Der jeg meg så ene i vang monne gå, jeg hørte to ravner at holde råd. Den ene seg til den annen vendte: Hvor skal i dag vi vår føde hente? Hvor skal i dag vi vår føde hente? Bak gresstorv-diket det gamle hist der ligger en nyslagen ridder forvisst, og ingen vet at han ligger der enn hans høk, hans hund og hans hjertens kjær. Hans hund den jager i vilden skov, hans høk den søker bak sky sitt rov. Hans frue har givet en annen sin tro så vi kan ete vår mat i ro. Hans hvite halsben kan du sitte på så hogger jeg ut hans øyne blå. Og med en lokk av hans gule hår vi dekker vårt rede neste vår.
As I was walking all alone, I heard two ravens making a moan; One said to the other, \"Where shall we go and dine today?\" \"Where shall we go and dine today?\" \"In behind that old turf wall, I sense there lies a newly slain knight; And nobody knows that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound and his lady fair.\" \"His hound is to the hunting gone, His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl home, His lady's has taken another mate, So we may make our dinner sweet.\" \"You will sit on his white neck-bone, And I'll peck out his pretty blue eyes; With one lock of his golden hair We'll thatch our nest when it grows bare.\"
The original text is a Scottish ballad called \"The twa corbies\", first translated to Danish by Svend Grundtvig. The tune is taken from a Breton song called \"An alarc'h\". The english translation I put is a general existing translation, who is not 1 to 1 with the norwegian text but very close. I chose it because it is traslated nicely, and keeps the rhymes. The norwegian text really did not stray much from the original song. For all this info and more, check the youtube link of this song and the wikipedia entry here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Ravens