Lyrics of 'Black Lake Nidstång' by Agalloch

Written in the waters

[Voice of the dead]
Our shadows seep into the dusk
Like cranes that melt into the pool
A black lake in which they descend
Pale ghosts caress the nidstång in the dark
Its face scarred by the ages
Its curse sent with heathen breath
To poison the waters of the black lake
We are, we are the faces below the ripples
A deep sorrow travelled through the woods
And found a home in our humble grave

[Voice of the niðstång]
I've sent this peril
To the world; this peril shall spread all sorrows
And you are but gods
Watching from below at the base of the totem
In the black temple of the Earth
I am, I am the silence inside the tomb
You created the stars
And gave birth to all the heavens
The darkness of space and time
So go, go to the nightside end below

Where have all the noble cranes gone?
Where have all the stags disappeared to?
Piled below in the tomb of this burdened pool
A curse to those who corrupt these sacred woods
A curse to those who taste this solemn water

No unhallowed breath shall seal a fate before me
Join the drowned in the silence of the black lake's womb
Accursed, written in the waters