What are the full lyrics to the song from the Skyrim trailer?
The song from 1:07 onward (when the character shouts) is sung in Skyrim's draconic language, and a section of the song from 1:30 onward (from "Dovahkiin! Dovahkiin! onward) was translated from a set of draconic runes released by Bethesda.
What are the complete lyrics?
This bugged me for a few hours the other day: it seems nobody on the internet has been able to figure out what the lyrics were. Most people seemed to be perfectly happy with Bethesda's complete silence about the first verse.
However, I just got the collector's edition of the strategy guide, and sure enough, it contains the complete Song of the Dragonborn:
(Chorus)
Dovakhiin, Dovakhiin, naal ok zin los vahriin
Wah dein vokul mahfoerook asht vaal!
Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,
Dovakhiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod,
Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!
Wo lost fran wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul,
Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod,
Rul lot Taazokaan motoad voth kein!
Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah,
Ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!(Chorus)
Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah,
Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!
Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau,
Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!Nuz aah sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok,
Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!
Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin no bein Alduin jot,
Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!(Chorus)
Based on this, the lyrics to the trailer take most of the fourth verse, then the chorus, followed by half of the first line in the third verse:
FUS RO DAH! [the dragon shout in-game]
...fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok,
Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!
Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin no bein Alduin jot,Dovakhiin, Dovakhiin, naal ok zin los vahriin
Wah dein vokul mahfoerook asht vaal!
Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,
Dovakhiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!Ahrk fin Kel
lost prodah!
The strategy guide provides the full English translation as well:
(Chorus)
Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn,
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout,
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago,
And the tale, boldly told, of the one!
Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man,
With a power to rival the sun!And the voice, he did wield, on that glorious field,
When great Tamriel shuddered with war!
Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all,
As the Dragonborn issued his roar!(Chorus)
And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold,
That when brothers wage war come unfurled!
Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound,
With a hunger to swallow the world!But a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies,
Will be silenced forever and then!
Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's maw,
Dragonborn be the savior of men!(Chorus)
There's also the fan translation of the chorus, created before the real lyrics were known, attributed to one krashlog77:
For the king!
For the king!
For the sake of Skyrim!
For our life, for our home
For Hrothgar's blood
For the Nords and for the Gods,
For the sole single son
Dovahkiin, our king, who'll dawn with fire!
There's a video, The Sound of Skyrim, that describes the process behind the creation of the theme:
(Todd Howard:) So I called Jeremy Soule, who does our music—I mean this is in 2006—and I say "Jeremy, I hear the Elder Scrolls theme as sung by a barbarian choir."
"Okaaay, how are we going to do that?"
"I don't know."
"What are they singing?"
"They're singing this song in the Dragon language to the theme of the Elder Scrolls."
Emil Pagliarulo, the senior designer in the game, does a lot of the writing. He's able to come up with things—I don't know how he does it—"Emil, can you write a song that works in Dragon language, that rhymes with the Elder Scrolls theme, when translated into English also makes sense and rhymes?"
As the story goes, he kind of sat on it for a while, and went home one weekend, and heated up some mead and wrote the thing. And he came in on Monday and there it is. "Oh my god, this actually works!"
Game Informer also did an interview with Mark Lampert, Skyrim's sound designer and audio director:
Here's the english:
Dragonborn, Dragonborn,
by his honor is sworn,
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the fiercest foes rout
when they hear triumph's shout,
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!Hearken now, sons of snow,
to an age, long ago, and the tale,
boldly told, of the one!
Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man,
with a power to rival the sun!And the voice, he did wield, on that glorious field,
When great Tamriel shuddered with war!
Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all,
As the Dragonborn issued his roar!And the Scrolls have foretold,
of black wings in the cold,
that when brothers wage war come unfurled!
Alduin, Bane of Kings,
ancient shadow unbound,
with a hunger to swallow the world!But a day, shall arise,
when the dark dragon's lies,
will be silenced forever and then!
Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's mawDragonborn, Dragonborn,
by his honor is sworn,
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the fiercest foes rout
when they hear triumph's shout,
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!
