I've never heard this song, and I'm not saying I dislike what I heard here, but I have to disagree; it IS pretty cheesy. Dude sings about hobbits and elves? lol ...cheesy isn't a "bad" thing in metal. I love Dragonforce, and they're cheesier than a cheddar factory in Wisconsin.
Cheesy isn't a bad thing but if you cannot look past the fantasy inspired lyrics from Blind Guardian to see their meaning well that's on you. He only ends the song talking about hobbits and elves to emphasize that these songs are often a form of escapism that leads you far away in a fantasy land. Guardian lyrics often work like that even when it is obviously inspired by a fantasy book often times the song has another meaning as well. Like Ashes To Ashes being about the death of the vocalist's father and the more recent Let It Be No More about the death of his mother while it still being tied to their fantasy theming. I saw them live not too long ago and it was one of the best concerts i've been to, especially in terms of atmosphere. The Bard's Song (In The Forest) is the highlight of the set it is magical to sing along with hundreds of people, often times when I sing The Bard's Song on my own I think about that somewhere in the world someone is probably singing it with me which makes me feel less alone. Their ballads are always great they also did Skalds And Shadows at the show I was at and that is my favourite ballad of theirs, it is also folky and again about a sort of storyteller.
@@alexdoorn234 I enjoyed reading your interpretation and appreciate you sharing your experience. I've known about Blind Guardian since I was a kid, but just never listened to them. When little I've checked out recently, it's not really my style of metal, but again I don't dislike it. Those lyrics are still cheesy to me though haha...
Hi. I'm from Czechia and our folk songs are one of the first kinds of music our children come in contact with. Learning to sing them in kindergardens. Some of my favorites are Černé oči (Black eyes), Nešťastný šafářův dvoreček ( Sad bailifs courtyard), Putimská brána (Putim gate) or Ach synku, synku (Oh little son, little son).
Thanks, Varvis for the amazing and truthfull analysis of this timeless song. As a kid I was totally in love in a cassette tape I bought called "Somewhere far Beyond" by Blind Guardian. Their last album at that time.Never stopped being a huge fan ever since! And I grew up listening to songs everyone here in Bulgaria knows from times immemorable. Here is one amazing Bulgarian "magic" song with an author long forgotten - Kaval Sviri
Seen them live earlier this year, it was so fucking worth it. The bard song was exactly as magical as Varvis said it was, the whole stage dark but for Hansi, André and Marcus, the whole audience chanting along. If you get the chance, see em live, it'll be worth it!
Go see them live! now! do it! they ain't getting younger so go do it before they get too old. They still kick ass live but let's face it it's tough to do quality power metal when you're approaching 60. Two of my favourite concert moments are standing in a crowd of 60-70-something thousand people at Wacken all singing this song and also crowdsurfing to "And then there was silence" Pure magic.
Yes because the idea is that the songs will remain but the bards itself will be forgotten, the story will live on even if the writers of the story will be forgotten.
Yes. Who wrote the Nibelungenlied? Who wrote Beowulf? Who wrote Ad Mortem Festinamus? Stella Splendens? Any number of other medieval songs and poetry? We do not know. We will never know. No one wrote it down, and those names are irrecoverably lost. But their songs, their tales remain.
@@sakidickerson Homer, as best as we can tell, wrote in the 8th century BCE, so, ~2800 years ago. Much depends on what survives, and that's always a bit of a crapshoot. We've lost around 98 percent of all books written in Classical Greece, and Classical Rome does not survive much better. If we can maintain a technological society, with plentiful data storage, I'd think the answer is no, none of them will be forgotten . . . .but Walther von der Vogelweide was forgotten for centuries before being rediscovered.
@@jochentram9301 that's very valid. Maybe it's not about the name but leaving behind something that people will remember even if they forget who you are. A legacy.
I don't see "no one will ever know our names" as a lament. To me, this reads as an artist's defiance of death There are a great many traditional, genuinely *OLD* songs, whose creators are unknown. Go though any medeval collection of music, and they will often lack any information on who wrote the lyrics, or the music. These "bards" are gone,a nd no one will ever know their names, just as no one will ever know the name of whoever wrote the Nibelungenlied. Hansi, being German, would know about the Nibelungenlied, at least. But if we no longer know the authors, their songs still remain. Their tales are still told. Hansi will die. But after he has, German metalheads, if no one else, will sit at their fires in Wacken and sing the Bard's Song. And that, too, is immortality, of a sort.
20:52 that 99.999% number isn't correct! about 8% of all humans that have ever lived have been born since 1950. Exponential population growth is really unintuitive.
I've never heard this song, and I'm not saying I dislike what I heard here, but I have to disagree; it IS pretty cheesy. Dude sings about hobbits and elves? lol ...cheesy isn't a "bad" thing in metal. I love Dragonforce, and they're cheesier than a cheddar factory in Wisconsin.
