Rís Valkyrjur, also presented as Rise of the Valkyries, is a 3:39 Mythic Harmonies battle song built around a repeated summons: “Rise, Valkyries.” Its Norse-language lyrics move through thunder, shields, ravens, wolves and the opening of Valhalla, while the arrangement turns that imagery into a compact cinematic ascent.
This page gives the complete Rise of the Valkyries lyrics and English translation, explains the medieval material behind the song, and marks the line between source tradition and modern composition. For the broader mythology rather than this track, read our separate guide to the role of Valkyries in Norse sources.
Rise of the Valkyries at a Glance
- Track: Rís Valkyrjur (Rise of the Valkyries)
- Artist: Mythic Harmonies
- Duration: 3 minutes 39 seconds
- Language: stylized Norse-language lyrics with an artistic English translation
- Core image: Valkyries summoned into a storm-dark battle
- Best fit: battle scenes, training, gaming and dark historical fantasy
What Is Rís Valkyrjur About?
The song is an invocation, not a documentary reconstruction of a Viking Age ceremony. Its speaker calls the Valkyries down from the sky as the landscape breaks into blood, fire and storm. Repeated imperatives give the chorus the force of a communal battle cry; the verses then widen the scene through shields, swords, ravens, wolves and Valhalla.
That distinction matters. The violent imagery has genuine parallels in medieval Norse poetry, but no surviving source records these words as an ancient chant. Rís Valkyrjur is an original modern Mythic Harmonies song inspired by the tradition, not a recovered Viking composition.
What Does “Rís Valkyrjur” Mean?
The intended sense of the title is “Rise, Valkyries.” Valkyrjur is the plural of valkyrja. The name is conventionally understood through valr, the battle-slain, and a form related to kjósa, “to choose”: a Valkyrie is therefore a “chooser of the slain.” The Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, maintained by the University of Copenhagen’s Arnamagnæan Collection, is a useful reference point for checking the medieval vocabulary rather than relying on modern fantasy glossaries.
The released text intentionally favors force, rhythm and compressed imagery. It should not be treated as a normalized critical edition of a medieval poem. The English version below is likewise the song’s artistic translation: it follows the emotional movement and rhyme rather than providing a word-for-word linguistic edition.
The Valkyries Behind the Song
Medieval sources do not reduce Valkyries to one fixed job. In Grímnismál 36, named Valkyries bring ale to the einherjar in Valhalla. In Hákonarmál, Odin sends Göndul and Skögul to choose which king will join him. Völuspá 30 gives another name-list, while heroic poems and later prose narratives place Valkyrie figures in more human stories of loyalty, conflict and love. A scholarly Viking Society discussion calls attention to this “double nature”: terrifying battle beings in some texts, dignified women who favor mortal heroes in others.
For that reason, the familiar sentence “Valkyries carried every brave warrior to Valhalla” is too simple. Grímnismál 14 says Freyja chooses half of those slain and Odin receives the other half. The sources also do not call the Valkyries Odin’s biological daughters. They are associated with him and can act on his instructions, but “daughters of Odin” belongs more comfortably to later popular retellings than to a careful description of the medieval evidence. Our guide to Valhalla and Fólkvangr examines that division in detail.
Medieval Evidence and Modern Storm Imagery
The song’s ravens, wolves, blood and weapons belong naturally to the poetic vocabulary of battle. Its strongest literary parallel is the Darraðarljóð preserved in Njáls saga: a horrifying weaving scene in which women determine the course of battle. The text is valuable evidence for medieval literary imagination, but the saga’s prose framing and the poem are not identical kinds of evidence. The Viking Society notes that the verse itself does not support every detail supplied by the surrounding prose.
Thunder and storm function differently here. They are part of the modern sound world of Rís Valkyrjur, not proof of a documented Valkyrie weather power. Likewise, no medieval Norse source securely says that Valkyrie armor created the aurora borealis. That beautiful idea circulates online, but it should not be presented as an ancient belief. In this track, weather is musical symbolism: pressure gathering before the chorus breaks.
How the Arrangement Creates the Ascent
The opening leaves enough space for the first command to register. Percussion then establishes a forward pulse while the vocal layers turn the refrain into a collective response. Each return of “Rís, valkyrjur” feels larger because the texture grows around the repeated words rather than replacing them with a new melodic idea.
This makes the track useful where motion matters: a charging army, a boss encounter, a hard training interval or the turning point of a fantasy scene. The storm is not merely described in the text; it becomes the arrangement’s shape. The final fragments slow the verbal momentum and leave Valhalla hanging as an unresolved destination rather than a guaranteed reward.
