Norwegian Seamen's Song
Norwegian seamen areA folk grown strong 'neath sail and spar;Where boats can find a way,The best men there are they.On high seas or at home,In calm or when the storm-waves comb,To God their prayer they make,Their lives they gladly stake.
Incessant is their strife,They wage with death a war for life,And dear their souls they sellIn conflicts none can tell.All that is commonplaceIn history seldom leaves its trace,And often none is there,The tidings home to bear.
But fishing-boats in needHave shown so many a daring deedOf courage fine and skill,Though unrecorded still.And many a seaman's headA wreath of sea-weed wore when dead,Whose name should shine in goldAmong great heroes bold.
Saint Olaf's Cross's praiseWould on that pilot fitly blazeWho saved a hundred men,And hundred once again.To many a boy so young,Who riding home to boat's keel clung,His father set on board,We honor should accord.
In Norway's mountain-coastOur land's own mother-breast we boast,With food for us and tearsFor sons whom danger nears.In it each deed has lot,And there no brave son is forgot,From Hafurfjord's great dayTo the last castaway.
This each one felt and foundWho homeward came and looked around;This each one felt who went,In the last look he sent.They felt the ocean o'er:Their ships our country's fortune bore;Honor and power it sought,--And these the white sails brought.
Hurrah for them to-dayWho the Norwegian flag display!Hurrah for pilots trueWho forth to meet them flew!Hurrah for them who plyTheir fishing-boats 'twixt sea and sky!Hurrah for all our boast,Our skerry-skirted coast!
Words in this poem
- norwegian a.
- Of or pertaining to Norway, its inhabitants, or its language. [Cf. Icel. Noregr, Norvegr, Norway. See North, and Way.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- castaway n.
- One who, or that which, is cast away or shipwrecked.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- hurrah interj.
- A word used as a shout of joy, triumph, applause, encouragement, or welcome. [Cf. G., Dan., & Sw. hurra. Cf. Huzza.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Norwegian Seamen's Song 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, Norwegian Seamen's Song, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/norwegian-seamen-s-song.html, id L29299.
Form and metre
Norwegian Seamen's Song is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCCDD. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AABBCCDD areA · sparA · wayB · theyB · homeC · combC · makeD · stakeD
- 2 AABBCCDD strifeA · lifeA · sellB · tellB · commonplaceC · traceC · thereD · bearD
- 3 AABBCCDD needA · deedA · skillB · stillB · headC · deadC · goldD · boldD
- 4 AABBCCDD praiseA · blazeA · menB · againB · youngC · clungC · boardD · accordD
- 5 AABBCCDD coastA · boastA · tearsB · nearsB · lotC · forgotC · dayD · castawayD
- 6 AABBCCDD foundA · aroundA · wentB · sentB · o'erC · boreC · soughtD · broughtD
- 7 AABBCCDD dayA · displayA · trueB · flewB · plyC · skyC · boastD · coastD
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. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Norwegian seamen are | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| A folk grown strong 'neath sail and spar; | 8 | ········ |
| Where boats can find a way, | 6 | ······ |
| The best men there are they. | 6 | ······ |
| On high seas or at home, | 6 | ······ |
| In calm or when the storm-waves comb, | 8 | ········ |
| To God their prayer they make, | 6 | ······ |
| Their lives they gladly stake. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Incessant is their strife, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| They wage with death a war for life, | 8 | ········ |
| And dear their souls they sell | 6 | ······ |
| In conflicts none can tell. | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| All that is commonplace | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In history seldom leaves its trace, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And often none is there, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The tidings home to bear. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But fishing-boats in need | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Have shown so many a daring deed | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Of courage fine and skill, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Though unrecorded still. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| And many a seaman's head | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| A wreath of sea-weed wore when dead, | 8 | ········ |
| Whose name should shine in gold | 6 | ······ |
| Among great heroes bold. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Saint Olaf's Cross's praise | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Would on that pilot fitly blaze | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Who saved a hundred men, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And hundred once again. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To many a boy so young, | 6 | ·/···· |
| Who riding home to boat's keel clung, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His father set on board, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| We honor should accord. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| In Norway's mountain-coast | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| Our land's own mother-breast we boast, | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| With food for us and tears | 6 | ······ |
| For sons whom danger nears. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In it each deed has lot, | 6 | ······ |
| And there no brave son is forgot, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| From Hafurfjord's great day | 6 | ······ |
| To the last castaway. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| This each one felt and found | 6 | ······ |
| Who homeward came and looked around; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This each one felt who went, | 6 | ······ |
| In the last look he sent. | 6 | ······ |
| They felt the ocean o'er: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Their ships our country's fortune bore; | 8 | ··//˘/˘· |
| Honor and power it sought,-- | 6 | /˘·/·· |
| And these the white sails brought. | 6 | ······ |
| Hurrah for them to-day | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Who the Norwegian flag display! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Hurrah for pilots true | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Who forth to meet them flew! | 6 | ······ |
| Hurrah for them who ply | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Their fishing-boats 'twixt sea and sky! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hurrah for all our boast, | 6 | ˘/··/· |
| Our skerry-skirted coast! | 6 | //˘/˘· |
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.