A crew from the French National TV broadcaster France3 recording for the travel show Faut Pas Réver ran, or swam, into an Icelandic men’s choir while filming in the geothermal baths at lake Mývatn. The choir, which apparently just happened to be there in its entirety, just chatting while bathing in a geothermal pool was of course more than willing to sing for the French visitors.
We at Iceland Mag can assure you this is just the sort of thing which happens all the time in Iceland: If you do not run into at least one men’s choir (or an orchestra of Elves, or at least some members of the band Sigurrós), while taking a swim at any public pool, you can have your entire trip to Iceland refunded and an official apology from the President. True story.
Read more: Iceland's two blue water pools: The Blue Lagoon vs. Mývatn Nature Baths
The choir in question is the men’s choir Hreimur from the village of Húsavík, just north of Mývatn, and the gentlemen of course agreed to sing one song for the French TV crew.
The choir sings a Flaskan mín fríð”, an Icelandic folk song, but with modern lyrics. Although it sounds like a hymn, it's actually more of a humorous lament about drinking. The song’s name is “My beautiful bottle”, and the lyrics are set as a conversation between a man and his booze, the man almost pleading with the bottle to let him go, but feeling intense pressure to drink up and continue partying until he is the last man standing and all bottles emptied. We at Iceland mag made an attempt to translate the first few verses:
My beautiful bottle, my beautiful bottle / won’t you soon be done? / Partying bores me, I want to go home, / but I’ll probably have to abscond.
To leave while there still is a bottle, / I think that’s a bit lame. / And if I can’t drink up, / what will people think of me then?
Yes, I went to a dance the other week, / from there we went to a house, / where a grand party began, / and everyone had more than enough booze.
Last night the first fell like a stone / fell into a coma of death / and then they died off, one by one / until you couldn’t see any life left.
They drank a lot and now they sleep tight. / But they didn’t drink everything, / because here is one left with its clear contents / and constantly screaming at me: “You shall!”.
(In Icelandic the act of passing out from excessive alcohol consumption is called to “die”)
Read more: Video: Beware of the Icelandic vigilante shower wardens
A crew from the French National TV broadcaster France3 recording for the travel show Faut Pas Réver ran, or swam, into an Icelandic men’s choir while filming in the geothermal baths at lake Mývatn. The choir, which apparently just happened to be there in its entirety, just chatting while bathing in a geothermal pool was of course more than willing to sing for the French visitors.
We at Iceland Mag can assure you this is just the sort of thing which happens all the time in Iceland: If you do not run into at least one men’s choir (or an orchestra of Elves, or at least some members of the band Sigurrós), while taking a swim at any public pool, you can have your entire trip to Iceland refunded and an official apology from the President. True story.
Read more: Iceland's two blue water pools: The Blue Lagoon vs. Mývatn Nature Baths
The choir in question is the men’s choir Hreimur from the village of Húsavík, just north of Mývatn, and the gentlemen of course agreed to sing one song for the French TV crew.
The choir sings a Flaskan mín fríð”, an Icelandic folk song, but with modern lyrics. Although it sounds like a hymn, it's actually more of a humorous lament about drinking. The song’s name is “My beautiful bottle”, and the lyrics are set as a conversation between a man and his booze, the man almost pleading with the bottle to let him go, but feeling intense pressure to drink up and continue partying until he is the last man standing and all bottles emptied. We at Iceland mag made an attempt to translate the first few verses:
My beautiful bottle, my beautiful bottle / won’t you soon be done? / Partying bores me, I want to go home, / but I’ll probably have to abscond.
To leave while there still is a bottle, / I think that’s a bit lame. / And if I can’t drink up, / what will people think of me then?
Yes, I went to a dance the other week, / from there we went to a house, / where a grand party began, / and everyone had more than enough booze.
Last night the first fell like a stone / fell into a coma of death / and then they died off, one by one / until you couldn’t see any life left.
They drank a lot and now they sleep tight. / But they didn’t drink everything, / because here is one left with its clear contents / and constantly screaming at me: “You shall!”.
(In Icelandic the act of passing out from excessive alcohol consumption is called to “die”)
Read more: Video: Beware of the Icelandic vigilante shower wardens
