Maamme
| English: Our Country | |
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 Frontpage of Vårt land by Johan Ludvig Runeberg |
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| National anthem of |  Finland |
| Also known as | Vårt land English: Our Country |
| Lyrics | Johan Ludvig Runeberg, 1848 |
| Music | Fredrik Pacius, 1848 |
| Adopted | 1867 |
| Music sample | |
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Maamme (Instrumental)
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Maamme (Finnish) or Vårt land (Swedish) (Our Country), is the title of Finland's national anthem. There is no law on an official national anthem in Finland, but Maamme is firmly established by convention.
The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with (original Swedish) words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and was performed for the first time on 13 May 1848. The original poem, written in 1846 but not printed until 1848, had 11 stanzas and formed the prologue to the great verse cycle The Tales of Ensign Stål ("Fänrik Ståhls Sägner"), a masterpiece of Romantic nationalism. The current Finnish text is usually attributed to the 1889 translation of Ensign Stål by Paavo Cajander, but in fact originates from the 1867 translation by Julius Krohn.[1][2]
The Tales of Ensign Stål were much appreciated throughout all of Scandinavia. Up until the time of Finland's independence in 1917–18, when the song began to be recognized as specifically applying to Finland, Pacius's tune and Runeberg's text were often also sung in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Note that in the original Swedish text there is no reference to Finland (except for in verses 4 and 10, which are rarely sung), only to a country in the north, but the Finnish text explicitly refers to Finland. The poem's theme is, furthermore, remarkably similar to that of the national anthems of Sweden (Du gamla, Du fria) and Norway (Ja, vi elsker dette landet).
Some Finns have proposed that the Finnish national anthem be changed to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, with lyrics by V.A. Koskenniemi (Finnish) and Joel Rundt (Swedish). There are also those who simply prefer Finlandia as a musical piece, although critics call it difficult to sing.
It is said that Pacius composed the tune in a mere fifteen minutes, with no idea that it would become so important to the people of Finland that they would eventually make it their national anthem.
The tune of Maamme has similarities with the German drinking song Papst und Sultan. Many believe that Fredrik Pacius intentionally or unintentionally copied parts of the tune. Another Finnish patriotic song, Sotilaspoika, composed by Pacius, also includes similarities with Papst und Sultan.
The melody of Maamme is also used for the national anthem of Estonia with a similarly themed text, Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy (1869). It is also considered to be national anthem for Livonians with text Min izāmō, min sindimō, My Fatherland, my native land.
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Lyrics
Here are the lyrics of the first and last verse in Finnish, in Swedish (as originally written), and in an English-language version:
Maamme
- Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa,
- soi, sana kultainen!
- Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa,
- ei vettä, rantaa rakkaampaa
- kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen,
- maa kallis isien.
- Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan
- kerrankin puhkeaa;
- viel' lempemme saa nousemaan
- sun toivos, riemus loistossaan,
- ja kerran laulus, synnyinmaa
- korkeemman kaiun saa.
Vårt land
(the original, by Johan Ludvig Runeberg)
- Vårt land, vårt land, vårt fosterland,
- ljud högt, o dyra ord!
- Ej lyfts en höjd mot himlens rand,
- ej sänks en dal, ej sköljs en strand,
- mer älskad än vår bygd i nord,
- än våra fäders jord!
- Din blomning, sluten än i knopp,
- Skall mogna ur sitt tvång;
- Se, ur vår kärlek skall gå opp
- Ditt ljus, din glans, din fröjd, ditt hopp.
- Och högre klinga skall en gång
- Vår fosterländska sång.
Vers 11
- Och här, och här,
- I detta land,
- vårt öga ser det här,
- vi kunna sträcka ut vår hand,
- Och visa glatt på sjö och strand,
- Och säga "se det landet där"
- Vårt fosterland det är!
Our Land
(translation from the Finnish version)
- Our land , Finland, fatherland,
- Echoes loudly, oh valiant name !
- Is not no valley or hill that reaches to the heavens
- or lake that reaches the coast washed by the waves
- be loved our native North,
- beloved land of ancestors.
- One day your flowers will mature ,
- and then bloom.
- And your hope and your delight
- Our love will lead to the distances .
- And one day, motherland , your song
- will be further enhanced .
See also
- Flag of Finland
- Holidays in Finland
- Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm - the national anthem of Estonia
- Ålänningens sång - the official anthem of Åland
- Min izāmō - the national anthem of the Livonians
- Du gamla, Du fria - the national anthem of Sweden
References
- ↑ Käännökset (Translations) - Runeberg Museum site (in Finnish)
- ↑ J. L. Runeberg - Finnish Literature Society site (in Finnish)
External links
- History of the Finnish national anthem
- Full lyrics at Wikisource
- This Is Finland: The Finnish National Anthem - history of the anthem, and RealAudio of the song
- www.national-anthems.net - mp3, RealAudio and Windows Media files of the anthem
- Papst und Sultan - A German drinking-song which resembles the tune of Maamme.
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