Translations of Swedish lyrics on Among Beggars And Thieves

[vennificus]

I'm kinda new here and I don't speak swedish but I kinda noticed that where Swedish and English are oddly similar wouldn't "wolf's call," and "wilderness man" sound a bit more...Iunno... appropriate? Viddernas-wilderness? Varga-skall wolf's call?

[Horus-Nikopol]

How is English more appropriate than Swedish?

I don't understand most of the Swedish lyrics, either, but the language gives these songs a folksy charm that makes them special to my ears and it motivates me to look up some Swedish words, so it's also educational. Besides, "varg" sounds much more ferocious and awesome than "wolf" IMHO. And it reminds me of LOTR. 

[Disconouny]

Hey, just like you said. At first I didn't like the songs because they were Swedish and couldn't understand at all but the more I listened to them, the more I liked and enjoyed them. And as you said, it's part of the song's charm, it adds something deeper to the song.

[AngelOfMusic]

One of the (many) reasons I like Falconer is BECAUSE of the Swedish songs.

[Disconouny]

Oh well, if it becomes Swedish only, I'll stop listening to Falconer... :P

oh well.. maybe not! lol I like them too much!

[Prab]

The swedish lyrics and especially the way Mathias sings them is one of the trademarks of Falconer and one of the many reasons why we Falconites love the band. Vargaskall anyone?

[vennificus]

I'm talking about the translation. I love the songs. But the translation is what I was talking about,

[Ursus]

You are both right and wrong. The swedish "Vidder" is correctly translated as "(open) expanses". "Wilderness" would instead be "vildmark".
"Vargaskall" could certainly be translated into wolf's call (however, skall and call don't necessarily share etymological origins), after all its pretty much the same thing as wolf's bark... though since wolves technically don't bark i guess I'd give you the right with "call".

The whole point of using the words "skall" and "sörja" is as has been mentioned that they can mean different things. Since they don't in english the exactness of the translation becomes less meaningful.

Its overall a pretty good translation, i wouldnt have used the exact same wording in all cases but Ancient Minstrel gets my thumbs up Do keep in mind though that these swedish originals, as with all Falconers songs, are somewhat... archaic? oldfashioned? traditional? ...to different degrees. It's planted firmly in folkmusic, folklore and history and those nuances are of course a little tricky to translate.

[MasterOfTheFalcon]

You will have your work cut out for you with the next album, Ancient Minstrel. I can't wait.

[Ancient Minstrel]

MasterOfTheFalcon: I will return for new translations, I promise. I will, as you say, have a lot more work this time.

Vennificus: I think that similarities in spelling between the words you talked about might have fooled you a little.

"Viddernas" is the genitive plural definite form of "vidd", which means "expanse" or generally a large area (often rather empty).

"Wilderness" is built on the word "wild", which is Swedish is "vild", and as Ursus wrote, the Swedish equivalent is "vildmark". It is important to note though that "vild" and "vidd" have no etymological connection - i. e. they are not the same word, so "Wilderness" merely sounds close to "Viddernas".

"Wolf's call" would have been an acceptable translation, but "skall" and "call" are not related either, so the reason that translation would have been ok anyway is, as Ursus wrote, that wolves don't really "bark". However, they are usually not connected with "skälla" either, so Stefan is really the one who has chosen the special wording, that also carries (or so I have learned now) a second meaning connected to hunting.