Song for the Students' Glee Club
Now, brothers, sing out our song,Whose train of light shall follow long!With love are its measures beatingAnd victory's joyous greeting,While round about it flower-seedsIn will of youth shall grow to deeds!
Our song has gone far and. wide,Bright mem'ries on our way abide,In flags flying, friends that love us,In wreaths from fair hands above us,In feasts where youth's full spirits stream,Our nation's past, our nation's dream.
At Hald on a sunny dayThat shot-torn flag of many a frayWas waving above our singing,Soul-fire to our music bringing,The ardor of that glorious band,Who died as heroes for our land.
To Arendal our summer-way"For might and fame!"--remember aye!The fleet on the bay was riding,Our singer-ship through it gliding.Our merchant-ships shall rule the wave!This joyous hoisting-song we gave.
We gathered in Bergen townOf ancient and of new renown.The horns of our fathers greet us,King Sverre comes forth to meet us;But fresh and full the present spokeIn heartfelt song from all its folk.
Upsala, Copenhagen, Lund,In each our song its garland won,Fair fetters of music winding,Harmonious the Northland binding;Our mighty choral theme shall beThe Northern races' unity.
With courage, then, onward roam!Where echo answers is our home.Our past that we sing draws nearer,Our future in song grows clearer,E'en while we wander hand in handAnd summer sing into our land.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- heartfelt a.
- Hearty; sincere.
- 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.]
- copenhagen n.
- A sweetened hot drink of spirit and beaten eggs.
- choral a.
- Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song for the Students' Glee Club 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 the Students' Glee Club, in Poems and Songs (1915), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bjornson-poems-and-songs/song-for-the-students-glee-club.html, id L29287.
Form and metre
Song for the Students' Glee Club is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 5 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBCC songA · longA · beatingB · greetingB · seedsC · deedsC
- 2 AABBCC wideA · abideA · usB · usB · streamC · dreamC
- 3 AABBCC dayA · frayA · singingB · bringingB · bandC · landC
- 4 --AABB way · aye · ridingA · glidingA · waveB · gaveB
- 5 AABBCC townA · renownA · usB · usB · spokeC · folkC
- 6 --AA-- lund · won · windingA · bindingA · be · unity
- 7 AABBCC roamA · homeA · nearerB · clearerB · handC · landC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Now, brothers, sing out our song, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose train of light shall follow long! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With love are its measures beating | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And victory's joyous greeting, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| While round about it flower-seeds | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In will of youth shall grow to deeds! | 8 | ········ |
| Our song has gone far and. wide, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Bright mem'ries on our way abide, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| In flags flying, friends that love us, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| In wreaths from fair hands above us, | 8 | ········ |
| In feasts where youth's full spirits stream, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our nation's past, our nation's dream. | 8 | //˘·//˘· |
| At Hald on a sunny day | 7 | ····/˘· |
| That shot-torn flag of many a fray | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Was waving above our singing, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Soul-fire to our music bringing, | 9 | ·/·/˘/˘/˘ |
| The ardor of that glorious band, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who died as heroes for our land. | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| To Arendal our summer-way | 8 | ····//˘· |
| "For might and fame!"--remember aye! | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The fleet on the bay was riding, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Our singer-ship through it gliding. | 9 | /˘/˘···/˘ |
| Our merchant-ships shall rule the wave! | 8 | //˘····· |
| This joyous hoisting-song we gave. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| We gathered in Bergen town | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Of ancient and of new renown. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The horns of our fathers greet us, | 8 | ···//˘·· |
| King Sverre comes forth to meet us; | 7 | ······· |
| But fresh and full the present spoke | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In heartfelt song from all its folk. | 8 | ·/······ |
| Upsala, Copenhagen, Lund, | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| In each our song its garland won, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Fair fetters of music winding, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Harmonious the Northland binding; | 9 | ˘/˘˘·/·/˘ |
| Our mighty choral theme shall be | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| The Northern races' unity. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| With courage, then, onward roam! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Where echo answers is our home. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·/· |
| Our past that we sing draws nearer, | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| Our future in song grows clearer, | 9 | /˘/˘···/˘ |
| E'en while we wander hand in hand | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And summer sing into our land. | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
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.