Clive from “Take It Easy” recently reminded me of Faun and the song Walpurgisnacht. That’s when I got the idea to share the song on the 30th of April which is Walpurgisnight. And, of course, it’s the last of the month, so the reminder to check your breasts for any lumps or other irregularities. The self-examination can save lives, so please do not skip it! I know, I know, I might have forgotten to write about it for a couple of months. But I am back now!

But now back to tonight because it’s “The Night!”

Walpurgis Night (/vælˈpʊərɡɪs, vɑːl-, -ˈpɜːr-/),[3][4] an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German Sankt-Walpurgisnacht [zaŋkt valˈpʊʁɡɪsˌnaxt]), also known as Saint Walpurga’s Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga’s Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia, and is celebrated on the night of 30 April and the day of 1 May.[5][6] This feast commemorates the canonization of Saint Walpurga and the movement of her relics to Eichstätt, both of which occurred on 1 May 870.[7]

Saint Walpurga was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling “pest, rabies, and whooping cough, as well as against witchcraft”.[8] Christians prayed to God through the intercession of Saint Walpurga in order to protect themselves from witchcraft,[9][8][10] as Saint Walpurga was successful in converting the local populace to Christianity.[11] In parts of Europe, people continue to light bonfires on Saint Walpurga’s Eve in order to ward off evil spirits and witches.[1][12] Others have historically made Christian pilgrimages to Saint Walburga’s tomb in Eichstätt on the Feast of Saint Walburga, often obtaining vials of Saint Walburga’s oil.[2][13]

It is suggested that Walpurgis Night is linked with older May Day festivals in northern Europe, which also involved lighting bonfires at night, for example the Gaelic festival Beltane.[7]

Local variants of Walpurgis Night are observed throughout Northern and Central Europe in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, and Estonia. In Finland, Denmark and Norway, the tradition with bonfires to ward off the witches is observed as Saint John’s Eve, which commemorates the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.[12]

Wikipedia

In Germany, the myth goes that on Walpurgisnight, the witches meet at the Blocksberg or Brocken in the Harz region for the Beltaine celebrations. Of course, they have their wicked ways, according to good Christians. I think there is a mention of this in Goethes Faust. Because of my red hair and a German children’s story called “The Little Witch” who had red hair, I gained the nickname “Witch” at school. I hated that then but now I wonder if the kids had an inkling about my future path ;-).

Faun made a beautiful song about it, and I was surprised that anyone outside of a German-speaking country knew about them. But Clive made me aware that they have a worldwide audience. Here is more about them from their page:

FAUN are one of the world’s leading bands for the fusion of ancient sounds with modern music and have released 11 studio albums, plus 2 DVDs to this date. Their CD releases reach top positions in the German album charts (e.g.: “Pagan” #3, “Midgard” #3, “Luna” #4).
They have also been nominated three times for the Echo, the biggest German music award, and reached platinum status with their CD “Von den Elben” and gold status with their CD “Luna”.

FAUN have played more than 950 concerts worldwide and are currently on tour with various concert programmes, including a seated, quieter programme for theatres, churches and concert halls (FAUN ACOUSTIC), a cultural programme for seated, classical concert halls and romantic summer concerts, plus a rousing and unseated festival show.

Faun Homepage

If you are fan of modesty you might want to skip the video 😉 otherwise please enjoy! I share the translation of the lyrics after the song.

Walpurgisnacht Lyrics via Lyricstranslate

In the night-sky tonight
The witches1 rise
Wild folk and Lilith’s kind
Lurking, secretly ride the winds.

Let us wander to the fires
Whispering, reach for the stars
Both the good and the bad word
Take us (further) on and on tonight.

In the meadows our dreams will ring
And the winds will sing our songs.
Let us leap over the fires with the sparks
On Walpurgis Night!

Hear the fiddles, hear the fiddles,
The fires are kindled!
Follow the round dance, follow the round dance
On Walpurgis Nicht.

Unruly in the fiddles’ play2
Our nightly round dance spins
And we join, wild and free,
This old magic.3

Only once in great circles
We dance in that way
Until the first light of morning
Breaks our dream-web.

In the meadows our dreams will ring
And the winds will sing our songs.
Let us leap over the fires with the sparks
On Walpurgis Night!

Hear the fiddles, hear the fiddles,
The fires are kindled!
Follow the round dance, follow the round dance
On Walpurgis Nicht.

1.”Zauberweisen” would literally be “knowers of magic”, so maybe “magi” or “sorcerers” would be better, but I’ve currently put “witches” due to them being most commonly associated with Walpurgis Nicht – but I’m open to counter suggestions.
2.Just like the English verb “play”, so does the German “spielen” mean both “to play (a game)” and “to play a musical instrument”.
3.I’m aware that the order of words in my translation might sound unusual in English and appear to be too literally taken from German, but I was afraid that if I put “And we join this old magic wild and free”, which would sound better, it might sound like “wild and free” referred to “magic”, and not to “us”.
https://lyricstranslate.com

Please stay safe, stay kind and remember to insprect your breasts.

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Sorry, keine deutsche Uebersetzung heute, wegen Zeitmangel