Our Icelandic Elsa is gone and is now a calm, beautiful young woman with the voice of a songbird. One half of Iceland’s entry from 2012, Greta Salóme, recently released a new single which is called Lifnar aftur við (To Be Reborn).
As we mentioned before, Greta is very quiet on this track. While she basically whispers about a rekindling of summer love, her soft notes are backed by an even softer backing singer and accompanied by only an acoustic guitar. Although this simple song would make a great Dutch entry, we miss the snow princess that placed 20th in Baku. The song is barely there, but would make a nice lullaby for your child, or a great addition to the “Easy Listening” playlist on your phone. It doesn’t belong in your workout playlist. It’s not my personal style, but it is still very well-written and fulfills its purpose.
Yet this song is a very special one for Greta, as it is one of the first to come out of her new home recording studio.
Rating: 3/5
Thank you to Icelandic correspondent Kristin Kritjansdottir for her help in preparing this article.
Icelandic Lyrics — Lifnar aftur við
Eilíf augnablik
Í huga mínum halda til
Og minna á sig við og við
Falin hugrenning
Og óræð tilfinning
Bærir á sér við og við
Úr klakaböndunum við brjótum okkur leið
CHORUS:
Og sumarið
Snýr aftur, kemur aftur
Og þá ég
Veit að við
Aftur snúum, aftur eftir veturinn
Þá lifnar aftur við
Sumarið
Rauður himininn
Og andvaka morguninn
Jörðin syngur undrahljótt
Spor í sandi
Dögg í grasi
Sólargull í hárinu
Hljóðnar dagur
Kemur nótt.
Úr klakaböndunum við brjótum okkur leið
CHORUS
English Translation — To be reborn
Enduring moments
In my mind to keep
And less on themselves
And the hidden thoughts
And the vague feeling
The town came by
And we broke from the ice
CHORUS:
And summer returns
Returns
And then I know
We turn again
Again after the winter
Then the summer comes alive again
A red sky
And a sleepless morning
The earth is surprisingly quiet
Footprints in the sand
Dew in the grass
The gold of the sun in your hair
The sound of day
Night is coming
Night is coming
And we broke from the ice
CHORUS
This song is very much my personal style. It’s gorgeous.
Sounds really nice! And a great composition to boot, IMHO. Her voice is gentle yet present, and she sure ’nuff knows what’s she’s doing throughout the song. BTW, the writing is wise, summoning all visual, tactile and (usually indirect) auditory imagery -emotional *and* physical perception called in.
From your description (@ Sopon) I was left expecting a track almost playing on mute, as if there’d be hardly anything audible hahaha! You’d think the same about some of my songs 😉
awesome