Born and raised in Reykjavík, Björk began her music career at the age of 11 and gained international recognition as the lead singer of the alternative rock band the Sugarcubes, by the age of 21. After the Sugarcubes disbanded in 1992, Björk began a solo career. She came to prominence with albums such as Debut (1993), Post (1995), and Homogenic (1997), collaborating with a range of artists and exploring a variety of multimedia projects. Her other albums include Vespertine (2001), Medúlla (2004), Volta (2007), Biophilia (2011), Vulnicura (2015), Utopia (2017) and Fossora (2022).
Several of Björk's albums have reached the top 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart. As of 2015, she had sold more than 20 million records worldwide. Thirty-one of her singles have reached the top 40 on pop charts around the world, with 22 top-40 hits in the UK, including the top-10 singles "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me", and "Hyperballad" and the top-20 singles "Play Dead", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Violently Happy". Her accolades and awards include the Order of the Falcon, five BRIT Awards, and 16 Grammy nominations. In 2015, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Rolling Stone named her the 60th greatest singer and the 81st greatest songwriter.
Björk starred in the 2000 Lars von Trier film Dancer in the Dark, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I've Seen It All". Biophilia was marketed as an interactive app album with its own education program. Björk has also been an advocate for environmental causes in Iceland. A retrospective exhibition dedicated to Björk was held at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 2015.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Björk
Studio albums
Debut (1993)
Post (1995)
Homogenic (1997)
Vespertine (2001)
Medúlla (2004)
Volta (2007)
Biophilia (2011)
Vulnicura (2015)
Utopia (2017)
Fossora (2022)
Afi
Björk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hve hrikalega virtur
Okkar ættstofn er
Útfríkaðir fræðimenn
Fyndnir og allt,
Sjáðu nú með sjálfum þér
Hvernig þetta færi mér - ég meina það
Með spekingssvip í feisinu - þambandi Malt
Á Borginni dansaði hann vikivaka
Á Borginni dansaði hann vikivaka
Amma stundum segir mér
Hve yndislegt það hafi verið hernámið
Hetjubornir herramenn
Hreint út um allt
Hún er ekki að ljúga að mér
Segir alveg eins og er - um ætternið
Í hugljóma frá þeirri tíð - aldrei er kalt
Á vellinum dansaði hún vikivaka,
Á vellinum dansaði hún vikivaka.
En afi bara segir mér
Hve hrikalega virtur
Okkar ættstofn er
Útfríkaðir fræðimenn
Fyndnir og allt
Sjáðu nú með sjálfum þér
Hvernig þetta færi mér - ég meina það
Með spekingssvip í feisinu - þambandi Malt
Í miðbænum dansa þau vikivaka,
í miðbænum dansa þau vikivaka.
The lyrics to Björk's song "Afi" are full of references to the past and to the history of Iceland. The song starts with the singer's grandfather telling her about how much knowledge and influence their family has had on the world, with scholars and scientists spreading outwards. The singer wonders how this lineage and all of this knowledge will affect her own life, singing about the "wave of wisdom" that she feels in her face.
The song then shifts to the singer's grandmother, who tells her about how the occupation of Iceland during World War II was actually a good thing because it brought heroes and brave soldiers to the country. Lastly, the singer's grandad reiterates the sentiment about their family's intelligence and influence.
Overall, the song seems to be a reflection on how the events and actions of the past shape our present and future, and how important it is to remember and honor our history.
Line by Line Meaning
Afi stundum segir mér
My grandfather sometimes tells me
Hve hrikalega virtur
how incredibly strong
Okkar ættstofn er
our ancestry is
Útfríkaðir fræðimenn
distinguished scholars abroad
Fyndnir og allt,
funny and all
Sjáðu nú með sjálfum þér
See now for yourself
Hvernig þetta færi mér - ég meina það
how this affects me - I mean it
Með spekingssvip í feisinu - þambandi Malt
With a wise grin on his face - damn fine malt whiskey
Á Borginni dansaði hann vikivaka
On the town square, he danced the waltz
Á Borginni dansaði hann vikivaka
On the town square, he danced the waltz
Amma stundum segir mér
My grandmother sometimes tells me
Hve yndislegt það hafi verið hernámið
how delightful the occupation was
Hetjubornir herramenn
heroic soldiers
Hreint út um allt
cleaned out everything
Hún er ekki að ljúga að mér
she's not lying to me
Segir alveg eins og er - um ætternið
telling me clearly how it was - about the lineage
Í hugljóma frá þeirri tíð - aldrei er kalt
in the glow of her memories from that time - it never gets cold
Á vellinum dansaði hún vikivaka,
On the meadow, she danced the waltz
Á vellinum dansaði hún vikivaka.
On the meadow, she danced the waltz.
En afi bara segir mér
But grandad just tells me
Hve hrikalega virtur
how incredibly strong
Okkar ættstofn er
our ancestry is
Útfríkaðir fræðimenn
distinguished scholars abroad
Fyndnir og allt
funny and all
Sjáðu nú með sjálfum þér
See now for yourself
Hvernig þetta færi mér - ég meina það
how this affects me - I mean it
Með spekingssvip í feisinu - þambandi Malt
With a wise grin on his face - damn fine malt whiskey
Í miðbænum dansa þau vikivaka,
In the city center, they danced the waltz
í miðbænum dansa þau vikivaka.
In the city center, they danced the waltz.
Contributed by Nora J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.