There is a local Led Zeppelin tribute band that I saw perform here in Portland called Valhalla. I enjoyed their show so much that I began following them on Facebook and at www.valhallapdx.com, but have yet to see them again. I’m partial to Led Zeppelin ever since since I saw them live at the Oakland Coliseum on September 2, 1970, one of my first live concerts as a young man. I recently bought a replica of the Bill Graham hand-bill promoting the show that a high school friend and I saw posted on the door of the Fillmore West. It was one of the highlights of what I now call the “Blueberry Hill tour” of 1970. (See Post #295), and the show opened with the “Immigrant Song” that had just been written the month before in Iceland. I was never familiar with the lyrics or what the song was about until just recently?  It also explains why this cover band selected the name Valhalla:
Immigrant Song
.
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
W’ell drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, and sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming!
.
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
.
Ah-ah, ah!
Ah-ah, ah!
.
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords
.
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
.
So now you’d better stop and rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing
.
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
.
Songwriters: Jimmy Page / Robert Plant
Immigrant Song lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
I started watching the Vikings series on the History Channel.  The show has completed its fifth season, and caught my curiosity through promos while watching Curse of Oak Island. I decided to sample the first couple of shows and began to learn about the Nordic culture, including their mythological beliefs. It also occurred to me that the Marvel Comics fictional superhero Thor is based on the Norse deity, the Asgardian god of thunder, of the same name. The enchanted hammer reference in Jimmy Page’s “Immigrant Song” allows Thor to fly and manipulate the weather, among other superhuman attributes. I was not much into the comics as a kid, so please excuse my ignorance. However, my wife is a big fan of The Avengers movies and not surprisingly actor Chris Hernsworth, so I recently went with her to see Thor: Ragnarok. As a result, I also now understand why the hit single, “Immigrant Song,” is a big part of the soundtrack. Another “ah-ha” moment for me!
I might have to rename it the “Ignorant Song,” because I feel silly that my knowledge of Vikings was limited to the Pro football team from Minnesota. Sometimes, in these posts I’m forced to expose my unknowing self. I’ve only watched the first season of the show so far, so I’m sure there are other connections that will come to light. I’m already impressed with how they viewed death, and Vallhalla is similar to our Heaven, but reserved for the brave. It was an honor to die in battle and live forever in Vallhalla, so there is never the sadness that we often experience with loss. Consequently, the Norsemen were fearless under fire, but also blood-thirsty savages. If you have a weak stomach, this may not be a show for you? If you’re a Viking, may the gods be with you?