
Dansið eða deyið (Dance or Die) - official lyrics/translation

Since Hatari just released official clean audio for the new “Dansið eða deyið”, and the video has Icelandic captions, I can actually just write up the official lyrics and translate them for once!
Official Icelandic lyrics

MATTHÍAS:
Þrælar!
Gengilbeinur ræningja!
Tannlausu kjölturakkar!
Sníkjudýr!
Brauðmylsna!
Blindingjar og aumingjar!
Neytendur og klámhundar!
Grindhoruðu betlarar!
Marklausu peð!
Leiksoppar hrægamma!
Úrhrök!
Sameinist, ómagar, bak í bak og dansið!

KLEMENS:
Við deyjum öll, má ég deyja með þér?
Áður en ég dey, skal ég dansa með þér
skal ég dansa með þér

MATTHÍAS:
Varpið hulunni af hendi myrkrahöfðingjans!
Steypið af stóli þrælapískaranum og látið hann súpa eigið meðal!
Setjið hann undir okið!
Sameinist, ómagar, og þrælið aldrei framar!
Bak í bak og dansið!

KLEMENS:
Við deyjum öll, má ég deyja með þér?
Áður en ég dey, skal ég dansa með þér
Já, skal ég dansa með þér

Við deyjum öll, ég vil deyja með þér
Sama hvað, sama hvert ég fer
Við deyjum öll, þú munt deyja með mér
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer
skal ég dansa með þér

MATTHÍAS:
Dansið
eða lútið oki kúgarans!

KLEMENS:
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer

MATTHÍAS:
Það er núna eða aldrei!
Dansið eða deyið!

KLEMENS:
Við deyjum öll, má ég deyja með þér?

MATTHÍAS:
Dansið
eða lútið oki kúgarans!

KLEMENS:
Áður en ég dey, skal ég dansa með þér

MATTHÍAS:
Það er núna eða aldrei!
Dansið eða deyið!

KLEMENS:
Við deyjum öll, má ég deyja með þér?

MATTHÍAS:
Dansið
eða lútið oki kúgarans!

KLEMENS:
Áður en ég fer, áður en ég fer
skal ég dansa með þér
English translation

MATTHÍAS:
Slaves!
Servants of robbers!
Toothless lapdogs!
Parasites!
Breadcrumbs!
The blind and the pathetic!
Consumers and degenerates!
Emaciated beggars!
Meaningless pawns!
Puppets of vultures!
Wretches!
Unite, rejects, back to back and dance!

KLEMENS:
We will all die, can I die with you?
Before I die, I will dance with you
I will dance with you

MATTHÍAS:
Unveil the hand of the dark lord!
Dethrone the slave-driver and give him a taste of his own medicine!
Put him under the yoke!
Unite, rejects, and slave away no more!
Back to back and dance!

KLEMENS:
We will all die, can I die with you?
Before I die, I will dance with you
Yeah, I will dance with you

We will all die, I want to die with you
No matter what, no matter where I go
We will all die, you will die with me
Before I go, before I go
I will dance with you

MATTHÍAS:
Dance
or submit to the abuse of the oppressor!

KLEMENS:
Before I go, before I go

MATTHÍAS:
It’s now or never!
Dance or die!

KLEMENS:
We will all die, can I die with you?

MATTHÍAS:
Dance
or submit to the abuse of the oppressor!

KLEMENS:
Before I die, I will dance with you

MATTHÍAS:
It’s now or never!
Dance or die!

KLEMENS:
We will all die, can I die with you?

MATTHÍAS:
Dance
or submit to the abuse of the oppressor!

KLEMENS:
Before I go, before I go
I will dance with you
Translation notes

The word I’ve translated as “degenerates”, “klámhundar”, is literally “porn-dogs”, which sounds pretty silly but it’s an established Icelandic word. Maybe “perverts” would’ve been more accurate, but I was trying very hard to maintain the merciless, angry but extremely articulate tone of the original, and degenerates just works better.

Klemens’s “I will…"s are all skal ég, as opposed to mun ég, which would also translate to “I will”. The difference is that mun ég just makes a plain statement that you will do something in the future, while the connotation of “skal ég” is, oddly, either “I resolve to…” (a declaration that you will do this) or “Sure, I will…” (implying that you’re agreeing or offering to do this for someone else). In this context, the connotation of his lines feels more like the latter - I’ll stay and dance with you before I go, rather than Before I go I WILL have a dance with you, but it’s ambiguous.
