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The Beheading Of A King Lyrics
A mighty fleet came across the strait
But Erik was prepared
Five hundred Germans had come to his aid
On horseback with their spears
The fleet was carrying two thousand men
Eager to draw blood
But as they were about to land
Erik released his herds
One thousand men and five hundred horsemen
Came charging down the beach
When the sea-king saw this force
He gave order to retreat
All obeyed except one ship
It held the king's own son
He despised the thought of flight
And attacked on his own
The Danish fleet had to turn around
They charged King Erik's men
But it was too late to save his son
His life was already spent
The fighting continued bloody and fierce
And the bloodshed was immense
Two thousand warriors died that day
Most of them were Danes
The Danish king was captured
Most of his guards were dead
For a ransom he was released
Then his people took his head
But Erik was prepared
Five hundred Germans had come to his aid
On horseback with their spears
Eager to draw blood
But as they were about to land
Erik released his herds
Came charging down the beach
When the sea-king saw this force
He gave order to retreat
It held the king's own son
He despised the thought of flight
And attacked on his own
They charged King Erik's men
But it was too late to save his son
His life was already spent
And the bloodshed was immense
Two thousand warriors died that day
Most of them were Danes
Most of his guards were dead
For a ransom he was released
Then his people took his head
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I think it's pretty obvious that it's about an opposing army taking a King's head off and the whole battle involved with it. Don't know who Erik is, and the whole Thing with the germans (was this a real event?)
anyway, the riff is so powerful and drives the whole song. Awesome..and really short for some reason.
This song is like..awesome. The vocals, (even though they're a bit demented, it's fucking cool) the riff is awesome, and the story is cool.
The beheading of a king. Though, i'm not sure what war they could be talking about..it has a midevil feel to it, and it's fucking kickass.
Of course this was a real event!
Most likely it's the Battle of Foteviken At the time when this event took place, Sweden as a country didn't really exist. It concisted of smaller kingdoms and in Scania (Skåne) ruled king Erik. Scania however, was under influence of neighboring Denmark, and had to pay taxes to the danish king, but when Erik refused the Danish king decided to go to war.
Erik, who got wind of this expedition, called upon 500 German horsemen to aid him in his defence of Scania, and when the danish fleet arrived they were crushed. King Erik took the Danish king prisoner, and after demanding a big ransom he was released and sent home to Denmark. The danish people was not pleased with their kings actions, and had him killed by beheading...
If you're interested in the details of the story, I recommend a trip to Fotevikens Vikingareservat south of Malmö. It's a rebuilt Viking village and open air museum. A really cool place.
Yep, it's the battle of Fodevig / Foteviken. The King in the title is King Niels Of Denmark. His son in the lyrics is Magnus The Strong.
And of course, the hero of the song is Erik II, "The Memorable", king of Scania and later of Denmark.