Lore:Songs

Altmer Songs
'''Ancestors' Waltz  

Lay of Firsthold'''  
 
:Listen to a sample (Crispin Freeman)

: This song's for our queen, our beautiful elf 
:Who would not be held up there on a shelf 
:She sang and she danced, and she studied the past 
:But her time as princess, it would not last 

:Ayrenn, Ayrenn, 
:Where have you been? 
:No time for court intrigue 
:And now you rule as queen 

:She ran from the dresses, she ran from the pomp 
:She could not right stomach more High Elven wrong 
:Our future leader sailed from our shores  
:To High Rock, Skyrim, and more 

:Now what did she do while she was away? 
:She met sword-dancers and taught them to sway 
:Fought bears, ran dungeons, drank mead with the Nords 
:Not once was she ever bored 

:When push came to shove and her father lay dead 
:She aimed for the Isles to put a crown on her head 
:And we welcomed her back 
:With a cheer and a dance  
:Now let's all at once, now eagles advance! 

:Ayrenn, Ayrenn, 
:You are a great queen 
:We toast to your health 
:By moon, stars, and green 
 

 
:Listen to a sample (Malukah)

: Our land-bound mates can till their fields 
:Or fight behind their masters' shields 
:But a seaman's free to sing and play 
:Over the seas and far away 

:Over the seas and over the Lane 
:For Ayrenn, Edhelorn or the Mane 
:The lords command and we obey 
:Over the seas and far away 

:A sailor lives a happy life 
:Free of land-bounds' toil and strife 
:The soil he tills will be his grave 
:Over the seas and far away 

:Over the seas and over the Lane 
:For Ayrenn, Edhelorn or the Mane 
:The lords command and we obey 
:Over the seas and far away 

:Buck up, ye hearties, I foretell 
:We turn to port with loot to sell 
:Our coffers fill with gold today! 
:Over the seas and far away 

:Over the seas and over the Lane 
:For Ayrenn, Edhelorn or the Mane 
:The lords command and we obey 
 

 
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The Summer Sun Sets on Summerset  

 

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Argonian Songs
 
 
 
Dancing on Eggs  
 
 
 

 
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Bosmer Songs
 
:''Night falls, day's felled

:The farewell tale is told

:Dark calls, sleep swells

:Dreaming-blossoms unfold

:Sleep now, drift on

:Amble the moonlit way

:Night's here, day's gone

:''Rest now until dawn's rays
 
King Camoran, It's You I'm Adorin'  

Threnody for King Eplear  

Y'ffre in Every Leaf'''

Breton Songs
 
:Listen to a sample (Crispin Freeman)
: Who took up arms that winter dawn and to Glenumbra came? 
:To raise their hand 'gainst tyrants, stand and die in freedom's name? 
:Who stood upon the field that hour to answer Direnni's call? 
:Men, Breton-born, all came that morn, to fend the land for all! 

:Rise, rise!  To freedom, rise!  Arise, ye Breton sons and daughters.   
:Ride, ride!  To freedom, ride!  Truth and glory to the brave! 

:And when the battle, it was joined, Alessians three to one, 
:Skies lit bright with magic's light and with magic, it was won. 
:For all they stood on blessed ground whence all her power came, 
:The rocks would yield, what might they wield, all in Direnni's name! 

:Rise, rise!  To freedom, rise!  Arise, ye Breton sons and daughters.   
:Ride, ride! To freedom, ride!  Truth and glory to the brave! 

:So children of this Breton land, ye best remember well 
:All those who for High Rock stood: Brian, Ancois, Rielle 
:Men of the North fought and stood forth 
 

 
:Listen to a sample (Crispin Freeman)

: We all remember Annine Praul, 
:Went out to sea one day; 
:Ithguleoir bit off her head, 
:Beneath the sea of gray, beneath the sea of gray! 

:And what about Therese's son, 
:A brave and handsome boy; 
:Ithguleoir et him up, 
:His mother's pride and joy, his mother's pride and joy! 

