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Beowulf

by Kagemusha Taiko

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about

More than one thousand years old, Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend.

On one level, it tells how Beowulf slays a monster, Grendel, and then the monster’s mother.

On another level, it is about wrestling with personal demons and having the courage and strength to defeat them.

lyrics

Beowulf - the Old English original, lines 237-258:

Hwæt syndon gé searohæbbendra
byrnum werede þe þus brontne céol
ofer lagustraéte laédan cwómon
hider ofer holmas?'
Hé wæs endesaéta· aégwearde héold
þé on land Dena láðra naénig
mid scipherge sceðþan ne meahte·
'Nó hér cúðlícor cuman ongunnon
lindhæbbende né gé léafnesword
gúðfremmendra gearwe ne wisson
mága gemédu· naéfre ic máran geseah
eorla ofer eorþan ðonne is éower sum,
secg on searwum· nis þæt seldguma
waépnum geweorðad· næfne him his wlite léoge,
aénlic ansýn! Nú ic éower sceal
frumcyn witan aér gé fyr heonan
léasscéaweras on land Dena
furþur féran· Nú gé feorbúend
merelíðende mínne gehýrað
ánfealdne geþóht: ofost is sélest
tó gecýðanne hwanan éowre cyme syndon.

Modern English translation:

"What kind of men are you who arrive
rigged out for combat in coats of mail,
sailing here over the sea lanes
in your steep-hulled boat? I have been stationed
as lookout on this coast for a long time.
My job is to watch the waves for raiders,
and danger to the Danish shore.
Never before has a force under arms
disembarked so openly - not bothering to ask
if the sentries allowed them safe passage
or the clan had consented. Nor have I seen
a mightier man-at-arms on this earth
than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken,
he is truly noble. This is no mere
hanger-on in a hero's armour.
So now, before you fare inland
as interlopers, I have to be informed
about who you are and where you hail from.
Outsiders from across the water,
I say it again: the sooner you tell
where you came from and why, the better."

credits

released March 20, 2024
Composed by Jonathan Kirby

Old English excerpt from Beowulf performed by Tristram Neal

license

all rights reserved

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about

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Kagemusha Taiko Exeter, UK

Under the artistic direction of Jonathan Kirby, Kagemusha Taiko create and perform original taiko compositions.

The group has played in significant venues in Europe, USA, and Japan, as well as at multiple events in and around their home base in south-west England. ... more

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