Cheesy isn't a bad thing but if you cannot look past the fantasy inspired lyrics from Blind Guardian to see their meaning well that's on you. He only ends the song talking about hobbits and elves to emphasize that these songs are often a form of escapism that leads you far away in a fantasy land. Guardian lyrics often work like that even when it is obviously inspired by a fantasy book often times the song has another meaning as well. Like Ashes To Ashes being about the death of the vocalist's father and the more recent Let It Be No More about the death of his mother while it still being tied to their fantasy theming. I saw them live not too long ago and it was one of the best concerts i've been to, especially in terms of atmosphere. The Bard's Song (In The Forest) is the highlight of the set it is magical to sing along with hundreds of people, often times when I sing The Bard's Song on my own I think about that somewhere in the world someone is probably singing it with me which makes me feel less alone. Their ballads are always great they also did Skalds And Shadows at the show I was at and that is my favourite ballad of theirs, it is also folky and again about a sort of storyteller.
@@alexdoorn234 I enjoyed reading your interpretation and appreciate you sharing your experience. I've known about Blind Guardian since I was a kid, but just never listened to them. When little I've checked out recently, it's not really my style of metal, but again I don't dislike it. Those lyrics are still cheesy to me though haha...
@@alexdoorn234 I love Blind Guardian, but they're definitely cheesy.
@@BS-mr8lv Oh yes but it is why I love them and the way you can still get a message from those fantasy inspired lyrics.
Hi. I'm from Czechia and our folk songs are one of the first kinds of music our children come in contact with. Learning to sing them in kindergardens. Some of my favorites are Černé oči (Black eyes), Nešťastný šafářův dvoreček ( Sad bailifs courtyard), Putimská brána (Putim gate) or Ach synku, synku (Oh little son, little son).
Ayyy thanks for sending these man! Going to check them out
Thanks, Varvis for the amazing and truthfull analysis of this timeless song.
As a kid I was totally in love in a cassette tape I bought called "Somewhere far Beyond" by Blind Guardian. Their last album at that time.Never stopped being a huge fan ever since!
And I grew up listening to songs everyone here in Bulgaria knows from times immemorable.
Here is one amazing Bulgarian "magic" song with an author long forgotten - Kaval Sviri
Seen them live earlier this year, it was so fucking worth it. The bard song was exactly as magical as Varvis said it was, the whole stage dark but for Hansi, André and Marcus, the whole audience chanting along. If you get the chance, see em live, it'll be worth it!
Go see them live! now! do it! they ain't getting younger so go do it before they get too old. They still kick ass live but let's face it it's tough to do quality power metal when you're approaching 60.
Two of my favourite concert moments are standing in a crowd of 60-70-something thousand people at Wacken all singing this song and also crowdsurfing to "And then there was silence" Pure magic.
I have seen them live! It was magical!
Nice. Came here from r/powermetal.
Welcome man! Love that sub
Man, I love your vids! Keep it up brother ❤
Somewhere Far Beyond is the album that got me into power metal. Easily one of my favorite albums of all time.
0:37 CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIIIIIME
😂😂😂😂 whoops, I have Iron Maiden on the brain
Have you heard this : HELLOWEEN - How Many Tears (Live in Wacken, 2018, United Alive)
Great video, as usual!
Cheers man!
If the Bard songs remain are the bards ever truly forgotten?
Yes because the idea is that the songs will remain but the bards itself will be forgotten, the story will live on even if the writers of the story will be forgotten.
Yes. Who wrote the Nibelungenlied? Who wrote Beowulf? Who wrote Ad Mortem Festinamus? Stella Splendens? Any number of other medieval songs and poetry?
We do not know. We will never know. No one wrote it down, and those names are irrecoverably lost.
But their songs, their tales remain.
@@jochentram9301 I wonder if in 1000 years or 2000 years people will forget Shakespeare, Homer, and Tolkien
@@sakidickerson Homer, as best as we can tell, wrote in the 8th century BCE, so, ~2800 years ago. Much depends on what survives, and that's always a bit of a crapshoot. We've lost around 98 percent of all books written in Classical Greece, and Classical Rome does not survive much better.
If we can maintain a technological society, with plentiful data storage, I'd think the answer is no, none of them will be forgotten . . . .but Walther von der Vogelweide was forgotten for centuries before being rediscovered.
@@jochentram9301 that's very valid. Maybe it's not about the name but leaving behind something that people will remember even if they forget who you are. A legacy.
VARVIS HYPE
VITO HYPPPPEEE
Tommorrow will take us away
I don't see "no one will ever know our names" as a lament. To me, this reads as an artist's defiance of death
There are a great many traditional, genuinely *OLD* songs, whose creators are unknown. Go though any medeval collection of music, and they will often lack any information on who wrote the lyrics, or the music. These "bards" are gone,a nd no one will ever know their names, just as no one will ever know the name of whoever wrote the Nibelungenlied. Hansi, being German, would know about the Nibelungenlied, at least.
But if we no longer know the authors, their songs still remain. Their tales are still told.
Hansi will die. But after he has, German metalheads, if no one else, will sit at their fires in Wacken and sing the Bard's Song.
And that, too, is immortality, of a sort.
20:52 that 99.999% number isn't correct! about 8% of all humans that have ever lived have been born since 1950. Exponential population growth is really unintuitive.
🤯🤯🤯