"Yes, We Love This Country", colloquially "Yes, We Love", is a Norwegian patriotic song written in 1859 by Nobel Prize laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,[1] and composed by his cousin Rikard Nordraak in 1863. This song has officially serves as the national anthem of Norway since December 2019, though it has been considered a de facto anthem of Norway for roughly a century and a half alongst "Sønner av Norge" and "Norges Skaal".[2]
History[]
Norway did not have an official national anthem until 11 December 2019, but over the last 200 years, a number of songs have been commonly regarded as de facto national anthems. At times, multiple songs have enjoyed this status simultaneously. "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" is now most often recognized as the anthem, but until the early 20th century, "Sønner av Norge" occupied this position.
In the early 19th century, the song "Norges Skaal" was regarded by many as a de facto national anthem. From 1820, the song "Norsk Nationalsang" (lit. '"Norwegian National Song"') became the most recognised national anthem. "Norsk Nationalsang" was them renamed to "Sønner av Norge", then it was announced as the winner. "Blant alle Lande" (also called "Nordmandssang") by Ole Vig has also been used as a national anthem. Henrik Wergeland also wrote an anthem originally titled "Smaagutternes Nationalsang", which is commonly known as "Vi ere en Nation, vi med".
"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" was written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and composed by Rikard Nordraak between 1859 and 1868, and gradually came to replace "Sønner av Norge" as the most recognised national anthem. Until the early 20th century, "Sønner av Norge" and "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" were used alongside each other, but "Sønner av Norge" was preferred in official settings. Since 2011, the anthem "Mitt lille land" by Ole Paus has also been called a "new national anthem" and notably featured in the memorial ceremonies following the 2011 Norway attacks. On Norwegian Constitution Day in 2012, the NRK broadcast opened with "Mitt lille land".
In addition, Norway has an unofficial royal anthem, "Kongesangen", based on "God Save the King" and written in its modern form by Gustav Jensen. The psalm "Gud signe vårt dyre fedreland" written by Elias Blix and composed by Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, is often called Norway's "national psalm".
Lyrics[]
Ja, vi elsker dette landet a cappella Norges nasjonalsang Norwegian national anthem
This song has eight verses in total. However, only the first, seventh and eighth verses are used for the national anthem.
Norwegian official[]
| Official orthography | IPA transcription | Original orthography |
|---|---|---|
Ja, vi elsker dette landet, |
[jɑː ʋiː ˈɛ̂l.skɛ̠r ˈdɛ̂t.tə ˈlɑ̂n.nə] |
Ja, vi elsker dette Landet, |
Norwegian American English version[]
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[]
Norwegian independence[]
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 on 7 June made Sweden really angry, bringing both of them to the brink of war that 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 show their support for Norway leaving the Union.
Nazi occupation[]
During World War II, the anthem was used both by the Norwegian resistance and the Nazi collaborators, the latter mainly for propaganda reasons. Eventually, the German occupiers officially forbade any use of the anthem.
Urdu translation[]
In May 2006, the multicultural newspaper Utrop proposed that the national anthem be translated into Urdu, since there are a lot of Pakistani immigranrs 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 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".[7] One proponent of translating the anthem received batches of hate mail calling her a traitor and threatening her with decapitation.[8]
Trivia[]
- Due to transposition, the anthem can be played in any key.
References[]
- ↑ Beyer, Edvard & Moi, Bernt Morten (2007). Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson. Store norske leksikon. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ↑ Stortinget - Møte onsdag den 11. desember 2019 - Sak nr. 3 (2019-12-11). Stortinget. «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.
- ↑ Norway's National Anthem (2008-05-22). Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview (4 volumes). Guntram H. Herb, David H. Kaplan. ABC-CLIO (230).
- ↑ Vil ha «Ja vi elsker» på urdu (11 May 2008).
- ↑ Fr.p. sier nei til "Ja vi elsker" på urdu
- ↑ Oslo - Aftenposten