The Herring Era in music

Herring brought relief from a thousand years of oppression. Herring was the magic word. Through the herring industries Icelanders became independent people, the village became independent of the city, and poor fishermen became rich men. No other creature holds the same romance in the minds of Icelanders as herring.

In the North and East the industry brought wealth, enjoyment - and also a form of slavery. "It was nice to be able to sleep at the night ..." in Siglufjörður, Raufarhöfn, Seyðisfjörður, Dalvík and Dagverðareyri. Some wishes and aspirations were fulfilled while others were thwarted. These memories are preserved in a collection of music associated with the herring years, issued in 1992. It contains recordings of 23 of the best known and most popular songs from the herring era. The album was reissued in 2011 and is widely available, also at the Herring Museum.

Below, a few samples can be heard:

Landleguvalsinn by Haukur  Morthens.
Sample: landleguvals

Síldarvalsinn by Sigurður Ólafsson and Jan Moráveks trio.
Sample: Sildarvalsinn

Sjana síldarkokkur by Svavar Lárusson and the Monty trio.
Sample: Sjana-sildarkokkur

Síldarstúlkanby Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir.
Sample: Sildarstulkan

Síldarstúlkurnar Grettir Björnsson plays the accordion.
Sample: Sildarstulkurnar

Hvítu mávar by Helena Eyjólfsdóttir and Kjell Karlsens band.
Sample: Hvitir-mavar

 

"Siglunes" Band in 1939, Bjarki Árnason's Band,
"Gautlandsbræður" and "Fjórir fjörugir"