:Oh how we mourn our good man Thom, 
:Who swore he'd catch the dreadful beast; 
:Ithguleoir et him whole, 
 

 
 
 

 
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:''When I will come a-courtin' 
:All to the   maids 
:I'll have a cart all full of silk 
:And ribbons for their braids.

:And wandered he all through the planes 
:Searching for his bride 
:But   has cast him out 
:In sanction for his pride.

:One crown to glory bring 
:But only blood and death to show them 
:One crown to glory bring 
:''For  's folly, died.
 

Dunmer Songs
 
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:Listen to a sample (Jim Cummings)

: Poor Gil-Var-Delle we still recall 
:The God of Schemes consumed it all 
:To Coldharbour went our Clockwork God 
:To bargain on the Princes' sod 

:They came to mock at Tribune small 
:Schemer, Hunger, Hunter, all 
:Pariah, Scryer, Destroyer came 
:Raver and Twilight just the same 

:From dread Daedra save us 
:From Daedra keep us safe 
:Forsake the ones that made us 
:To fight a wrongful fate 

:They sneered when Clockwork made his demand 
:Till Twilight raised a hand 
:"And what do you offer in return 
:"To keep us from chastising Nirn?" 

:Then Clockwork whispered long and low 
:And what he said, no mortal can know 

:From dread Daedra save us 
:From Daedra keep us safe 
:Forsake the ones that made us 
 

 
:Broken battlements and wrecked walls 
:Where worship of the Horror once embraced. 
:The bites of fifty winters frost and wind 
:Have cracked and pitted the unholy gates, 
:And brought down the cruel, obscene spire. 
:All is dust, all is nothing more than dust. 
:The blood has dried and screams have echoed out. 
:Framed by hills in the wildest,   place 
:Of Morrowind 
:Sits the barren bones of  .  

:When thrice-blessed   first saw Abernanit, 
:It burnished silver bright with power and permanence. 
:A dreadful place with dreadful men to guard it 
:With fever glassed eyes and strength through the Horror. 
:''Rangidil saw the foes' number was far greater 
:Than the few  s and  s he led, 
:Watching from the hills above, the field and castle of death 
:While it stood, it damned the souls of the people 
:Of Morrowind. 
:Accursed, iniquitous castle Abernanit.  

:The alarum was sounded calling the holy warriors to battle 
:''To answer   shield with justice's spear, 
:To steel themselves to fight at the front and be brave. 
:Rangidil too grasped his shield and his thin ebon spear 
:And the clamor of battle began with a resounding crash 
:To shake the clouds down from the sky. 
:The shield wall was smashed and blood staunched 
:The ground of the field, a battle like no other 
:Of Morrowind 
:To destroy the evil of Abernanit.  

:The maniacal horde were skilled at arms, for certes, 
:But the three holy fists of Mother, Lord, and Wizard pushed 
:''The monster's army back in charge after charge. 
:Rangidil saw from above, urging the army to defend, 
:  himself in his pernicious tower spire, 
:And knew that only when the heart of evil was caught 
:Would the land e'er be truly saved. 
:He pledge then by the Temple and the Holy   
:Of Morrowind 
:To take the tower of Abernanit.  

:In a violent push, the tower base was pierced, 
:But all efforts to fell the spire came to naught 
:As if all the strength of the Horror held that one tower. 
:The stairwell up was steep and so tight 
:That two warriors could not ascend it side by side. 
:So single-file the army clambered up and up 
:To take the tower room and end the reign 
:Of one of the cruelest petty tyrants in the annals 
:Of Morrowind, 
:Dagoth Thras of Abernanit.  

:They awaited a victory cry from the first to scale the tower 
:But silence only returned, and then the blood, 
:First only a rivulet and then a scarlet course 
:Poured down the steep stairwell, with the cry from above, 
:"Dagoth Thras is besting our army one by one!" 
:Rangidil called his army back, every Ordinator and 
:Buoyant Armiger, and he himself ascended the stairs, 
:Passing the bloody remains of the best warriors 
:Of Morrowind 
:To the tower room of Abernanit.  

