Sleep, Young Love of Mine

from On a Green Growing Tree by Alice Dillon

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English translation of Sofðu, unga ástin mín

This Icelandic lullaby about a mother on the run who feels forced to kill her child originates from Jóhann Sigurjónsson’s play Fjalla-Eyvindur (Eyvindur of the mountains) about the real-life eponymous outlaw and his wife Halla. I learned it from a friend of mine, Aliza Razell, who sang it to me both in the original Icelandic and in her own personal English translation, which is the version I perform on this CD.

lyrics

Sleep, oh sleep, my young love,
Outside the rain is weeping.
Mama has your toys so fine,
She will keep them safe for a time,
While we spend this long, dark nighttime sleeping.

There is much the darkness knows,
Heavily dreams tumble.
Oft we watched the pale white snows,
And pitch-black sands where nothing grows,
Death-deep I've felt the glaciers crumble.

Sleep so sound, sleep so long,
You needn't wake in the morning.
It isn't bad, it isn't wrong,
All shall fade before too long,
And leave us loving, missing, weeping and yearning.

credits

from On a Green Growing Tree, released August 16, 2016

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about

Alice Dillon Edinburgh, UK

A folk and traditional singer and guitarist based in Edinburgh. I was a semi-finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2016.
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCs3dne0FG_83URM_QLbux5A
Website: alicedillonfolk.wordpress.com
Peerie Faeries: peeriefaeries.wordpress.com ... more

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