On The Long Serpent
feel: nordic chamber-folk sea-anthem; march to reel. 6/8 - 102 bpm (verses) -> 4/4 - 130 bpm (chorus reels) - d dorian. instruments: cello lead (riff, countermelodies, feature solo), tagelharpa drone/ostinato + knock patterns, low frame drum + tapan, upright bass, fiddle-viola pad, bones or hard-shoe steps; horn-like low recorder swells. voices: classical female soprano lead (light highlands lilt - lightly rolled r (ɾ) - open a=ah) with shouted crew replies on hooks. language: english with brief faroese tag. arrangement: oar-swell intro -> v1 -> pre -> reel-chorus -> v2 -> pre -> chorus -> cello solo 16 bars (reel) -> hush bridge with faroese tag -> final double chorus (key lift +2) -> hard-stop tag. production: vocal close then wide; cello forward; drums tight-dry; short stone hall. chorus design: ch1 solo + crew shouts on last words, [band tacet 1 bar][voice pickup]. ch2 2-part (lead+3rd) + claps on 2+4. final ch 3-part + gang shouts on “row” and “set the sail”, big cello gliss
On The Long Serpent
feel: nordic chamber-folk sea-anthem; march to reel. 6/8 - 102 bpm (verses) -> 4/4 - 130 bpm (chorus reels) - d dorian. instruments: cello lead (riff, countermelodies, feature solo), tagelharpa drone/ostinato + knock patterns, low frame drum + tapan, upright bass, fiddle-viola pad, bones or hard-shoe steps; horn-like low recorder swells. voices: classical female soprano lead (light highlands lilt - lightly rolled r (ɾ) - open a=ah) with shouted crew replies on hooks. language: english with brief faroese tag. arrangement: oar-swell intro -> v1 -> pre -> reel-chorus -> v2 -> pre -> chorus -> cello solo 16 bars (reel) -> hush bridge with faroese tag -> final double chorus (key lift +2) -> hard-stop tag. production: vocal close then wide; cello forward; drums tight-dry; short stone hall. chorus design: ch1 solo + crew shouts on last words, [band tacet 1 bar][voice pickup]. ch2 2-part (lead+3rd) + claps on 2+4. final ch 3-part + gang shouts on “row” and “set the sail”, big cello gliss
Lyrics
I wanted “On The Long Serpent” to feel like salt wind on your face. Tagelharpa grinds the oar-swell, my cello rides the keel, and the chorus flips into a reel with crew shouts. We drop the band for a bar and voice-pick it back in - like a breath before the next wave. A tiny Faroese tag, a key lift at the end, and, yeah, it slaps. Row with me, lovelies - oar to oar, we carry it home through the hail. Big love, 💜 Tarja.
Lyrics:
olav stood where the tide runs cold,
oars like teeth on a dragon’s hold.
call for the crew, call for the gale-
set the prow and set the sail.
iron for wind, hearts for the foam,
names for the sea and a king for home.
on the long serpent, set the sail,
row, my brothers, ride the hail.
hold the line and keep her true-
oar to oar and pull her through.
ormurin langi… row it through.
shields like suns on the dragon’s side,
storm in the throat where gulls would glide.
sing for the keel, sing for the mast-
drive her hard and drive her fast.
iron remembers blood and vow,
water will tell us who we are now.
on the long serpent, set the sail,
row, my brothers, ride the hail.
hold the line and keep her true-
oar to oar and pull her through.
ormurin langi… carry us through.
ormurin langi, settið segl-
róið, brøður, heim í kvøld.
on the long serpent, set the sail,
row, my brothers, ride the hail.
hold the line and keep her true-
oar to oar, we’ll pull her through.
ormurin langi, set the sail-
row, my brothers, never fail.