:Like a raven of death on its aerie was Dagoth Thras 
:Holding bloody shield and bloody blade at the tower room door. 
:Every thrust of Rangidil's spear was blocked with ease; 
:''Every slash of Rangidil's blade was deflected away; 
:''Every blow of Rangidil's mace was met by the shield; 
:Every quick arrow shot could find no purchase 
:For the Monster's greatest power was in his dread blessing 
:That no weapon from no warrior found in all 
:Of Morrowind 
:Could pass the shield of Abernanit.  

:As hour passed hour, Rangidil came to understand 
:How his greatest warriors met their end with Dagoth Thras. 
:For he could exhaust them by blocking their attacks 
:And then, thus weakened, they were simply cut down. 
:The villain was patient and skilled with the shield 
:And Rangidil felt even his own mighty arms growing numb 
:While Dagoth Thras anticipated and blocked each cut 
:And Rangidil feared that without the blessing of the Divine Three 
:Of Morrowind 
:''He'd die in the tower of Abernanit.  

:But he still poured down blows as he yelled, 
:"Foe!  I am Rangidil, a prince of the True Temple, 
:''And I've fought in many a battle, and many a warrior 
:Has tried to stop my blade and has failed. 
:Very few can anticipate which blow I'm planning, 
:And fewer, knowing that, know how to arrest the design, 
:Or have the strength to absorb all of my strikes. 
:There is no greater master of shield blocking in all 
:Of Morrowind 
:Than here in the castle Abernanit.  

:My foe, dark lord Dagoth Thras, before you slay me, 
:I beg you, tell me how you know how to block." 
:Wickedly proud, Dagoth Thras heard Rangidil's plea, 
:And decided that before he gutted the Temple champion, 
:He would deign to give him some knowledge for the afterlife, 
:How his instinct and reflexes worked, and as he started 
:To explain, he realized that he did not how he did it, 
:And watched, puzzled, as Rangidil delivered what the tales 
:Of Morrowind 
:Called "The death blow of Abernanit."
 
Mother Morrowind's Sacred Lullaby'''  
 
: It sleeps like a giant, our tower of stones, 
:Red Mountain, Red Mountain, all rumbles and moans. 
:It tosses and turns, pray it won't wake, 
:And then without warning the ground starts to shake! 
:As the world ends, the ground starts to shake! So—

:Heft a flask and say a prayer, 
:Red Mountain's about to explode. 
:Have a drink but be aware, 
:It's doom the mountain forebodes.

:Lift a glass and curse the day, 
:Red Mountain's about to burst. 
:Drink all your cares away, 
:Who wants to die with a thirst? 
:Die with a thirst!

:Knock back a fiery flin, amid the smoke and ash. 
:Drain the flask of whiskey we'll be drunk in a flash! 
:Let's guzzle sujamma amid the fire and fumes 
:Tip back the jar of liquor let inebriation bloom! 
:As the world ends, let inebriation bloom! So—

:Heft a flask and say a prayer, 
:Red Mountain's about to explode. 
:Have a drink but be aware, 
:It's doom the mountain forebodes.

:Lift a glass and curse the day, 
:Red Mountain's about to burst. 
:Drink all your cares away, 
:Who wants to die with a thirst? 
 

 
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Imperial Songs
 
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Beans, Bloody Beans

Black Fredas

Bold Admiral Richton

 
: When Akatosh slew Lorkhan, 
:He ripped his heart right out, 
:He hurled it across Tamriel, 
:And the heart was heard to shout: 

:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
:The heart and soul of Men. 
:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
:Protect us till the end. 

:The laughing heart sprayed blood afar, 
:A gout on Cyrod fell, 
:And like a dart shot to its mark 
:Down in an Ayleid Well. 
:Magicka fused the Lorkhan blood 
:To crystal red and strong 
:Then Wild Elves cut and polished it down 
:To Chim-el Adabal. 

:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
:The heart and soul of Men. 
:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
:Protect us till the end. 

:When Elves lost Nirn to Man, 
:Akatosh gave the stone 
:To Saint Alesh in token of 
:Her right to sit the throne. 

:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
:The heart and soul of Men. 
:Red Diamond! Red Diamond! 
 

Dark Blooded Foes

Dawn and Dusk

Down by the Ginger Garden

Farewell to Colovia

Green and Gracious Land

'''I'm Glad I'm Not No Orc

Inkkit Hinkit

Island Lads Down from the Mountain

Olga's Smickett

Pilgrim on the Road'''

 
 
 

 
 
A   limps 
Down un-tread path 
 's light has fled   
I've lost my heart 
I've lost my way 
But  's   stirs still

 's boots tread 
 's halls 
 's gleam grows dim 
I'd pay in gold 
I'd pay in blood 
For it to rise again

Our destiny waits 
To be restored 
It lies within our sight 
I'll raise my head 
I'll raise my sword 
 

Sorrow Waters

That Breezy Night in Bruma  

The Golden Grove

The Imperial Volunteer

The Isle of Summerset

The Jolly Archer

The Twelve-Night Drunk

Wind and Rain

Khajiit Songs
 
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'''It's A Matter of Luck'''  

 
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(Note: The pronouns in this song will change to match the pronouns of the singer.)
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Nord Songs
Alas, The Fleeting Years Glide By  

 
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Hymn of Five-Hundred Axes  

 
:Listen to a sample (Kari Wahlgren)

: In darkness, your light shines through, 
:Warrior Goddess, for you we strike true. 
:When hope is lost and war rages on, 
:Warrior Goddess, hear our blessed song! 
:With a Nord's death, fallen in battle, 
:Warrior Goddess, guide us through shadow. 
:Grant us courage to fight and sharpen our swords, 
 

 
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We hate  s! We hate Orcs! 
They smell, they stink, they really reek, 
They couldn't find their arses in the snow!

We hate Orcs! We really, really do! 
They have no beards, they have no brains, 
They couldn't kill a horker with a sword!
 

 
Known lines of song: 
:''"Oh, your eyes shine like glowing mushrooms in Gloomreach! And you're sturdy as a mountain goat's hoofed feet! We should meet to drink mead and eat wolf meat!"'' 
 
 
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The Slaying of the Falmer Princes

 
 
 

 
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:When the snow fades 
:and the rivers run fat, 
:The sun sits like a flower 
:on a young boy's hat. 
:The wise   knows 
:it can never last. 
:He enjoys the day, 
:though it travels fast.

:When the snow is gone, 
:and rivers run dry, 
:The sun beats down 
:like an angry eye. 
:The wise Nord knows, 
:though the day is long, 
:These are the days, 
:he is hale and strong, 
:growing like a seed 
:from the fresh spring soil.

:When frost returns 
:and the rivers choke, 
:The sun dips in the sky 
:beneath evening smoke. 
:The wise Nord knows 
:though his strength may fade, 
:It is time to plan, 
:and time to save.

 

 
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Orc Songs
 
 
 
 
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Reachmen Songs
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
Reach out, Red Eagle, your destiny awaits ….

Clear your mind, Red Eagle, don't surrender to the fates ….

Fill your heart with the thing that makes it roar ….

And let your spirit, your love, and your life, let it soar ….

Then it will come to you, your love, your life, your sword …. 
 

 
 
 

Redguard Songs
 
 
 

 
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Dreams of Yokuda

 
: ''"Strong Warrior charges... Steed prancing... Lady dancing... Lord advancing... through the night. Wise Mage orders... Apprentice learning... Ritual turning... Golem burning... through the night. 
 

Sands of the Alik'r'''

 
 
 

Other Songs
 
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Arctic Zephyrs  

 
There is no living beauty compares 
With corpses and their glassy stares  
I feel a thrill when I gaze upon 
The bodies of the dead and gone  
Cadavers cannot refuse your request 
Cold and silent, they suit me best  
My heart begins to jump and dance 
At the very thought of  
 

 
A drinking song sung by Crendal in Redguard.

