Ja Vi Elsker Dette Landet-Norwegian National Anthem

Ja Vi Elsker Dette Landet-Norwegian National Anthem Posted by kari on May 19, 2011 in Culture, Language

Gratulerer med dagen, Norge! Happy Birthday Norway! Tuesday was Norway´s 197th birthday-the first being May 17, 1814 when the Constitution was signed at Eidsvoll. Syttende Mai (pronounced ´soot (like ´foot´)-ene-my´is the largest celebration in Norway all year long. Families and friends gather to eat, drink, and show their patriotism for their country. Of the year´s time that I have spent in Norway, 17. mai is certainly one of the most fond memories.

When I´m at home in Minnesota, I typically attend some sort of 17. mai event, such as frokost (breakfast) at my Alma Mater, St. Olaf, or perhap´s I´ll attend a Norwegian Department event. Regardless of how I choose to celebrate, the national anthem is usually involved. Those of you who are familiar with Norwegian culture probably have heard `Ja Vi Elsker´before. One of ´De fire store´(The Four Great), Bjørnson is recognized in the same league as Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote the lyrics to ´Ja Vi Elsker´ between 1858 and 1869. There are 8 modernized and translated verses as follows:

JA, VI ELSKER DETTE LANDET(Yes, we love this country)

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	Love, love it and think
på vår far og mor	of our father and mother
og den saganatt som senker	and the saga night that sends
drømmer på vår jord.	dreams to our earth.
og den saganatt som senker	and the saga night that sends
senker drømmer på vår jord.	sends 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).

Typically only the 1st and last two verses are sung. This anthem is naturally quite historical in nature, but it is also very much political. Bjørnson (1832-1910) grew up in a time of political unrest. Norway had indeed operated under her own Constitution for decades, but was still not an independent country. The Union with Sweden dissolved just 5 years prior to Bjørnson´s death. He was a vivid spokesman for the Norwegian Left-Wing Movement.

Bjørnson focused a lot of his energy towards the revival of the Norwegian language that had become so influenced by Danish (from the hundreds of years of the Kalmar Union). Bjørnson supported Ivar Aasen in his quest to research and collect the Norwegian dialects in his mission to create a bondemål (national language) from old Norwegian.

Interestingly enough, there was another verse in the National Anthem:

Kongen selv staar stærk og aapen

som vaar Grænsevagt

og hans allerbedste Vaapen

er vor Broderpagt.

In English this reads:

The King himself stands strong and open

As our border guard

and his most powerful weapon

is our brethren pact.

The verse was a tribute to the acceeded monarch Carl XV. Bjørnson deleted this verse after the ideal of a Unified Scandinavia was shattered.

´Ja Vi Elsker´is sung proudly by Norwegians. Did you know that the first 7 notes are the same as the traditional Christmas Carol ´Deck the Halls´? Americans sing a little piece of ´Ja Vi Elsker every year:)

Tags: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Ja Vi Elsker Dette Landet, Norwegian national anthem

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About the Author: kari

I attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where I majored in Norwegian and History. During college, I spent almost a year living in Oslo, Norway, where I attended the University of Oslo and completed an internship at the United States Embassy. I have worked for Concordia Language Villages as a pre-K Norwegian teacher and have taught an adult Norwegian language class. Right now, I keep up by writing this Norwegian blog for Transparent Language. Please read and share your thoughts! I will be continuing this blog from my future residence in the Norwegian arctic!

Comments:

Virginia LeTourneau:

We attended our local celebration here in Tonsberg and enjoyed every minute! After the years of hearing all about Syttende Mai, we were not disappointed. The flags, the children, the marching bands, the national dress, the ice cream 🙂 all brought smiles to every face. We heard the singing of the national anthem at a local school after the parade and though we don’t speak Norwegian, it was thrilling. Thanks for further info especially the words in English.
MB:

Very touching rendition of the anthem today by the (estimated) 150000 at rosetoget.

Unfortunately NRK stopped transmitting their online stream, but we caught up with it on TV2’s web stream.
Andra Gayheart:

Nice put up however I was questioning if you may write a litte more on this topic? I might be very grateful when you may elaborate a little bit more. Cheers!
- Bjørn A. Bojesen:
  
  @Andra Gayheart Hei Andra,
  I’ll perhaps take another look at the anthem on May 17th 2013 (Norway’s national day)…
  Thanks for your interest! 🙂
  Bjørn

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