I know myself hanging there For nice icy nights Facing the endless darkness around me Wounded by my own spear On the wind cold tree I am Odin - Hallowed by my own rite A tree unknown the roots be sprouts Lets my life slowly fade From a bough of Yggdrasil I hung Committed to my fate Delivered to the fright Of endless ice and night I had to gaze into the misty world Of Niflheim - the dire northern frost empire In my self chosen solitude Runes you will reveal In the dust of ancient times Remember my sacrifice When I hung for these nine nights Runes they were concealed In the dust of ancient times I died to be reborn When I suffered these nine nights When I begun to grow Evanescent by pain I sunk from the tree with a sigh The knowledge of the dead I learnt Cause only cruelty can forge And then word just followed word.