Grendel, in creation's night,
Howled at order out of spite.
Is he troll or is he wight,
Yowling for his Mommy in the night?

Ginnung gaped
and chaos yawned
as the universe
arose and dawned.

Ginnung magicked
up this world
a stage where Destiny
and life unfurled.

What you see is
Ginnung's glamour,
raging on our
senses' stammer.

Out of what
Abyss we rose
keeps us guessing
on our toes.

When Irminsul
upheld this rule:
the universe
was not averse.

Mundilfari
turned his axle:
long before
Lord Odin's curse.

Mead-tree and morning dew
Shelter in the midst of you:
Valhalla cheers and men take part
Shining mead from the browsing hart.

O tree of life
with the many boles,
you are the source
of unborn souls.

When your leaves
begin to fall,
the fate of man
is in Hel's hall.

Shining water
falls as dew

spilling out
on me and yew.

Yew and me
make up the tree

man and woman
are hid within.

Three great gates
keep the living from the dead:
the first is Helgrind:
tremble with dread.

Three great gates
keep the dead from the living:
the second is Nalgrind,
through which the dead are spilling.

Three great gates
keep the world from explodin':
Valgrind is the third
and the key is kept by Odin.

Ratatosk, Ratatosk,
the nimble squirrel,
Bears words through the branches
to feed the quarrel.

Shelter under Laeradr
Treasure out of Hoddmimir.
World-Tree, World-Ash,
Pillar and Pole;
Mimir is the guardian
of your role.

The tears of Thokk
don't drop, drop, drop
Balder stays dead
Blood slop, slop, slop.

Odin is filled
with grief, grief, grief
World-Ash trembles
its leaf, leaf, leaf.

Loki is chained
under ground, ground, ground
Until Heimdall's horn
makes sound, sound, sound.

Death upon the gallows
Fell Odin hallows.
Death from a spear:
Grim Odin is near.

When you ride
the horse of the dead
The bodies of men
are broken like bread.

Blood is shed
like kenning-mead:
Toast it to Odin
in your hour of need.

Yggdrasill, Odin's terrible horse,
strains like a ship, blown off its course.
Ash and oak and evergreen,
Yew burrows through the to World Unseen.

Yggdrasill, Odin's shaman-ladder,
binds living to the dead, the red to the madder;
Jotnar, mankind, gods and elves
bear fruit to the World-Tree's various selves.
With its roots in Hel and its leaves in heaven,
Time is the season, generations are the leaven.

Nine worlds high,
nine in the tree,
Odin in the High Seat,
doh ray me.

Odin wed Rind,
Rind carried Boe
Balder is avenged
me ray doh.

If I were to cross the starry abyss
Freyja would need to give me a kiss
Hjallabru, the echoing bridge,
Carried the hero from ridge to ridge,

Bifrost, the rainbow bridge of flame,
bears the hero from name to name.
When the rainbow bridge is blocked
You know it's time for Ragnarok!

Ho, ho, ho,
cries the sword, Mistletoe.
I stabbed Balder
and he'll never know.

Tramp, tramp, tramp
the warriors pass
slain with Balder,
Balder alas.

Boom, boom, boom
the fire eats the ship
Hoder wipes the blood
from off his lip.

Beat, beat, beat
the was Sleipnir's hoof
Balder now lies
beneath Hela's roof.

Bang, bang, bang
Grim Odin seethes;
the hosts of the dead
are swept like leaves.

Brandish my spear
to banish fear.
Look upon death
with a final sneer.

Drink down my juice
when you knot my noose:
death is a secret -
don't let it loose.