Skyforger Semigalls' Warchant 1. Saullekt Par Sveto Mezu 2. Werewolves 3. Virsaitis Nameisis 4. Akmeni Iekaltas Zimes 5. Night Of The Winter Solstice 6. Sen Dziedeju, Nu Ieragu 7. Semigalls' Warchant 1. Saullekt Par Sveto Mezu [Latviesu tautasdziesma] [Sunrise over the sacred forest/Intro] [Ancient Latvian folk-tune] 2. Werewolves [music by Rihard & Peter] The pale moon casts its evil eye Over the man in the forest He calls wolves with the soundless bagpipe Utters the magic words of summoning And when the snowstorm starts its icy dance Wolves come - red burns their eyes Hugeful howlings fill the night sky In the depth of the forest There live people far from the others They live by the elders' custom and worship pagan gods Wolves guard them against the persecution of christians As they deny the dogma of christ People from the neighbourning villages Call this place - the forest of werewolves (they tell:) Those who pass the marsh of wolve never return Howling The snowstorm roars Red blood paints the snow Wolves gnaw the bones of man Who dared to enter the realm of werewolves 3. Virsaitis Nameisis [Music by Peter, Edgar & Rihard] Es saucu jus brali uz karu Uz zemi kur kristgie mit Lepnie zemgales deli Es saucu jus zobenus trit Nav miera vairs musu zeme Kops viestards ir aizgajis velos Bet krusta prieksa nekad Zemgali nekritis celos! Sargieties kristgie Nameisis ir mans vards Drebiet bailes to dzirdot Es naku psa velina aicinats Mans kumels skrien atrak ka ziemelu vejs Kara cirvis atputu nepazist Es savu uzvaras dziesmu dziedu tur Kur manu maidnieku asinis list Un zemgali kopa ar leisiem Cauri prusu zemem tad trauc Visniknak cert krustnesus nameisis Lidzi savus virus vins sauc: "Nu eita virsu kristigiem Jus mani lepnie varoni!" No 'Atskanu Hronikas" x Chief Nameisis x The man who devoted all his life to the bitter fight against uninvited cross-marked invaders. His name is Nameisis and he was the last Semigallian chief named in ancient chronicles. 4. Akmeni Iekaltas Zimes [Music by Rihard] Melni makoni gulas pari tumsajiem meziem Drumi veja simstgadu ozoli salc Uz sena svetkalna akmeniem Memi sez kraukli Tie velina zinesi iz vesu valsts Deg nakti zem ozola sveta uguns Grimmst akmeni sunas un leni dilst Tajos iekaltas zimes Akmeni iekaltas zimes Bet lidz ar rita miglu Devini priesteri svetkalna kapj Pie akmeniem stajas Un seno ritualu tie sak Uguns gars, nem musu veltes Lai dumu griste debesis sniedz Mums savu svetibu nenliedz Perkon, sirmais sencu dievs Dod nakamam paaudzem saprast Musu atstatas zimes Akmeni iektalas zimes Lai varam no zauna pacelt Karogus rotatus perkonkrustiem Lai turpinam dzimtu kas nikst Un iszliefnam noliekta galvas lepni Un musu speks nekad vairs lai neizsikst Dod perkon mums speku! x Signs Carved In Stone The olden ritual has begun, nine priests ascend the sacred mound and stand beside the stones. They worship the ancient God Perkons to get favour and blessing... SOme of the signs the priests carved in stoned have remained till nowadays 5. Night Of The Winter Solstice [Music by Rihard & Peter] The sun has vanished Freezing northwind now rules the land From the ralm of ice and eternal darkness Mother winter snow-clouds sends White warlord rides the sky Hundred steed pull his sledge of ice The roaring noise follows him It's the sign that the winter solstice have arrived The ancient song fills the air On the mound sacred fire burns People dance the magic dance of rebirth For the sun's sooner return Here is the longest night of the year When the evil spirits of darkness is awake Old witch woman dances across the room She drives whole evil spirits back in the bloom Over the frozen field the northwind walls Falling snow turns into the raging snowstorm. 6. Sen Dziedeju, Nu Ieragu [Latviesu tautasdziesma] [Ancient Latvian folksong] 7. Semigalls' Warchant [Music by Rihard & Peter] Titmouse sings Near the house door Wake up brothers, saddle the horses Titmouse brings the message of war COme on sisters Shine our heavy swords Then go open the gates Your brothers must ride to the war I cut my battle axe In the green oak Onto my spear I tread Here we swear the oath Almighty god of war and thunder Watch us from above Now we are the hunters To the hunt we go Father moon, high in the sky Light our way tonight Two bloody rivers flow Down from the hill There my enemies lie By my sword they're killed From their bones we made the bridge to home This is our warchant It gives us courage and makes us strong Since ancient times the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea has been inhabited by the Latvians, one of the Baltic peoples. The Baltic tribes settled here about 4000 years ago and had their own mythology and customs based upon the worship of the natural forces. They were the last pagan tribes in Europe. In the 13th century the Knights of the Teutonic Order invaded the country to bring in the Christianity. One by one crusaders subjugated the free peasant-tribes of the Latgalls, Sels and Kurshi, destroyed their villages and fortified castles, devastated their fields and tried to turn native inhabitants into serfs of Christ. Only the tribe of the Semigalls under the guidance of chief Viestards (and later - Nameisis) still carried on the fight against the servants of cross. Until finally in 1290 after several bitter fights they were forced to leave the native land, but they went away unsubjugated. Many an old castle-hill or an oak which has weathered the storms and adversities of centuries are the sole witness of these events, but people tell legends about them - about brave Semigallian warriors... In memory of those who lost their lifes in these battles we dedicate the SEMIGALLS' WARCHANT. The brave pagan spirit of those will ive in our hearts forever... PETER - battlescreams, winterguitars EDGAR - stormbass, background screams RIHARD - winterguitars IMANT - thunderdrums All heathen poetry by PETER, except "Sen djirdeju, nu ieraugu" Pipes on "Sullekts par sveto mezu" and flute on "Virsaitis Nameisis" by LINDA Horn on "Virsanis Nameisis" by EDGAR Kokle, shepherd's horn & rattle stick on "Night Of The Winter Solstice" by PETER Warrior voices on "Sen djirdeju, nu ieraugu" by PETER, EDGAR & RIHARD Backing vocals on "Semigalls' warchant" by EDGAR & RIHARD No synthesizers used on this recording! Band contact: SKYFORGER, P.O. Box 77, Riga LV-1047, LATVIA