Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg
Is a phrase used in the Old English poem from the 10th century“Deor” or The Lament of Deor (from the Exeter book) and means- that passed away and this may too, or, that was overcome, so may this be.
In the poem Deor, the writer of the poem (though we don't actually know who the writer was), tells of events that came to pass, including how he loses his position as poet to his lord to be replaced by another.
This was the inspiration for the song. One thousand years later we can all still relate to this sentiment.
The track started initially with just the baseline. The more I listened to it, the more it seemed to have a medieval quality to it.
I eventually threw some chord changes on to it and as I did the medieval sound just became more apparent.
In the poem by Deor was writing of great kings and mythical characters, like Wayland the smith who appears in the Beowulf story.
But, I thought, it is not just to great characters that things pass away, but to all of us and, in fact, all events however small, be they good events or bad events pass and are overcome. All moments pass away. So, I began simply describing moments, fleeting glimpses of life: a girl collecting the sunlight in her hands, a vixen running in terror though a field of corn, a battlefield and so on.
All things must pass, by George Harrison occurred to me.
So, it just became a case of finding images, like old photographs, of events that had been and are long gone, but capture the moment as a reminder in the image.
The chorus was the last thing to come to me. I had the musical change (the middle 8) but no lyrics and was not even sure if I really needed a lyric there. However, I was also thinking about a poem written by J.R.R Tolkien, who was an Anglo Saxon scholar, in which he used the phrase from Deor- Þæs ofereode eall in the poem Hors and Ridend. I decided to use a phrase from the Tolkien poem-
þa dagas sindon gesige west behindan hyllum intó sceadu- The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow or the days sink to the west behind the hills into shadow.
This fitted perfectly, not only to Deor and his sentiment, but to the chorus. It just fell beautifully into the chorus. It had the perfect amount of words, no need to tweak anything and the harmony sang itself really as soon as I had the phrase.
At the end of the video there is a short video of me reading the Tolkien poem in the Old English in which you can hear the phrase.
Excuse my Old English pronunciation. I will excuse myself by saying that no one truly knows what it sounded like and there were, as today, many accents and dialectal variations.
I hope you enjoy the video and especially the track.
As always a LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT is much appreciated.
Have and easy week, stay productive, positive and healthy!!
There is also a link to Leofwin who recites the poem in Old English below:
and another link to Leofwin reciting Deor
Thanks to Hullor Media for the wave footage
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSniVHm8S4qwcLqudjsrGig
Lyrics
þisses swa mæg
There was a king who in his castle slept, over the body of his dead son wept.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
And then a child who in a river stands, catching the sunlight i the palms of her hands.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
The days sink to the west behind the hills, into shadow.
A woodcutter chopping down a copse of ash.
A maiden dancing in a crimson sash.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
A vixen runs in terror through a field of corn.
An eagle circles while a lamb stands forlorn.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
The days sink to the west behind the hills, into shadow.
I, for myself, have but one thing to say,
now that my comforts have been taken away.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
A golden pendant with a curl of hair.
A lava feeding on a fallen pear.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
A stone cliff pounded by the oceans waves.
A flock of ravens on the tombs and the graves.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
The barley dancing in the evening's sun.
A blood-red field where a battle was won.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.
The days sink to the west behind the hills, into shadow.
< Go to Google translate
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