Ja, vi elsker dette landet - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English: 'Yes, we love this country' | |
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National anthem of ![]() | |
Lyrics | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson |
Music | Rikard Nordraak |
Adopted | 1864 (de facto) 2019 (de jure) |
"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (say: YAH vee EL-sker DET-tə LAHN-nə, meaning "Yes, we love this country") is the national anthem of Norway. Before it became the country's anthem, it was a patriotic song written in 1859 by a Norwegian writer named Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.[1] His cousin Rikard Nordraak set his lyrics to music in 1863. Until 2017, it had been an unofficial anthem of Norway, alongside "Sønner av Norge" and "Norges Skaal".[2]
Lyrics
[change | change source]This song has eight verses in total. However, only the first, seventh and eighth verses (highlighted in bold) are used for the national anthem.
Norwegian original
[change | change source]Words of the song in Norwegian | Words of the song when it was first printed | Pronunciation of these words using the IPA | Meaning of the song in Simple English |
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Ja, vi elsker dette landet, | Ja, vi elsker dette Landet, | [jɑː ʋiː ˈɛ̂l.skɛ̠r ˈdɛ̂t.tə ˈlɑ̂n.nə] | Yes, we love this country |
English version
[change | change source]An English recording of the song, based on the first, seventh and eighth stanzas, was popular among Norwegian Americans sometime in the 1900s.
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. 𝄇
Norseman, 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. 𝄇[5]
Controversies
[change | change source]Norwegian independence
[change | change source]In 1905, the Union between Sweden and Norway was broken apart after many years of Norwegian struggle for equality between the two states. The declaration of independence by Norway made Sweden really angry, bringing both of them to the brink of war. In Sweden, pro-war conservatives were opposed by the Social Democrats, whose leaders Hjalmar Branting and Zeth Höglund spoke out for a peaceful settlement with Norway. Swedish socialists sang "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" to show their support for Norway leaving the Union.
Nazi occupation
[change | change source]During the Second World War, the anthem was used both by the Norwegian resistance and the Nazi collaborators. When the Nazis took control of Norway, they did not let anyone play this anthem.
Urdu translation
[change | change source]In May 2006, a newspaper proposed that the national anthem be translated into Urdu, since there are a lot of Pakistani immigrants in Norway.[6] The editor's idea was that people from other ethnic groups should be able to honour their adopted country with devotion, even if they're not fluent in Norwegian. This was, however, met with criticism.[7] Someone even sent a bunch of hate mail to the editor, calling her a traitor and threatening her with decapitation.[8]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ D’Amico, Giuliano (2023-04-19), "Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 2023-05-06
- ↑ https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Referater/Stortinget/2019-2020/refs-201920-12-11?m=3 Stortinget - Møte onsdag den 11. desember 2019 - Sak nr. 3. Stortinget. 2019-12-11. «Innstilling fra familie- og kulturkomiteen om Representantforslag fra stortingsrepresentantene Morten Wold, Hans Andreas Limi, Per-Willy Amundsen, Solveig Horne, Morten Stordalen, Bård Hoksrud og Erlend Wiborg om å vedta at «Ja, vi elsker dette landet» skal anerkjennes av Stortinget som Norges offisielle nasjonalsang (Innst. 47 S (2019–2020), jf. Dokument 8:161 S (2018–2019))»
- ↑ Tekst, staving og punktsetting følger «Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Samlede verker, Bind IV» side 278-280, ISBN 82-05-23483-3, hvor språket er noe revidert fra Bjørnsons originale tekst.
- ↑ Samlede digte, bd. 1: 1851-1870, red. Francis Bull, Oslo, Gyldendal, 1926.
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=2UoQ-ueHjdEC&q=Nations+and+Nationalism%3A+A+Global+Historical+Overview+%5B4+volumes%5D Norway's National Anthem. Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview [4 volumes]. Guntram H. Herb, David H. Kaplan. ABC-CLIO. 2008-05-22. Page 230/1863.
- ↑ Vil ha «Ja vi elsker» på urdu (11 May 2008).
- ↑ Fr.p. sier nei til "Ja vi elsker" på urdu
- ↑ Oslo - Aftenposten[permanent dead link]