Benni Hemm Hemm: Saddest Song

As I reconstruct my blog, and get back into a posting routine, I'll start out with something I've been looking forward to sharing. Thanks to friend Thor, of Reykjavík, I now have a translation to share of Til Eru Frae.

          Til eru fræ
Til eru fræ sem fengu þennan dóm
að falla í jörð en verða aldrei blóm
eins eru skip sem aldrei landi ná
og iðgræn lönd er sökkva í djúpin blá

Og von sem hefur vængi sína misst
og varir sem að aldrei geta kysst
og elskendur sem aldrei geta mæst
og aldrei geta sumir draumar ræst

Til eru ljóð sem lifna og deyja í senn
og lítil börn sem aldrei verða menn

(Davíð Stefánsson)

          There are seeds
There are seeds that carry a doom
To fall to earth but never get to bloom
Ships that terra firma never make
And green land the dark seas take

And hope that wingless sorry sits
And lips that never feel a kiss
And lovers that can never meet
And dreams that fade in sad defeat

Some poems at once live and die
And children that never see the sky

(David Stefansson from Fagraskogi
Transl: ©Thorgeir Lawrence, 22 August 2007)


We heard Benni Hemm Hemm in concert in San Francisco, and they sang this poem. They introduced it as the "Saddest Song."  By the way, they will release a new recording this month.  Listen to some of their music here.

I'm feeling guilty about having neglected my blog so long, and also feeling bad about all the elements that I need to reconstruct (links, Icelandic trip journal, and more). So, I am offering free, to the first person who asks, my Benni Hemm Hemm tee. It is a women's size M, and is too small for me. It is more like a size for a junior Viking ... runs pretty small. I'd be happy if another Benni Hemm Hemm fan were to enjoy it!

Confluence of Icelandic and Hawaiian Music

I recently bought another Benni Hemm Hemm recording (entitled--surprise!-- Benni Hemm Hemm) and was delighted to find a Hawaiian song on it. My first post (3/21/06) answered "Why Iceland?" with "it goes so well with Hawaiian music." Benni agrees! The song is Ku-Ui-Po, which you will probably recognize from Elvis and Blue Hawaii--it's a beautiful version.

Benni fans will also recognize "I could love you in a wheelchair baby." (I just LOVE the way he says "Baby".) It's guaranteed to run through your mind constantly, but not in a bad way (like, for example, most musical numbers--in my opinion--with the exception of songs from Blue Hawaii, naturally...and from other classics such as Cannibal!, The Musical, or Lagan).

There are a number of songs in English, and I particularly like Fight. The lyrics to most of the Icelandic songs are translated on Benni's web page. Labbie is from their first recording, Summer Plate, and was, I believe, composed in Italy. The saddest song in the world, Til Eru Fræ, is on this recording.

These songs have humor, sweetness, and a horn section that just won't quit. Those horns are the Whole Steamboat. Benni and his band ROCK!

Best of Benni

Readers have asked, so I'm happy to help.

For Benni music, go here.
Here for a "signed" music video of "I can love you in a wheelchair, baby."
More good stuff at Benni's myspace.

Enjoy!

I'm with the band!

"I can love Iceland in a wheelchair, baby"...With apologies to Benni Hemm Hemm, who put on an terrific concert in San Francisco Monday night! It was so considerate of them to schedule it for a night when we could get there. (Check out the rest of their schedule, and if you can go see them while they're in the U.S.--DO IT!) The band, which can number up to seventeen musicians, was about eight strong as they played before an enthusiastic audience at the Bottom of the Hill. Their sound is great, and the horns and percussion are very exciting. Of course we couldn't understand all the words...I'm hoping to get the words to the "saddest song in the world".

To be strictly honest, I'm not really with the band. But I did get my picture taken with Benni, and he was most gracious in talking to John and me. Under my arm you'll note my new copy of their Most Wonderful CD, Kajak.

Here's what Benni had to say about the concert in his blog:

We had great fun in San Francisco. We checked out the downtown in the cold, cold wind - and it felt just like being in Iceland - and we went to Amoeba, the best record shop in the world.

The show at The Bottom of the Hill was fun. Óli did a standing drum solo, Palli jumped and we had a great time. It was a good night.

We booked our tickets while in Virginia, and drove down to San Francisco from Santa Rosa just a day after arriving in California, for the express purpose of experiencing Iceland in San Francisco. Benni being a fellow librarian and all that, we have to stick together. So we got in to S.F. in time to enjoy City Lights bookstore, Trieste coffee shop, and a fabulous dinner at Chef Jias. At 11 pm we drove over to Potrero for the concert. How do you like my band shirt?
WHAT A HIGH! Thank you Benni Hemm Hemm! Plus, this concert was the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY WE ARRIVED IN ICELAND--how cool is that?