Finnish band Amorphis channels Lemminkäinen

Here's a beautiful song I've been listening to like crazy. Little did I know, the undertones are very old, and quite Pagan. This song, in fact the whole album is based on a Finnish Mythology that is very near and dear to the country's history and identity. This beautiful ballad in particular is based on one of the main characters, Lemminkäinen, who's story bares a striking resemblance to Isis' search for Osiris, when Lemminkäinen's mother searches heaven and earth to find her son.



Here is the song (in the band's music video) and the lyrics underneath.



These are the lyrics for the Video version:

A day's light told me of my son's fate
the sun showed the way, grim and severe
pulled under the raging waters, my child
sank in the drowning currents, my son, my son

God of fire bring your light
forger of sun help me now
Guardian of the shore will sleep in your warmth
lull the folk of cold water
banish the serpents of the dark
to the river let me go and fetch my son away

A rake made of iron from the Gods of skies
the spirit of bright days sent me the sun
cold troops of Tuoni can not stand in my way
untouched I shall walk by the river of the night

God of fire bring your light
forger of sun help me now
guardian of the shore will sleep in your warmth
lull the folk of cold water
banish the serpents of the dark
to the river let me go and fetch my son away

my child
my son


Here is the lyrics for the CD version:

A day's light told me of my son's fate
the sun showed the way, grim and severe
pulled under the raging waters, my child
sank in the drowning currents, my son, my son

My strength is not enough, my powers failed me
I need the heavens help, I ask for thunder's force
I plead for you oh lightning, forge an iron tool
a magic rake of dragging, a river for my son

God of fire bring your light
forger of sun help me now
guardian of the shore will sleep in your warmth
lull the folk of cold water
banish the serpents of the dark
to the river let me go and fetch my son away

A rake made of iron from the Gods of skies
the spirit of bright days sent me the sun
cold troops of Tuoni can not stand in my way
untouched I shall walk by the river of the night

God of fire bring your light
forger of sun help me now
guardian of the shore will sleep in your warmth
lull the folk of cold water
banish the serpents of the dark
to the river let me go and fetch my son away

my child
my son


If you listen to the CD version of the song, there's quite a bit more content. It seems it's been edited for the video, both are beautiful.

You can listen to samples and/or purchase Amorphis's "Silent Waters" on iTunes.

Of you can do the same on Amazon!

Here is a bit about the tale of Lemminkäinen:

Lemminkäinen or Lemminki is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. He is one of the Heroes of the Kalevala, where his character is a composition of several separate heroes of oral poetry. He is usually depicted as young and good looking, with wavy blonde hair.

The original, mythological Lemminkäinen is a shamanistic figure. In the Kalevala, he has been blended together with epic war-heroes Kaukomieli/Kaukamoinen and Ahti Saarelainen.

In one myth he drowns in the river of Tuonela (the underworld) in trying to capture or kill the black swan that lives there as part of an attempt, as Ilmarinen once made, to win a daughter of Louhi as his wife. In a tale somewhat reminiscent of Isis' search for Osiris, Lemminkäinen's mother searches heaven and earth to find her son. Finally, she learns of his fate and asks Ilmarinen to fashion her a rake of copper with which to dredge her son's body from the river of Tuonela. Thus equipped, she descends into the underworld in search of her son. On the banks of the river of the underworld, she rakes up first Lemminkäinen's tunic and shoes, and then, his maimed and broken body. Unrelenting, she continues her work until every piece of Lemminkäinen's body is recovered. Sewing the parts together and offering prayers to the gods, the mother tries to restore Lemminkäinen to life, but succeeds only in remaking his body, life is still absent. Then, she entreats a bee to ascend to the halls of the over-god Ukko and fetch from there a drop of honey as ointment that would bring Lemminkäinen back to life. Only with such a potent remedy is the hero finally restored.

Lemminkäinen and the Scandinavian Balder have many things in common in their respective myths (for example both are killed by a blind man at the feast of gods or heroes) which has led some researchers to believe they share common origin.

(Taken from Wikipedia)

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Songs of the Goddess by Draeden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at songsofthegoddess.blogspot.com.