Ja, vi elsker dette landet
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| Ja, vi elsker dette landet English: Yes, we love this country |
|
|---|---|
| National Anthem of |  Norway |
| Lyrics | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, 1868 |
| Music | Rikard Nordraak, 1864 |
| Adopted | 1864 |
"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (or: "Ja, vi elsker") (In English: "Yes, we love this country") is the national anthem of Norway. The lyrics were written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson between 1859 and 1868, and the melody was written by his cousin Rikard Nordraak in 1864. It was first performed publicly on 17 May 1864 in connection with the 50th anniversary of the constitution. Usually only the first and the last two verses are sung.
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics and literal translation
Bjørnson wrote a modified version of the Dano-Norwegian language current in Norway at the time. Written Norwegian (bokmål) has since then been altered in a series of orthographic reforms intended to distinguish it from Danish and bring it closer to spoken Norwegian. The text below is a modernised version commonly used to day, not identical to Bjørnson's original. The most commonly sung verses, 1, 7 and 8, have been modernised most.
In each verse the last two lines are sung twice, and one or two words are even repeated an extra time (for example "senker" in the first verse). This repetition is often not indicated except in the first verse. The words that are repeated an extra time are written in italics in the Norwegian lyrics below.
| 1 | |||
| Ja, vi elsker dette landet, | Yes, we love this country | ||
| som det stiger frem, | as it rises forth, | ||
| furet, værbitt over vannet, | rugged, weathered, above the sea, | ||
| med de tusen hjem. | with the thousands of homes. | ||
| Elsker, elsker det og tenker | Loving, loving it and thinking | ||
| på vår far og mor | about our father and mother | ||
| og den saganatt som senker | and the saga night that sends | ||
| drømme på vår jord. | dreams to our earth. | ||
| og den saganatt som senker | and the saga night that sends | ||
| drømme på vår jord. | dreams to our earth. | ||
| 2 | |||
| Dette landet Harald berget | This country Harald united | ||
| med sin kjemperad, | with his army of heroes, | ||
| dette landet Håkon verget | this country Håkon protected | ||
| medens Øyvind kvad; | whilst Øyvind sung; | ||
| Olav på det landet malte | upon the country Olav painted | ||
| korset med sitt blod, | with his blood the cross, | ||
| fra dets høye Sverre talte | from its heights Sverre spoke | ||
| Roma midt imot. | up against Rome. | ||
| 3 | |||
| Bønder sine økser brynte | Farmers their axes sharpened | ||
| hvor en hær dro frem, | wherever an army advanced, | ||
| Tordenskiold langs kysten lynte, | Tordenskiold along the coastline thundered | ||
| så det lystes hjem. | so that we could see it back home. | ||
| Kvinner selv stod opp og strede | Even women stood up and fought | ||
| som de vare menn; | as if they were men; | ||
| andre kunne bare grede, | others could only cry | ||
| men det kom igjen! | but that soon would end! | ||
| 4 | |||
| Visstnok var vi ikke mange, | Sure, we were not many | ||
| men vi strakk dog til, | but we were enough, | ||
| da vi prøvdes noen gange, | when we were tested sometimes, | ||
| og det stod på spill; | and it was at stake; | ||
| ti vi heller landet brente | we would rather burn our land | ||
| enn det kom til fall; | than to declare defeat; | ||
| husker bare hva som hendte | just remember what happened | ||
| ned på Fredrikshald! | down at Fredrikshald! | ||
| 5 | |||
| Hårde tider har vi døyet, | Hard times we have coped with, | ||
| ble til sist forstøtt; | were at last disowned; | ||
| men i verste nød blåøyet | but in the worst distress, blue-eyed | ||
| frihet ble oss født. | freedom was to us born. | ||
| Det gav faderkraft å bære | It gave (us) father's strength to carry | ||
| hungersnød og krig, | famine and war, | ||
| det gav døden selv sin ære - | it gave death itself its honour - | ||
| og det gav forlik. | and it gave reconciliation. | ||
| 6 | |||
| Fienden sitt våpen kastet, | The enemy threw away his weapon, | ||
| opp visiret for, | up the visor went, | ||
| vi med undren mot ham hastet, | we, in wonder, to him hastened, | ||
| ti han var vår bror. | because he was our brother. | ||
| Drevne frem på stand av skammen | Driven forth to a stand by shame | ||
| gikk vi søderpå; | we went to the south; | ||
| nu vi står tre brødre sammen, | now we three brothers stand united, | ||
| og skal sådan stå! | and shall stand like that! | ||
| 7 | |||
| Norske mann i hus og hytte, | Norseman in house and cabin, | ||
| takk din store Gud! | thank your great God! | ||
| Landet ville han beskytte, | The country he wanted to protect, | ||
| skjønt det mørkt så ut. | although things looked dark. | ||
| Alt hva fedrene har kjempet, | All the fights fathers have fought, | ||
| mødrene har grett, | and the mothers have wept, | ||
| har den Herre stille lempet | the Lord has quietly moved | ||
| så vi vant vår rett. | so we won our rights. | ||
| 8 | |||
| Ja, vi elsker dette landet, | Yes, we love this country | ||
| som det stiger frem, | as it rises forth, | ||
| furet, værbitt over vannet, | rugged, weathered, above the sea, | ||
| med de tusen hjem. | with those thousand homes. | ||
| Og som fedres kamp har hevet | And as the fathers' struggle has raised | ||
| det av nød til seir, | it from need to victory, | ||
| også vi, når det blir krevet, | even we, when it is demanded, | ||
| for dets fred slår leir. | for its peace will encamp (for defence). |
[edit] English translation
The three commonly used stanzas of Ja, vi elsker were translated into English long ago. The name of the translator is seldom mentioned in printed versions of the English text. It has so far not been possible to identify the person responsible or to ascertain when it was translated. But the following versions of stanzas 1, 7, and 8 are well known and often sung by descendants of Norwegian immigrants to the United States. Its popularity and familiarity among Norwegian-Americans seems to indicate that it has been around for a long time, certainly since before the middle of the 20th century, possible much earlier. This translation may be regarded as the "official" version in English. [1]
Yes, we love with fond devotion
This our land that looms
Rugged, storm-scarred o'er the ocean
With her thousand homes.
