Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu is a traditional Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic song. The lyrics are a poem written by Rósa Guðmundsdóttir (1795–1855); the melody is a traditional lullaby, arranged by Jón Ásgeirsson.

The song is most famous for its performance for Hector Zazou

Hector Zazou

Hector Zazou was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists...

's album Chansons des mers froides

Chansons des mers froides

Chansons des mers froides is a 1994 album by French musician Hector Zazou.Zazou approached Sony Records with merely the title and the concept of songs from the Arctic. He was accompanied by cameraman Philippe Roméo as he recorded traditional folk songs in and from Alaska, Canada , Greenland,...

(Songs from the cold seas) by Icelandic singer/songwriter Björk

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...

; it also appears on Björk's third Possibly Maybe

Possibly Maybe

"Possibly Maybe" is a song by Björk, released as the fifth single from her 1995 album Post. It is a song with deep electronic tones and soft beats that reflects on potential love....

single CD.

It has also been performed by the Swedish artist Nåid

Martin Landquist

Martin Landquist is a Swedish music producer, recording artist, remixer and songwriter working under the name Nåid. He has produced albums for artists such as a-ha, Jay-Jay Johanson, Linda Sundblad and Kent, and has remixed tracks for artists including The Cardigans.He is also a member of the bands...

, among others.

Lyrics

Augað mitt og augað þitt,

og þá fögru steina

mitt er þitt og þitt er mitt,

þú veizt, hvað eg meina.

Þig eg trega manna mest

mædd af tára flóði,

ó, að við hefðum aldrei sést,

elsku vinurinn góði.

Langt er síðan sá eg hann,

sannlega fríður var hann,

allt, sem prýða mátti einn mann,

mest af lýðum bar hann.

Engan leit eg eins og þann

álma hreyti hjarta.

Einn guð veit eg elskaði hann

af öllum reit míns hjarta.

Þó að kali heitur hver,

hylji dali og jökul ber,

steinar tali og allt, hvað er,

aldrei skal eg gleyma þér.

Augað snart er tárum tært,

tryggð í partast mola,

mitt er hjartað sárum sært,

svik er hart að þola.

Beztan veit eg blóma þinn,

blíðu innst í reitum.

Far vel Eyjafjörður minn,

fegri öllum sveitum.

Man eg okkar fyrri fund,

forn þó ástin réni.

Nú er eins og hundur hund

hitti á tófugreni.