Immigrant Song
Karen O with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross Lyrics


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We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow

The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde and sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming
On we sweep with, with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore

Ah, ah
Ah, ah

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs FLOW
How soft your fields, so green
Can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords

On we sweep with, with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore

So now you better stop
And rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all you're losin'

Oh

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh




Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

Overall Meaning

Karen O, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross's song "Immigrant Song" is a powerful expression of the Viking spirit. The lyrics evoke a sense of adventure and conquest as the Vikings set out to explore new lands and face new challenges. The opening lines, "We come from the land of the ice and snow/From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow," paint a vivid picture of the harsh, yet awe-inspiring, landscape the Vikings hailed from.


The song builds to a crescendo as it extols the strength and bravery of the Viking warriors, declaring that "the hammer of the gods/will drive our ships to new lands/to fight the horde and sing and cry/Valhalla, I am coming." The reference to Valhalla, the Norse afterlife where warriors who died in battle were believed to go, highlights the Vikings' fearless attitude towards death.


The final verses of the song take a more reflective tone, as the Vikings return home and lay claim to their conquests. The lines, "how soft your fields, so green/can whisper tales of gore/of how we calmed the tides of war/we are your overlords," bring to mind the idea of the victor's story being told in the history books. The song ends with a call for peace and rebuilding, despite the inevitable losses of war.


Line by Line Meaning

We come from the land of the ice and snow
We are from a cold and unforgiving place


From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow
We come from a place with extreme variations in temperature


The hammer of the gods
We have a powerful weapon


Will drive our ships to new lands
We have the ability to explore and conquer new territories


To fight the horde and sing and cry
We are warriors who fight hard, live passionately, and express our emotions


Valhalla, I am coming
I am ready to die valiantly in battle and go to the afterlife of the brave


On we sweep with, with threshing oar
We advance with tremendous force and determination


Our only goal will be the western shore
We have a specific destination in mind for our conquests


Ah, ah
An expression of excitement and anticipation


How soft your fields, so green
The beauty of your land is in sharp contrast to the harshness of ours


Can whisper tales of gore,
There is a history of violent conflict that haunts this peaceful land


Of how we calmed the tides of war
We bring violence with us, but also offer stability and order


We are your overlords
We dominate those who are weaker than us


So now you better stop
Your resistance is futile


And rebuild all your ruins
We demand that you submit to our rule and start repairing what we have destroyed


For peace and trust can win the day
We believe that peaceful coexistence is possible, but only under our terms


Despite of all you're losin'
You may have to give up a lot to get there, but it's worth it


Oh
An exclamation of triumph and satisfaction


Oh, oh, oh
Repeating the expression of triumph and satisfaction for emphasis




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@benjameshodges

It's amazing how they turned such a good, fun rock song into something that sounds so sick and twisted. Trent Reznor is a musical genius.

@AnnaLVajda

"Modernized".

@sshakababy

Immigrant Song is NOT a fun rock song. It's dark AF. They marketed it as a fun song by using it in the score for Thor Ragnarok. But until then anybody who knew and listened to the Immigrant song viewed it as a dark twisted masterpiece depicting the bloody history of the viking conquests and their voyage to English shores.

@odiewan67

"whispered tales of gore" , dude, come on.

@darko714

The video is dark and weird as hell for sure.

@Dark31420

@@sshakababy march on England they never concoured main land Scotland only a few of the smaller islands🤘

4 More Replies...

@M00deran

Karen's voice was perfect for this. I haven't heard anything new from her in a long it was great to hear her voice again.

@jasonvoorhees8545

Karen Carpenter? Who is this Karen anyway ? Honestly I don't think I have ever heard of her before. I'm not trying to be ignorant, just don't know the lady.

@brianmcd993

@@jasonvoorhees8545 Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

@TheOrangeRoad

Yeah still ain't heard much from her

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