My Fatherland
I will fight for my land,I will work for my land,Will it foster with love, in my faith, in my child.I will eke every gain,I will seek boot for bane,From its easternmost bound to the western sea wild.
Here is sunshine enough,Here is seed-earth enough,If by us, if by us all love's duty were done.Here is will to create;Though our burdens be great,We can lift up our land, if we all lift as one.
In the past we went wideO'er the sea's surging tide,And the Norman's high walls stand on many a shore.But our flag flies its wayEver farther to-dayAnd is red with life's vigor as never before.
Great our future shall be;For the Northern lands threeShall unite once again and their true selves shall know.Give your strength and your deed,Where you nearest see need,As a brook to the river that forward shall flow.
Yes, this land where we dwell,Oh, we love it so well,All was, all it is, all it can be again.As our love had its birthIn this homeland's dear earth,Shall the seed of our love bring it increase again.
Words in this poem
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
My Fatherland is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, the Arthur Hubbell Palmer translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, My Fatherland, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/my-fatherland.html, id L29297.
Form and metre
My Fatherland is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCB.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABCCB landA · landA · childB · gainC · baneC · wildB
- 2 AABCCB enoughA · enoughA · doneB · createC · greatC · oneB
- 3 AABCCB wideA · tideA · shoreB · wayC · dayC · beforeB
- 4 AABCCB beA · threeA · knowB · deedC · needC · flowB
- 5 AABCCB dwellA · wellA · againB · birthC · earthC · againB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I will fight for my land, | 6 | ······ |
| I will work for my land, | 6 | ······ |
| Will it foster with love, in my faith, in my child. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| I will eke every gain, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I will seek boot for bane, | 6 | ······ |
| From its easternmost bound to the western sea wild. | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘·· |
| Here is sunshine enough, | 6 | ··/·˘/ |
| Here is seed-earth enough, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| If by us, if by us all love's duty were done. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Here is will to create; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Though our burdens be great, | 6 | ·//˘·· |
| We can lift up our land, if we all lift as one. | 12 | ····/······· |
| In the past we went wide | 6 | ······ |
| O'er the sea's surging tide, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the Norman's high walls stand on many a shore. | 11 | ··/˘····/·· |
| But our flag flies its way | 6 | ·/···· |
| Ever farther to-day | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| And is red with life's vigor as never before. | 11 | ·····/˘·/·· |
| Great our future shall be; | 6 | ·//˘·· |
| For the Northern lands three | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Shall unite once again and their true selves shall know. | 12 | ·/··˘/······ |
| Give your strength and your deed, | 6 | ······ |
| Where you nearest see need, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| As a brook to the river that forward shall flow. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| Yes, this land where we dwell, | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, we love it so well, | 6 | ······ |
| All was, all it is, all it can be again. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| As our love had its birth | 6 | ·/···· |
| In this homeland's dear earth, | 6 | ··/··· |
| Shall the seed of our love bring it increase again. | 12 | ····/···˘/˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.