VARGVEGR — Danapr Dreypr – Væringja Kvæði (Dnipro Bleeds | A Varangian Song of Brotherhood)

“Danapr Dreypr” — The Dnipro Bleeds.
This song is a Væringja kvæði — a Varangian lay — written in Old Norse to honor the deep historical ties between the Norse world and the lands of present-day Ukraine.

For centuries, Scandinavian warriors and traders sailed the great river Danapr (Old Norse for Dnipro) on their route to Miklagarðr (Constantinople). Along that river they forged alliances, wrote sagas, married into local dynasties, and left their names carved into history.

One of those stories is Ellisif, known in Ukrainian as Єлисавета Ярославна (Yelysaveta Yaroslavna), daughter of Yaroslav the Wise — a symbol of the deep bond between Kyiv and the North.

This song weaves those memories together:
• the river as witness to war and brotherhood
• the Varangians guarding distant kings
• the golden halls of Kyivan Rus’
• and the unbroken idea of standing together when storms rise

Each verse is a fragment — a “memory-echo” carried by a warrior traveling the ancient waterway.
Every refrain repeats the same oath:
that no storm breaks the bond between peoples who have stood together before.


📜Original lyrics📜
(Old Norse)

VERSE 1
Ek hefi siglt í morgunroða,
við Danapr djúpan, drífandi streng.
Þar fann ek vin á víðu landi,
ok kalynur rjóðr við vindinn stóð.

VERSE 2
Ek gekk í garða Kyjars hallar,
hvar gullglóð skein í augum manna.
Þeir hlýddu orðum langt frá hafinu,
ok héldu stað gegn stormi grimmum.

VERSE 3
Ek man tíð þá, er Væringjar fóru
frá Danapr breiðum til Miklagarðs.
Þar bárum vér brand í konungsþjón,
ok frægð fylgði leið um austanmarr.

REFRAIN A
Vér stöndum saman í örvaregni,
skjǫldum reistum, feðrra bundnir.
Danapr syngr í vígsólsetri —
ok engi stormr sundrrífr brœðraband.

VERSE 4
Ek heyrða frásǫgn af Ellisif fríðri,
Jaroslavs dóttur, vitr ok sterk.
Hennar ljós skein norðr í sǫgum,
sem sól, er rís á fjallsbrún bjarta.

VERSE 5
Ek sá á seglum þríðhyrning sýndan,
merki ríkis með mætti reist.
Þat brá eigi í brimsvarra nætr —
þótt myrkr meygri mǫrg á leið.

VERSE 6
En þú, blóðbróðir, ber hjarta heitt,
ok heldr styrk af jǫrð þíns fólks.
Ek minnumk orða á vǫllum Danapr —
at ván vaknar, þótt vindr sé kaldr.

REFRAIN B (variasjón)
Saman stöndum vér í örvafláum,
skjǫldum lyfðum í vígsólgló.
Danapr dreypr frá degi til dags —
ok engi stormr brýtir brœðraband.

VERSE 7
Halt út, þín þjóð, hugrík ok stór,
því fimbulmyrkr lýtr fyrir sól.
Sem bjǫrn, er fellr á spjót várra brœðra —
svá rís várarblómi ór fold í frið.

VERSE 8
Vér ræðum saman á rjóðum sléttum,
menn af Norðri ok Austrvegi.
Danapr syngr í hjarta mínu —
ok vinarband lifir víg ok tíð.

FINAL REFRAIN
Vér stöndum saman í örvaregni,
skjǫldum reistum, feðrra bundnir.
Danapr syngr í vígsólsetri —
ok stormr engi brýtir brœðraband.

Theme: Varangians, Dnieper route, friendship between the North and East

Mood: solemn, heroic, rising toward hope

Genre: Norse pagan / epic folk / score