Love her, in our love recalling
Those who gave us birth.
And old tales which night, in falling,
Brings as dreams to earth.
Norsemen whatsoe'er thy station,
Thank thy God whose power
willed and wrought the land's salvation
In her darkest hour.
All our mothers sought with weeping
And our sires in fight,
God has fashioned in His keeping
Till we gained our right.
Yes, we love with fond devotion
This our land that looms
Rugged, storm-scarred o'er the ocean
With her thousand homes.
And, as warrior sires have made her
Wealth and fame increase,
At the call we too will aid her
Armed to guard her peace.
[edit] Metrical version
Of verses 1, 7, 8 for singing in English:
- Norway, thine is our devotion,
- Land of hearth and home,
- Rising storm-scarr'd from the ocean,
- Where the breakers foam.
- Oft to thee our thoughts are wending,
- Land that gave us birth,
- And to saga nights still sending
- Dreams upon our earth,
- And to saga nights still sending
- Dreams upon us on our earth
- Men of Norway, be your dwelling
- Cottage, house or farm,
- Praise the Lord who all compelling
- Sav'd our land from harm.
- Not the valour of a father
- On the battlefield
- Nor a mother's tears, but rather
- God our vict'ry sealed,
- Nor a mother's tears, but rather
- God for us our vict'ry sealed.
- Norway, thine is our devotion,
- Land of hearth and home,
- Rising storm-scarr'd from the ocean,
- Where the breakers foam.
- As our fathers' vict'ry gave it
- Peace for one and all,
- We shall rally, too, to save it
- When we hear the call,
- We shall rally, too, to save it
- When we hear, we hear the call.
[edit] Controversies
In 1905 the Union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved after many years of Norwegian struggle for equality between the two states, as stipulated in the 1815 Act of Union. The unilateral declaration by the Norwegian Storting of the union's dissolution 7 June provoked strong Swedish reactions, bringing the two nations to the brink of war in the autumn. In Sweden, pro-war conservatives were opposed by the Social Democrats, whose leaders Hjalmar Branting and Zeth Höglund spoke out for reconciliation and a peaceful settlement with Norway. Swedish socialists sang Ja, vi elsker dette landet to demonstrate their support for the Norwegian people’s right to secede from the union.
During World War II, the anthem was used both by the Norwegian resistance, and by the nazi collaborators, the last group mainly for propaganda reasons. Eventually, the German occupants officially forbade any use of the anthem.
In May 2006, the immigrant newspaper Utrop proposed that the national anthem be translated into Urdu, the native language of the most numerous group of recent immigrants to Norway. [2] The editor's idea was that people from other ethnic groups should be able to honour their adopted country with devotion, even if they were not fluent in Norwegian. This proposal was referred to by other more widely read papers, and a member of the Storting called the proposal "integration in reverse".[3] One proponent of translating the anthem received batches of hate-mail calling her a traitor and threatening her with decapitation. [4]
[edit] In popular culture
- Ja, vi elsker is whistled by a taxi driver in the movie Total Recall.
[edit] External links
- MP3 sound file
- [1] National Anthem of Norway sung a cappella and with Norwegian subtitles. Hosted by YouTube
- Norway: National anthem according to BBC's H2G2 PDA entry
- Norway at national-anthems.net
- Norwegian national anthem, US source
- National anthems
- [2] Sung May 1, 2005 in Salt Lake City Utah with Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø; first stanza only and then in English
