Garmarna - Vengeance

[@P00PD0G89]

Some of the most dark, haunting lyrics I've ever heard....

[@urbankotto9685]

The truth is dark?.

[@nyarlathotep1743]

"Oh cool! So how'd you end up a Knight anyway?" "Well..."

[@inanemme5603]

(clears throat) "Jag blev född förr än tuppen go...

[@UnseelieFaelass]

This could also be interpreted as someone being turned into a monster in a more metaphorical sense. Lycanthropy was often associated with insanity from what I recall. The Stepmother first 'conjures' them into a needle, which could a metaphor for being turned into a tool or servant for her whims. Longing would torture them as well, longing for a proper Mother and childhood I'm sure, among other things they may long for. Next the child was made into a knife, possible metaphor for becoming a weapon for the Stepmother's benefit. They would suffer all their life from here, becoming a 'weapon' is a painful life, as is the life of being that weapon. Plenty of suffering to be had there. Becoming shears could be a metaphor for becoming a killer because of the Stepmother. Shears cut and trim things after all, and I doubt the child's work was at all clean. Especially if they were to be stunted all their years. Stunted from not just fertility but pretty much their entire life. Cutting any chance at a decent life they may have earned. Finally they are made into a Gray Wolf and no good was to come of them. They are a murderous monster in the eyes of all the meet now and like the wolf they are, they are now forced to hide and be shunned by all within the shadows. The end of the song where the Stepmother receives a very bloody vengeance at their abused child's hands and the unborn brother is killed as well by being devoured, the wolf sees themselves as good for having destroyed an evil worse than them. But as a werewolf, as a monster, are they truly seen as that by others. Others may see it as a monster killing another person yet again. Which could lead to the song Varulven, about a werewolf who kills a pregnant maiden with no regards, only her bloody arm remains for her lover to find when that song ends. Something to think about, definitely a dark song when one thinks about it hard enough. Maybe a sense of goth tragedy as well but hey I'm no expert on what's goth or not by any means. Feel free to agree or disagree with this interpretation folks, just please no hate. Merely expressing what I came to in terms of conclusions. No need for hostility here, as Tool's fanbase already has enough of that over how many interpretations exist for their songs.

[@jairoukagiri2488]

Excellent analysis. The metaphors blend with literals in some senses, as there was suffering in enduring the mother's demise and father's wandering to bring home an evidently wicked step-mother who aggravated all the negativity to be had, and lacking specifics, probably chided or honor-bound or shamed or any other kind of gas-lit into being more of a murderous wretch in an era and culture where formal combat was honorable. Then indeed, driven into even more murderous isolation, taking vengeance. Not unlike the lore of a troll, he preys at a bridge where the ambush is ideal. And then yes, it ties right into Varulven or at least the notion of a gray wolf / werewolf (wolf-man, a lone wolf of a man) is identical and the 'cure' is the same. Werewolves were linked to lunacy in general as moon-worship and berserking to some extent, or shape-shifting at the minimal like with CuRoi and also berserkers. The insanity became most linked with the ergot poisoning in medieval France because it drove some to modern-lycanthropy. Mind you, egot is the basis for LSD, it's a rather nasty hallucinogenic fungus that over-swells wheat and only fermenting it kills its chemical byproduct that drove people mad because they basically wouldn't have a 'stable' dosage when it was potentially in every grain product you ate save for beer. Even then you'd get drunk on top of it, potentially. Plus whatever else one may do. So you aren't wrong there either. Of course it is up to interpreting, and song and myth often are allegory but could be literal in many senses. I can see it both ways, and the truth could have been such a mix. Ed Gein did some really messed up things but if someone was put to such depraved and downtrodden states, they could have easily adopted the guise of a wolf with its fur and acted animalistically or monstrously. Something I considered when reading the lyrics was also what the chorus-bit was, it could refer to in the timing that some of his degradation involved killing his other mature brothers. Before the whole unborn one bit. If that is meant to be implied it could really drive a young, runt of the litter but savage man to the brink and beyond even. And give a morsel of cohesion to why murdering the step-brother and mother would be 'seen' as an act of valor by the now lone wolf, if the step-mother twisted him into killing off his kin so only hers would be the legitimate offspring. Obviously not by most outsiders but yea

[@Wolfie54545]

I have a feeling this is the same as varulven

[@UnseelieFaelass]

@@Wolfie54545 I did mention the song in my analysis.

