Here’s another beautiful Icelandic song, Maístjarnan (the May star). By Halldór Laxness, written in 1937.

ó hve létt er þitt skóhljóð
og hve lengi ég beið þín,
þar er vorhret á glugga,
napur vindur sem hvín,
en ég veit eina stjörnu,
eina stjörnu sem skín,
og nú loks ertu komin,
þú ert komin til mín.

Það eru erfiðir tímar,
það er atvinnuþref,
ég hef ekkert að bjóða,
ekki ögn sem ég gef,
nema von mína og líf mitt
hvort ég vaki eða sef,
þetta eitt sem þú gafst mér
það er alt sem ég hef.

En í kvöld lýkur vetri
sérhvers vinnandi manns,
og á morgun skín maísól,
það er maísólin hans,
það er maísólin okkar,
okkar einíngarbands,
fyrir þér ber ég fána
þessa framtíðarlands.

Oh how light are your footsteps,
Oh how long have I waited for you,
There is spring rain on the window,
Cold whistling wind,
but I know one star,
one shining star,
and now finally are you coming,
you are coming to me.

It are hard times,
there’s not a lot work,
I’ve got nothing to offer,
not a bit which I give,
except my hope and my life,
whether I’m awake or asleep.
This one thing you gave me,
that is all I have.

But tonight winter ends
for every working man,
and in the morning shines the May star,
that is his May sun,
that is our May sun,
our uniting bond.
For you I carry the flag
of this land’s future.

The song being written in 1937, when Iceland was still a dependent nation under Danish flag – the Dannebrog – I assume “the flag of this land’s future” being a forward reference to the current flag and thus independence.

I’m not sure what the May star is, but I would say it is the sun, having returned with full force, starting to lighten up (and warm up!) the country after the hard and dark winter. Since a few days, Iceland doesn’t have a civil twilight anymore for three months to come; the sun sets and doesn’t go more than 6° under the horizon before climbing again for a new day.

Update I’m now a bit more educated and it’s clear to me now that the May star is an obvious symbolism for socialism; “this land’s future” referring to a future in socialism. Halldór Laxness was known to be attracted to socialism. He said that he “did not become a socialist in America from studying manuals of socialism but from watching the starving unemployed in the parks”.