:''"'A' is for the apes that date their mothers"
:"'B' is for the boils they pop for fun"
:"'C' is for the waters sailors sail on"
:"'D' is for the lumps upon their tongues"
:"'E' is for the eels they eat for breakfast"
:"'F' is for the fleas that swarm within their shorts"
:"'G' is for the grog they swill by gallons"
:"'H' is for the hairs upon their warts"
:"'I' is what they poke out with their fingers"
:"'J' is for the jerks they give on ropes"
:"'K' is for the kats they drown in bags"
:"'L' is for the love they give to goats"
:"'M' is for the marks of fifty lashes"
:"'N' is for their smarts, for they have none"
:"'O' is for the oceans they get lost in"
:"'P' is for their pox and scurvy gums"
:"'Q' is for the quakebutts fit for pounding"
:"'R' is wrong, and wrong they'll always be"
:"'S' is stinky, just like sailor's armpits"
:"'T' is for the ticks that eat their fleas"
:"'U' is for the urgent needs of manhood"
:"'V' is for the vegetables they won't eat"
:"'W' for weevils in their hardtack"
:"Three letters and the alphabet's complete"
:"'X's mark the spots on all their mapses"
:"'Y', oh, why! We cry, must our song end?"
:"'Z', the zoanthropic girls of our hometowns"
:"Now let's sing the whole damn alphabet again! (Ta-da-dah)"
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

For Further Consideration'''  

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

No Way Am I Going to Eat this Stew  

 
 
 

 
The Planemeld is a song from the  , composed some time after the   began. It tells of the impending doom all mortals faced at the hands of  , and was often performed in  .
:Listen to a sample (Malukah)

: Of all the Daedric princes 
:There's one with shocking gall 
:His goal: The domination and enslavement of us all 
:The God of Schemes 
:The Prince of Pain 
:The Captain of Corruption 
:He tills the land of Tamriel 
:And sows the seeds of destruction 

:The plane meld is nigh 
:The plane meld is nigh 
:Our world will disappear 

:The plane meld is nigh 
:The plane meld is nigh 
:Our doom is drawing near 

:Chains of darkness grip the land 
:And draw it ever near 
:To his nightmare, Coldharbour 
:Where hope bows down to fear 
:Tearing souls of innocents 
:Into eternal pain 
:While his daedric minions 
:Sing praises of his name 

:The plane meld is nigh 
:The plane meld is nigh 
:As Molag Bal commands 

:The plane meld is nigh 
:The plane meld is nigh 
 

 
Stagger and Sway was a popular love song (and a disguised drinking song) in  .
:Listen to a sample (Crispin Freeman)

: O my sweet love, she waits for me, 
:Through storm and shine, cross land or sea. 
:I run to her and together we, 
:Sway as we kiss 
:Sway as we kiss 

:Her graceful shape I heave up high 
:And in one hand I hold her nigh 
:Her waiting lips are never dry 
:Sway as we kiss 
:Sway as we kiss 

:Come the morn she goes 
:The taste of her remains 
:And in my mind, I see us sway 
:Sway as we kiss 
 

 
Three Hearts As One was popular with the  's bards in  . It tells the tale of the  ,   and  ' triumph against the   and the strength of the Alliances' bond.
:Listen to a sample (Malukah)

: We tilled Skyrim's ground despite frozen toil 
:We tended the kwama beneath Morrowind soil 
:We hunted the wamasu in Black Marsh's glades 
:We Three hearts had no need for blades

:Then they came from the seas, folded steel in their hands 
:They burned down our homes and ravaged our lands 
:Akaviri brought nothing but bloodshed and lies 
:Our families were slain before our eyes

:With Three separate people they shared a cruel joke 
:A choice between death or the yoke 
:But then our Three people knew what must be done 
:To end the oppression, all Three became One

:Forged by war the Ebonheart rose 
:And drove the Akaviri back to the sea 
:When the enemies begged for the mercy they lacked 
:Three voices as one shouted "Blood for the Pact"

:Forged by war our story be told 
:No shackles can hold us 
 
 
Part of a song sung in Skyrim
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Whither Goest Thou?  

References