[@UnseelieFaelass]

@Telvanni Magister Suppose I can see the 'heathens' being possible victims as well. After all Garmarna also has the song Herr Mannelig which some believe is actually about a Pagan woman being rejected by a Christian knight, as apparently troll was an insult for them back then. Glad you enjoy my interpretation, and you're more than happy to enjoy yours too.

[@bleujae1]

It's hard to describe the feeling I had after this song. It's one of those feelings where you want only silence, where you feel like you aren't supposed to speak, or think too hard, almost a meditative, clear state of mind. :) thank you for that

[@DanielClaytonFarnsworth]

I remember when I got this cd, I was 16. Her voice carries this group. It's so beautiful.

[@RiceMonger888]

The pity is, her voice is so great, yet they never achieved greatness because the rest of the group is too weak

[@justeunsmoothie5148]

This song is soo powerfull, Swedish is an amazing language

[@kreskaqq]

still listening to this one, huh? I can't free myself from it either. I'm glad you enjoy it so much :).

[@epvplatin]

[@shallandavarpainterofsouls9509]

has you step mother cursed you to watch this forever so you won't be productive?

[@iselilja2320]

Isnt the same story as in Gåte Ulveham? I know both bands and when I read the lyrics of Ulveham, I thought about this song right away!

[@kreskaqq]

I agree and lyrics are in such a harmony with music... It's just beautiful.

[@bleujae1]

Her voice is so intense and full of conviction!

[@bleujae1]

Yes :) something about this type of music, makes me feel very comfortable and in touch with myself :)

[@RakshaTheDaemon]

her voice is mesmerizing

[@sarahgray430]

This song makes me think of Ivar from Vikings...bloodthirsty little bugger!

[@SFXray]

Now I feel like learning Swedish

[@shallandavarpainterofsouls9509]

I'm learning swedish now because of her videos. it's a cool language. learn it.

[@RedEyeTheWolf]

This is old Swedish,

[@KimchiYeo]

@@RedEyeTheWolf correct and it differs quiet a bit from modern swedish,so they are wasting their efforts of learning from the wrong source.

[@tf5]

@@RedEyeTheWolf Not old, a bit formal maybe.

[@kreskaqq]

I love the moment when she kills her brother and that makes her a knight. The whole story is one of my favourites. Actually it's the best one I've ever heard.

[@SridalB]

BOXES dont know if you will answer after 4 years, but why does she become a knight by killing her brother?

[@davesnyder4231]

BOXES love the song wierd lyrics must of not liked her brother lol

[@davesnyder4231]

SridalB midevil balled they beleived drinking blood had powers remember the crazy queen who drank blood to keep her youthful.

[@davesnyder4231]

Love the song creepy lyrics

[@doffrell]

@@davesnyder4231 My interpretation is that once she had finished this evil deed for vengence she spent the rest of her life doing good

[@cygnia]

Been trying to track down this particular song for years. Had it on a mix CD, but it was never labelled!

[@_PrincessMaggot]

cygnia I found it on a Nordic roots album I grew up listening to. Maybe that's it? :)

[@moritzkern1053]

I don’t know anything about this songs background. But it got my imagination going. So my personal interpretation of the (translated) song text goes like this: The narrator is the first-born son of a nobleman. After his mother dies during delivery, his father, who is a knight and the lord of a fiefdom, marries again. But the stepmother hates her new husband's son because his existence prevents her future children by blood from inheriting the estate. As the lord is absent often, she has full control over the boy. She gives him tasks unbefitting of his station like sowing (needle), cooking/butchering (knife) and shearing livestock. When the narrator comes of age, he is disowned and bannished forcing him to live in the wilderness as a highwayman (grey wolf). He bides his time and assembles a band of other misfits and malcontents. When he hears that his stepmother is supoosedly pregnant with a male heir, he is forced to commit fratricide to regain his birthright (drink his brothers blood). So he ambushes his stepmother. He kills her and thus also his unborn brother. Then he retakes the fiefdom by force and justifies his actions through the injustices done to him and also by his position as rightful heir. So in the end, he becomes a knight who is "galant and good". I think this dynamic underlines a possible critique made by the song that station and power often take precedence in society over any notions of moral conduct. So even a bloodthirsty werewolf can become a respected nobleman by slaying his kin.

[@user-gq1vz3bo8f]

Schöne Sprache, schönes Lied

[@zlognorpbrimbio4252]

RIP to my eardrums at 0:12.

[@ЧёрныйДракон-н2ф]

hope with your ears are all right, friend

[@aminechouigui6287]

hahaha

[@Wolfie54545]

Yep. Me to

[@ShadoW_one_woman_band]

Beautiful!

