Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Skoven Årle Grøn / King Orfeo (Child No. 19) - Recited by Willie Barclay Henderson of Yell, Shetland. Recorded by Prof. Tadaaki Miyake in 1972.
Notes by Kevin W.:
Norn is an extinct Scandinavian language that was once spoken on the Shetland Islands and Orkney. After Orkney and Shetland were pledged to Scotland by Norway in 1468–69 it was gradually replaced by Scots. Norn is thought to have become extinct around 1850, after the death of Walter Sutherland, the language's last known speaker.
Fragments of Norn, words, sayings and place names persisted into modern times. Child Ballad No. 19, King Orfeo, is a ballad with verses in Shetland Scots and a refrain in Norn.
I love John Stickle's tune and how he called it just a little bit of nonsense. Song collector Patrick Shuldham-Shaw must've been excited when he heard him sing it in 1947 and realised he discovered a fragment of a previously undocumented Child ballad. ^_^
Both John Stickle of Baltasound, Unst and Kitty Anderson of Lerwick sang King Orfeo and also the Unst Boat Song which is completely in Norn. They are the only recorded examples of Norn language singing known to me.
The Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website has more recordings of sayings in Norn and words that older people remembered, but I don't think there are any other songs preserved.
Kitty Anderson's pronunciation of Norn in King Orfeo seems better preserved, it resembles the Danish language enough that my friend, a native Danish speaker, was able to understand it.
We'd wager a guess that modern day Faroese is probably quite similar to Norn, if not its direct descendant. The Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland were all part of the Norwegian Kingdom. So the language of the Faroe Islands which is still a Norse language today is probably the most similar to Norn.
Song transcription:
Der lived a king inta da aste,
Scowan ürla grün
Der lived a lady in da wast.
Whar giorten han grün oarlac
Dis king he has a huntin gaen,
He's left his Lady Isabel alane.
'Oh I wis ye'd never gaen away,
For at your hame is d'ol an wae.
'For da king o Ferrie we his daert,
Has pierced your lady to da hert.'
And aifter dem da king has gaen,
But whan he cam it was a grey stane.
Dan he took oot his pipes ta play,
Bit sair his hert wi d'ol an wae.
And first he played da notes o noy,
An dan he played da notes o joy.
An dan he played da g'od gabber reel,
Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale.
'Noo come ye in inta wir ha,
An come ye in among wis a'.'
Now he's gaen in inta der ha,
An he's gaen in among dem a'.
Dan he took out his pipes to play,
Bit sair his hert wi d'ol an wae.
An first he played da notes o noy,
An dan he played da notes o joy.
An dan he played da g'od gabber reel,
Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale.
'Noo tell to us what ye will hae:
What sall we gie you for your play?
'What I will hae I will you tell,
An dat's me Lady Isabel.'
'Yees tak your lady, an yees gaeng hame,
An yees be king ower a' your ain.'
He's taen his lady, an he's gaen hame,
An noo he's king ower a' his ain.
Danish
Skoven årle grøn = Early green's the wood
Hvor hjorten han går årlig = Where the hart goes yearly
Skoven Årle Grøn / King Orfeo (Child No. 19) - Recited by Willie Barclay Henderson of Yell, Shetland. Recorded by Prof. Tadaaki Miyake in 1972.
Notes by Kevin W.:
Norn is an extinct Scandinavian language that was once spoken on the Shetland Islands and Orkney. After Orkney and Shetland were pledged to Scotland by Norway in 1468–69 it was gradually replaced by Scots. Norn is thought to have become extinct around 1850, after the death of Walter Sutherland, the language's last known speaker.
Fragments of Norn, words, sayings and place names persisted into modern times. Child Ballad No. 19, King Orfeo, is a ballad with verses in Shetland Scots and a refrain in Norn.
I love John Stickle's tune and how he called it just a little bit of nonsense. Song collector Patrick Shuldham-Shaw must've been excited when he heard him sing it in 1947 and realised he discovered a fragment of a previously undocumented Child ballad. ^_^
Both John Stickle of Baltasound, Unst and Kitty Anderson of Lerwick sang King Orfeo and also the Unst Boat Song which is completely in Norn. They are the only recorded examples of Norn language singing known to me.
The Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website has more recordings of sayings in Norn and words that older people remembered, but I don't think there are any other songs preserved.
Kitty Anderson's pronunciation of Norn in King Orfeo seems better preserved, it resembles the Danish language enough that my friend, a native Danish speaker, was able to understand it.
We'd wager a guess that modern day Faroese is probably quite similar to Norn, if not its direct descendant. The Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland were all part of the Norwegian Kingdom. So the language of the Faroe Islands which is still a Norse language today is probably the most similar to Norn.
Song transcription:
Der lived a king inta da aste,
Scowan ürla grün
Der lived a lady in da wast.
Whar giorten han grün oarlac
Dis king he has a huntin gaen,
He's left his Lady Isabel alane.
'Oh I wis ye'd never gaen away,
For at your hame is d'ol an wae.
'For da king o Ferrie we his daert,
Has pierced your lady to da hert.'
And aifter dem da king has gaen,
But whan he cam it was a grey stane.
Dan he took oot his pipes ta play,
Bit sair his hert wi d'ol an wae.
And first he played da notes o noy,
An dan he played da notes o joy.
An dan he played da g'od gabber reel,
Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale.
'Noo come ye in inta wir ha,
An come ye in among wis a'.'
Now he's gaen in inta der ha,
An he's gaen in among dem a'.
Dan he took out his pipes to play,
Bit sair his hert wi d'ol an wae.
An first he played da notes o noy,
An dan he played da notes o joy.
An dan he played da g'od gabber reel,
Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale.
'Noo tell to us what ye will hae:
What sall we gie you for your play?
'What I will hae I will you tell,
An dat's me Lady Isabel.'
'Yees tak your lady, an yees gaeng hame,
An yees be king ower a' your ain.'
He's taen his lady, an he's gaen hame,
An noo he's king ower a' his ain.
Danish
Skoven årle grøn = Early green's the wood
Hvor hjorten han går årlig = Where the hart goes yearly
