Song for Norway
Yes, we love this land that towersWhere the ocean foams;Rugged, storm-swept, it embowersMany thousand homes.Love it, love it, of you thinking,Father; mother dear,And that night of saga sinkingDreamful to us here.
This the land that Harald guardedWith his hero-throng,This the land that Haakon warded,Hailed by Eyvind's song.Olaf here the cross erected,While his blood he shed;Sverre's word this land protected'Gainst the Roman dread.
Peasants whetted axes carried,Broke th' invader's blow;Tordenskjold flashed forth and harried,Lighted home the foe.Women oft to arms were leaping,Manlike in their deed;Others' lot was naught but weeping,Tears that brought their meed.
Many truly were we never,But we did suffice,When in times of testing everWorthy was the prize.For we would the land see burning,Rather than its fall;Memory our thoughts is turningDown to Fredrikshald!
Harder times we bore that tried usWere cast off in scorn;In that crisis was beside usBlue-eyed freedom born.That gave father-strength for bearingFamine-need and sword,Honor death itself outwearing,And it gave accord.
Far our foe his weapons flingingUp his visor raised;We in wonder to him springingOn our brother gazed.Both by wholesome shame incitedSouthward made our way;Brothers three, in heart united,We shall stand for aye!
Men of Norway, high or lowly,Give to God the praise!He our land's Defender HolyIn its darkest days!All our fathers here have strivenAnd our mothers wept,Hath the Lord His guidance given,So our right we kept.
Yes, we love this land that towersWhere the ocean foams;Rugged, storm-swept, it embowersMany thousand homes.As our fathers' conflict gave itVict'ry at the end,Also we, when time shall crave it,Will its peace defend.
Words in this poem
- saga n.
- A Scandinavian legend, or heroic or mythic tradition, among the Norsemen and kindred people; a northern European popular historical or religious tale of olden time. [Icel., akin to E. saw a saying. See Say, and cf. Saw.]
- dreamful a.
- Full of dreams.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- manlike a.
- Like man, or like a man, in form or nature; having the qualities of a man, esp. the nobler qualities; manly. [Man + like. Cf. Manly.]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- suffice v. i.
- To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
- crisis n.
- The point of time when it is to be decided whether any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. [L. crisis, Gr. Certain.]
- 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,]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song for Norway 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, Song for Norway, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/song-for-norway.html, id L29242.
Form and metre
Song for Norway is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCDCD towersA · foamsB · embowersA · homesB · thinkingC · dearD · sinkingC · hereD
- 2 -ABACBCB guarded · throngA · wardedB · songA · erectedC · shedB · protectedC · dreadB
- 3 ABABCDCD carriedA · blowB · harriedA · foeB · leapingC · deedD · weepingC · meedD
- 4 ABABCDCD neverA · sufficeB · everA · prizeB · burningC · fallD · turningC · fredrikshaldD
- 5 ABABCDCD usA · scornB · usA · bornB · bearingC · swordD · outwearingC · accordD
- 6 ABABC-C- flingingA · raisedB · springingA · gazedB · incitedC · way · unitedC · aye
- 7 ABABCDCD lowlyA · praiseB · holyA · daysB · strivenC · weptD · givenC · keptD
- 8 ABABCDCD towersA · foamsB · embowersA · homesB · itC · endD · itC · defendD
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, we love this land that towers | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Where the ocean foams; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Rugged, storm-swept, it embowers | 8 | /˘······ |
| Many thousand homes. | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| Love it, love it, of you thinking, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Father; mother dear, | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| And that night of saga sinking | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Dreamful to us here. | 5 | /˘··· |
| This the land that Harald guarded | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| With his hero-throng, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| This the land that Haakon warded, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Hailed by Eyvind's song. | 5 | ····· |
| Olaf here the cross erected, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| While his blood he shed; | 5 | ····· |
| Sverre's word this land protected | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| 'Gainst the Roman dread. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Peasants whetted axes carried, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Broke th' invader's blow; | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Tordenskjold flashed forth and harried, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Lighted home the foe. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Women oft to arms were leaping, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Manlike in their deed; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Others' lot was naught but weeping, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Tears that brought their meed. | 5 | ····· |
| Many truly were we never, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| But we did suffice, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| When in times of testing ever | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Worthy was the prize. | 5 | /˘··· |
| For we would the land see burning, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Rather than its fall; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Memory our thoughts is turning | 9 | /˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Down to Fredrikshald! | 5 | ····· |
| Harder times we bore that tried us | 8 | /˘······ |
| Were cast off in scorn; | 5 | ····· |
| In that crisis was beside us | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Blue-eyed freedom born. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| That gave father-strength for bearing | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Famine-need and sword, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Honor death itself outwearing, | 8 | /˘·˘/··· |
| And it gave accord. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Far our foe his weapons flinging | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Up his visor raised; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| We in wonder to him springing | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| On our brother gazed. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Both by wholesome shame incited | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Southward made our way; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Brothers three, in heart united, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| We shall stand for aye! | 5 | ····· |
| Men of Norway, high or lowly, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Give to God the praise! | 5 | ····· |
| He our land's Defender Holy | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| In its darkest days! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| All our fathers here have striven | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And our mothers wept, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Hath the Lord His guidance given, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| So our right we kept. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yes, we love this land that towers | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Where the ocean foams; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Rugged, storm-swept, it embowers | 8 | /˘······ |
| Many thousand homes. | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| As our fathers' conflict gave it | 8 | ·//˘/˘·· |
| Vict'ry at the end, | 5 | ····· |
| Also we, when time shall crave it, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Will its peace defend. | 5 | ···˘/ |
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.