How This Song Differs from Other Mythic Harmonies Tracks
Rís Valkyrjur owns a specific musical idea: the arrival of the Valkyries. Call of Valhalla instead follows a fallen speaker toward Odin’s hall, while the wider Mythic Harmonies Songbook lets you compare languages, translations and themes across the catalogue. Keeping those intents separate prevents one music page from trying to rank for every Norse afterlife query.
Rise of the Valkyries Lyrics & English Translation
Below is the released text as it appears with the song. The Norse-language lines are presented as written; the English section is the official artistic translation rather than a literal scholarly gloss.
Rís, valkyrjur, ór himni hátt, Blóð ok eld, vér berjask brátt. Óðinn kallar, sverðr í hönd, Skjǫldr brýtr, logar land.
Rís, valkyrjur, rísa nú! Þrumr hvín, ok jǫrðr skelfr í snú. Rís, valkyrjur, fylgð til stríðs, Dauðrinn kallar, vér förum tíð.
Sverð í stormi, hjarta brennr, Engi ótti, dauði kennr. Valhǫll opnask, bjǫrninn gnýr, Æsir syngja, stríðit stýrr.
Rís, valkyrjur, rísa nú! Þrumr hvín, ok jǫrðr skelfr í snú. Rís, valkyrjur, fylgð til stríðs, Dauðrinn kallar, vér förum tíð.
Hǫll brennr, blóð flæðir, Hǫrgr hrytr, sálir gleymdir. Hrafnar fljúga, úlfrar gaula, Í dauða, vér sigra, vér skǫlum.
Rís, valkyrjur, rísa nú! Þrumr hvín, ok jǫrðr skelfr í snú. Rís, valkyrjur, fylgð til stríðs, Dauðrinn kallar, vér förum tíð!
Rís… valkyrjur… Valhǫll bídr… Ævinlig stríð… Ok ætt vér síðr.
English Translation
Rise, Valkyries, from heavens high, Blood and fire, we soon shall vie. Odin calls, with sword in hand, Shields are breaking, flames seize land.
Rise, Valkyries, rise anew! Thunder shrieks, the earth shakes too. Rise, Valkyries, march to war, Death is calling, forevermore.
Swords in storm, our hearts aflame, No fear remains, death gives no shame. Valhalla opens, the bear will roar, Æsir sing, the battle soars.
Rise, Valkyries, rise anew! Thunder shrieks, the earth shakes too. Rise, Valkyries, march to war, Death is calling, forevermore.
Halls are burning, blood flows fast, Altars crumble, souls won’t last. Ravens fly, the wolves are howling, In death we triumph, fate is calling.
Rise, Valkyries, rise anew! Thunder shrieks, the earth shakes too. Rise, Valkyries, march to war, Death is calling, forevermore!
Rise… Valkyries… Valhalla waits… Eternal strife… And kin we face.
Listen to Rís Valkyrjur
Watch the official 3:39 video above. At the time this page was checked, no Spotify or Apple Music result matched both this track’s title and duration within one second. The platform buttons therefore lead to the official Mythic Harmonies artist pages rather than to an unrelated recording.
Explore Mythic Harmonies on Spotify · Explore Mythic Harmonies on Apple Music
Sources and Further Reading
- A New Introduction to Old Norse, Part II: Reader, Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Wagner and the Volsungs, Viking Society for Northern Research; discussion of Grímnismál 36 and Hákonarmál.
- Grottasöngr, Viking Society for Northern Research; introduction discussing Darraðarljóð and the limits of its prose framing.
- Michèle Hayeur Smith, “Bloodied Warps and Gilded Wefts”, Oxford Academic, on cloth, power and Darraðarljóð.
- Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, University of Copenhagen.
What does Rís Valkyrjur mean?
The intended title means “Rise, Valkyries.” Valkyrjur is the plural of valkyrja, conventionally translated as “chooser of the slain.” The song uses stylized Norse-language lyrics rather than reproducing a surviving medieval chant.
Is Rise of the Valkyries an authentic Viking Age song?
No. Rís Valkyrjur is an original modern Mythic Harmonies composition inspired by medieval Norse imagery. No source records these lyrics or this arrangement as a Viking Age song.
Were Valkyries the daughters of Odin?
The medieval sources associate Valkyries with Odin and sometimes show them carrying out his choices, but they do not define the group as his biological daughters. That description is mainly a later popular simplification.
Did Valkyrie armor create the northern lights?
No secure medieval Norse source says Valkyrie armor created the aurora borealis. The idea is a modern romantic image. Storm and sky imagery in this song is artistic symbolism, not a claim about an attested Viking belief.
Did every warrior chosen in battle go to Valhalla?
The surviving tradition is more complicated. Grímnismál 14 says Freyja chooses half of the battle-slain while Odin receives the other half. Courage alone is not presented as an automatic ticket to Valhalla.
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