Information about Ja, Vi Elsker

|

"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (helpinfo) (or: "Ja, vi elsker") (In eng: "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.

Lyrics and literal translation

Bjørnson wrote in a modified version of the Dano-Norwegian language current in Norway at the time. Written Norwegian 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.

In each verse the last two lines are sung twice, and one or two words are even repeated an extra time (e.g. "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.

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.

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.

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]

In popular culture

• Ja, vi elsker is whistled by a taxi driver in the movie Total Recall.

External links

• MP3 sound file
• Norway at national-anthems.net
• Norwegian national anthem, US source
• Norway: National anthem according to BBC
• National anthems
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhhStVKawbk National Anthem of Norway hosted by YouTube

References

•  • [ e] National anthems of Europe

National anthems of sovereign states: Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, Republic of Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City National anthems of non-sovereign entities Adygea (Russia) land (Finland) Alsace (France) Asturias (Spain) Azores (Portugal) Basque Country (Spain) Brittany (France) Catalonia (Spain) Crimea (Ukraine) European Union Faroe Islands (Denmark) Flanders (Belgium) Galicia (Spain) Gibraltar (UK) Greenland (Denmark) Guernsey Northern Ireland (UK) Jersey Republic of Karelia (Russia) Macedonia (Greece) Madeira (Portugal) Isle of Man Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan) Occitania Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Scotland (UK) Sealand (UK) Svalbard (Norway) Tatarstan (Russia) Transnistria (Moldova) Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Cyprus) Udmurtia (Russia) Wales (UK) Wallonia (Belgium)