Intro
(Gjallarhorn! Gjallarhorn!)
I hear the grass grow and the wool on the sheep...
(Hu-ha!) I need no more rest than a bird, no sleep —
Nine mothers of wave-water gave me the deep —
(Gjallarhorn!) I've been watching since before your gods could speak...
Verse 1
Nine mothers bore me from the edge of the ocean —
Gjálp, Greip, Eistla — all wave-motion,
Eyrgjafa, Ulfrún, deep-water devotion,
Angeyja, Imðr, Járnsaxa — nine in formation.
Born at the world's rim where the salt meets the starlight,
Suckled on the sea-strength and the cold of the dark night.
I need less sleep than the seabird catching airlight —
My eyes cut the distance from the midday to the far-right.
Himinbjörg sits hard at the edge of the heaven-shelf,
Gulltoppr stabled underneath and I stand here myself.
Bifröst burning underneath the foot and the step-self —
Every world below me like a library on the shelf.
I hear Níðhöggr gnawing on the root underground,
I hear every broken oath in every Thing-ground.
I hear Loki moving when he doesn't make a sound —
That's the one that tells me when Gjallarhorn comes round.
Pre-Chorus
Something shifted south of the Bifröst in the grey (in the grey)
Loki's seal-shape cutting through the kelp and the spray.
Brísingamen in his jaw — been watching since the day —
He doesn't know I'm watching but I'm always in the way. (uh!)
Chorus
I see it all — ten thousand miles of dark (miles of dark!)
Every fire that'll burn to the last cold spark (last cold spark!)
I hold the horn that ends it when the wolf leaves the mark (leaves the mark!)
Gjallarhorn — one breath — and the worlds come apart! (Hu-ha!)
Verse 2
I watched the sun go dark over Fimbulvetr's second year,
I watched Baldur fall and kept my post without a tear.
Not cold — just purposed: every signal must be clear,
The watchman who abandons post makes everything unclear.
I tracked Loki seal-form through the Skagerrak tidal drift,
Shifted to my own seal-shape and closed the rift —
Jaw to jaw in saltwater — four tides and a cliff —
Got Brísingamen back and made the god's gift.
Odin calls the einherjar — I see them drilling still,
Five hundred forty doors and every hall built to fill.
Ragnarök's a schedule, not a prophecy to kill —
I've watched it from the mountain-edge and mapped it with my will.
Every frost-giant mustering in Jötunheimr's east,
Naglfar hull half-finished — still awaiting the deceased.
Every untrimmed fingernail accelerates the feast —
I've calculated when the mooring rope gets released.
Pre-Chorus
Something shifted south of the Bifröst in the grey (in the grey)
Loki's seal-shape cutting through the kelp and the spray.
Brísingamen in his jaw — been watching since the day —
He doesn't know I'm watching but I'm always in the way. (uh!)
Chorus
I see it all — ten thousand miles of dark (miles of dark!)
Every fire that'll burn to the last cold spark (last cold spark!)
I hold the horn that ends it when the wolf leaves the mark (leaves the mark!)
Gjallarhorn — one breath — and the worlds come apart! (Hu-ha!)
Bridge
There's a moment on the mountain no one sees —
(no one sees...)
Not Odin in his high-seat — just the freeze.
(just the freeze...)
The second that the wolf-chain hits the ground —
(hits the ground...)
I don't rage, I don't mourn, I don't make a sound.
I just lift the horn — cold rim to the lip —
(cold rim...)
Every world holds its breath in the grip.
(holds its breath...)
Nine mothers in the wave-crash hear it first —
(hear it first...)
The watchman kept his post — now comes the worst.
One breath.
(one breath...)
Everything that ever lived looks up.
(Gjallarhorn! Gjallarhorn!)
(The watchman kept the gate — now he gives it up!)
Drop — Instrumental
Chorus
I see it all — ten thousand miles of dark (miles of dark!)
Every fire that'll burn to the last cold spark (last cold spark!)
I hold the horn that ends it when the wolf leaves the mark (leaves the mark!)
Gjallarhorn — one breath — and the worlds come apart! (Hu-ha!)
Outro
(Gjallarhorn! Gjallarhorn!)
The horn is at the lip...
(Hu-ha!)
Nine mothers in the deep —
The watchman never slept.
One breath.
(Skál.)
