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Jan​ú​ar (Single)

by Svavar Knutur

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about

A song of gratitude for the thankless and love for the loveless, Januar celebrates the month least loved. The month that brings 2 hours of sunlight back to Icelandic people. A song of tension and struggle, juxtapositions of midwinter melancholy and the rising hope, the utter darkness of winter and the growing of the light. Always a dance between the despair and loss and the celebration of a spring in sight. All through the song, these tensions are evident and always in conflict.

It is in the times we dread the most and when we go through the most struggles that we grow the most, and we come out on the other end better people.

The lyrics are in Icelandic by a conscious decision, in no small way fuelled by the winter vocabulary of the Icelandic language. But an english translation will roughly get the point across.

lyrics

Janúar

Myrkrið gleypir allt.
En undir snjó með rammri kaldri ró
rumskar janúar,
Rymur hljótt og gyrðir sig í brók

Ýfða yglir brá,
Augu pírð í átt að kaldri sól.
„Þessi fjandi dugar skammt!
Hún liggur flöt en skal á loft!“

Ó janúar, sem enginn ann.
Hve dýrðlegt er þitt vanþakkláta starf?

Sólin rís með hægð,
en bak við tjöldin böðlast Janúar.
Eins og rótari
eða ruslakall á mánudagsmorgni.

Ó janúar, sem enginn ann.
Hve dýrðlegt er þitt vanþakkláta starf?

Og eftir allt, sem hann gaf.
Janúar skríður aftur undir feld.
Þar til skyldan kallar enn á ný,
Eins og snæviþakinn Batman.

Ó janúar, sem enginn ann.
Hve dýrðlegt er þitt vanþakkláta starf
Ég man þig janúar. Ég sé þig janúar.


English Translation:

January

Darkness swallows all,
Beneath the snow with stoic, cold resolve.
January stirs.
With a quiet rumble pulling up his pants.

Scowls with furrowed brow,
piercing eyes towards a freezing sun.
„This disaster will not do!
It lies so flat, but must rise.“

Oh January, the month least loved.
How glorious is your thankless work?

The sun rises gently.
Behind the scenes old January strives.
Like a roadie after the show
or a garbageman on his monday morning shift.

Oh January, the month least loved,
How glorious is your thankless work?

And after all that he gave
January crawls back benath his furs.
Until duty calls him forth once more,
like a snow-covered Batman.

Oh January, the month least loved.
How glorious is your thankless work?
I know you January, I see you January.

credits

released September 27, 2019
Svavar Knútur - vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboards
Bassi Ólafsson - Producer, Drums, Programming
Örn Ýmir Arason - Bass, Backing vocals
Daníel Helgason - Electric guitar
Stefán Örn Gunnlaugsson - Keyboards
Salóme Katrín Magnúsdóttir - Backing vocals
Kristjana Stefánsdóttir - Backing vocals
Líney Úlfarsdóttir - Backing vocals
Emma Svavarsdóttir - Backing vocals


Recorded in Tónverk
Mixed in Tónverk.

Mastered by Bassi Olafsson.
Engineer: Bassi Ólafsson
Producer: Bassi Olafsson

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Svavar Knutur

A troubadour of humble beginnings and rural upbringing, Svavar Knútur's music tells stories of love, tragedies, sadness and redemption, looking back at his country's sad and shame-filled history. His voice always seem to strike a chord with his audiences, along with his decadently charming on-stage persona, his concerts at times comprised of stories within stories and songs within songs. ... more

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