of Brynjudalur, a valley in Iceland, and evokes imagery of nature’s splendor. The performer here is Sigríður Friðriksdóttir (1886–1982), a noted Icelandic kvæðamaður (traditional singer of rímur). The flower in the image is a depiction of the holtasóley (Dryas octopetala or mountain avens), the national flower of Iceland.
Hlíða milli byggist brú
Hlíða milli byggist brú
blóms af gyllingunni,
hugann fyllir fegurð sú
fjalls í hillingunni.
Sólin málar hæð og hól,
hvamma, skálar, bala,
ljósum strjálar leiti og ból
lyftir sál af dvala.
Ljóma salir, hugur hlær
horfinn kala meinum,
andinn svala fundið fær
fremst í dalaleynum.
Allt hið farna augað sér —
eyddur varnar kraftur —
víst ég gjarnan vildi hér
verða að barni aftur.
Eiga sátt við allt í heim
efla mátt í róminn,
líða hátt um himingeim
hjala dátt við blómin.
English translation
Between hills a bridge is built
Between hills a bridge is built
of the flower’s golden hue,
such beauty fills the mind
of the mountain in the mirage.
The sun paints hill and hollow,
dales, ravines, and meadows bright,
scattering light on fields and nests,
lifting the soul from slumber.
Halls of radiance, the heart laughs,
gone is winter’s sorrow,
the spirit finds a cooling peace
deep within the valley‘s shelter.
All that’s past, the eye beholds —
lost, the strength of struggle —
oh, how gladly would I here
become a child once more.
To live in peace with all the world,
to strengthen voice and spirit,
to drift aloft through heaven’s space,
and chatter sweetly with the flowers.
Lyrics reproduced under fair use for artistic commentary.