Words by

Poppy Askham

@poppy_askham

Photo by

Youtube screenshot

The trio heading Iceland’s COVID-19 response, Chief of Police Víðir Reynis­son, Surgeon General Alma D. Möller and Head Epidemiologist, Þór­ólfur Guðna­son, has teamed up with several well-known Icelandic musicians to deliver some public health advice in the form of song. The social-distancing anthem, ‘Travel Indoors’, was released on Youtube last night.

The performance was masterminded by Leifur Geir Hafsteinsson who adapted the lyrics of ‘Góða ferð’ for the coronavirus era, Frettabladid reports. The singers advise Icelanders to keep two metres from others, respect the gathering ban, listen to Víðir and have adventures at home. In accordance with their own advice, the participants never met up to rehearse. The whole performance was executed remotely through videochats.

Several familiar faces from Iceland’s music scene can be spotted in the video including Birgitta Haukdal, Fridrik Dór, Glowie, Salóme, Helgi Björnsson, Hildur Vala, Ingó Veðurguð, Jóhanna Guðrún, Jón Jónsson, Jón Ólafs, Salka Sól, Sverrir Bergmann and rapper Króli. The singers are accompanied by Greta Salome on violin, Jón Ólafsson on piano and Kristján Steinn Leifsson on trumpet.

The highlight of the video is a cameo performance from the officials leading the fight against COVID-19 Alma, Þór­ólfur and Víðir. All three put in a valiant performance, but Þór­ólfur undeniably stole the show with his impressive solo. Who knew the Head Epidemioligst was a singing sensation? Þór­ólfur is actually member of a band named Bítilbrör in his free time. Bored whilst social-distancing? Check out their cover of The Beatles’ Penny Lane.

Here’s a rough translation of one of our favourite verses:

Nú þurfa allir þétt að standa saman
og koma COVID-stríðinu á skrið
ef efla viljum lýðheilsu og finna sálarfrið
við hlýðum Víði og ferðumst heima við!

Now everyone needs to stand together
And bring the war against COVID war to a halt
To promote public health and to find some peace of mind,
we obey Vidir and go home!

Here’s the full video for you to sing along to. Warning: it’s a bit of a bop. We know what we’re going to be playing on repeat over the Easter weekend.

Note: The original song is by Enrico Sbriccoli, Carlo Pes, Ferreira Sebastiao and Francesco Migliacci and was made popular in Iceland when BG and Ingibjörgn recorded their cover, ‘Góða ferð’.

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