[@maryanastepanova7412]

Thank for the translation!

[@АрутАрутюнян-з8м]

Maryana Stepanova прювет, красавица

[@militarypenguin]

"Then she turned me into a grey wolf" Love this song! :)

[@wintersking4290]

I had thought this story forgotten.

[@madia3401]

what is it about? or based off?

[@corvodraken3049]

M Adia I believe its an old Swedish folk tale

[@voidstarq]

I understand (and agree!) that the song makes you want to side with the narrator. And she does make a strong case for why she's justified. But... I'm just not sure the words "gallant" and "good" mean exactly what she thinks they mean. Perhaps something's been lost in translation?

[@madia3401]

"till I drank the blood of my own brother" - that reminds me of a saying of my religion about back biting someone will result in you eating the flesh of your dead brother (something along those lines)

[@LeohTheArcher]

What religion is that, I wonder?

[@powerforpower]

Is there another version of this song? The ending of the version I heard (caught the last 20 seconds on an internet radio station) had a prominent bass sound along with the drums and the sinister string notes.

[@Mothman156]

I like this a lot.

[@Tetrarchos]

I have an evil stepmother too. But i cant drink an unborn brothers blood, because my father is 70 and she is 53. They wont have children together. Maybe thats a good luck.

[@namekman01]

i wana say "nobody cares" but i gota ask, what makes her evil. if ur pop rich or something?

[@Tetrarchos]

namekman01 Thats it! She only wants Money!

[@magnusnygren8121]

+Tetrarchos your future is what you make it

[@sarahgray430]

Well, remember...after he dies, you can put the old harridan in a nursing home and take all his money!

[@maelradec2381]

Guys guys guys... That's the troll queen she was cursed by her step mother to become a troll, she killed her step mom and bro, hid for a while till herr mannelig came along and she hoped he would lift her curse.

[@Ulenor]

I love the part were she tears her brother out of her stepmothers womb

[@matthewexline6589]

I went ahead and bought the album on Amazon. Bought it for this song in particular (and the quality of the sound from the Amazon purchase is better than this also btw) but more importantly I discovered a different song on the album, Gamen, which is very different from this song in a lot of ways but I like it a hell of a lot and I've probably listened to it several dozen times in the last couple days.

[@daviddelgado3807]

strange.In the deep of the pagan feeling.No pity,no remorse.Only my doom,the dawn and the blood.Me condeno para cumplir mi venganza

[@tahsinalp1417]

Mükemmel be

[@reiner1805]

Tahsin Alp Reis nasıl buldun buraları😄

[@Wolfie54545]

This is the other side of Varulven

[@shallandavarpainterofsouls9509]

Yes yes, I can see that. he drank more than his brothers blood. **evil cackle**

[@wolfbird6613]

Twisted Cinderella

[@sarahgray430]

The original version of Cinderella was pretty twisted too...the Ugly Stepsisters get their eyes pecked out by birds!

[@domagojcapko4152]

Croatian folk music: "And I stil love her and can't live without her my beautiful red rose" Scandinavian folk music: "In venagance true and bloody I took the child from her body" "I drank blood of my brother" But we are primitive Balkanians, right?

[@AlexandraVioletta]

No. Not primitive. Positive. Skandinavia is dark and cold... That forms you in a special way...

[@pennedarts]

@@AlexandraVioletta Heh, just a bunch of trans social warriors now..

[@billarthur]

Thanks for the trans.

[@Dev_Entity]

and ashes will be there.

[@xesxes6259]

Perkele

[@madia3401]

i dont understand what is its meaning

[@shallandavarpainterofsouls9509]

someones mother died, so his father found another wife who hated the son that wasn't hers, so she turned the son into a knife, a needle, and finally a wolf. he then caught her coming home one night and ate her. after eating her he became a knight. assuming it's a he.

[@Dev_Entity]

vendetta!

[@zbohemzvolen1346]

ًWow Garmarna ……,

[@kreskaqq]

@mprwac No problem :)

[@Soldier957]

TUNG.

[@denisdarabasic8290]

I raped replay button. That voice and emotion. Priceless!

[@daviddelgado3807]

larga es la senda....

[@powerforpower]

by "bass" I mean an actual bass guitar.

[@davesnyder4231]

Guess just like jesus theres power in the blood.

[@francescapoteet5481]

Dave Snyder spiritual law before Him decreed it that’s why it’s in Jesus too.

[@essenceofenglish54]

İll stepmother is a misstranslation. She says mentally sick.

[@kungsmurfen]

I hear only: evil stepmother