Ja, vi elsker dette landet

Ja, vi elsker

English: Yes, we love this country
National anthem of Norway
Lyrics	Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, c. 1859–1868
Music	Rikard Nordraak, 1864
Published	17 May 1864; 157 years ago (1864-05-17)
Adopted	1864; 157 years ago (1864) (de facto) 11 December 2019; 2 years ago (2019-12-11) (de jure)
Preceded by	"Sønner av Norge"
Audio sample
"Ja, vi elsker" (instrumental, one verse) file help

"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈjɑː viː ˈɛ̂lskə ˈɖɛ̂tːə ˈlɑ̀nːə] (listen); English: "Yes, we love this country") is the Norwegian national anthem. Originally a patriotic song, it came to be commonly regarded as the de facto national anthem of Norway in the early 20th century, after being used alongside "Sønner av Norge" since the 1860s. It was officially adopted in 2019.^[1] The lyrics were written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson between 1859 and 1868, and the melody was written by his cousin Rikard Nordraak sometime during the winter of 1863 and 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.

History[]

Until the mid-1860s, the songs "Sønner av Norge" and "Norges Skaal" were commonly regarded as the Norwegian national anthems, with "Sønner av Norge" being most recognised. "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" gradually came to be recognised as a national anthem from the mid-1860s. Until the early 20th century, however, both "Sønner av Norge" and "Ja, vi elsker" were used, with "Sønner av Norge" preferred in official situations. In 2011, the song "Mitt lille land" featured prominently in the memorial ceremonies following the 2011 Norway attacks and was described by the media as "a new national anthem".^[2] On Norwegian Constitution Day in 2012, the NRK broadcast was opened with "Mitt lille land".^[3]

Background[]

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. It came to be known as "Sønner av Norge" (originally "Sønner af Norge"), after its first stanza. "Sønner av Norge" was written by Henrik Anker Bjerregaard (1792–1842) and the melody by Christian Blom (1782–1861), after the Royal Norwegian Society for Development had announced a competition to write a national anthem for Norway in 1819. "Norsk Nationalsang" ("Sønner af Norge") was announced as the winner.^[4][5][6]  [no] (also called "Nordmandssang") by Ole Vig has also been used as a national anthem. Henrik Wergeland also wrote an anthem originally titled "Smaagutternes Nationalsang" ("The Young Boys' National Anthem") and 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.^[7] On Norwegian Constitution Day in 2012, the NRK broadcast opened with "Mitt lille land."^[8]

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 "", written by Elias Blix and with a melody by Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, is often called Norway's "national psalm".

Lyrics and translation[]

Bjørnson wrote in a modified version of the Danish language current in Norway at the time. Written Bokmål has since been altered in a series of orthographic reforms intended to distinguish it from Danish and bring it closer to spoken Norwegian. The text below, and commonly in use today, is identical to Bjørnson's original in using the same words, but with modernised spelling and punctuation. The most sung verses—1, 7 and 8 (which are highlighted and in bold)—have been modernised most and have several variations in existence. For example, Bjørnson originally wrote «drømme på vor jord», which some sources today write as «drømme på vår jord», while others write «drømmer på vår jord».

In each verse the last two lines are sung twice, and one or two words are repeated an extra time when the lines are sung the second time (for example "senker" in the first verse). These words are written in italics in the Norwegian lyrics below. The first verse is written down in full as an example.