"Ja, vi elsker dette landet"

The words to the Norwegian national anthem were written by poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1859, and the tune by his cousin, the composer Rikard Nordraak, a few years later. It was first performed on Constitution Day in 1864. The verses below are the ones most commonly sung, 1, 7, and 8; the spelling has been modernised from the Dano-Norwegian of Bjørnson's day.

Ja, vi elsker dette landet,
som det stiger frem,
furet, værbitt over vannet,
med de tusen hjem.
Elsker, elsker det og tenker
på vår far og mor
og den saganatt som senker
drømmer på vår jord.
og den saganatt som senker,
senker drømmer på vår jord.

Norske mann i hus og hytte,
takk din store Gud!
Landet ville han beskytte,
skjønt det mørkt så ut.
Alt hva fedrene har kjempet,
mødrene har grett,
har den Herre stille lempet
så vi vant, vi vant vår rett.

Ja, vi elsker dette landet,
som det stiger frem,
furet, værbitt over vannet,
med de tusen hjem.
Og som fedres kamp har hevet
det av nød til seir,
også vi, når det blir krevet,
for dets fred, dets fred slår leir.

Yes, we love this country
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, above the sea,
with the thousands of homes.
Love, love it and think
of our father and mother
and the saga night that sends
dreams to our earth.
and the saga night that sends,
sends dreams to our earth.

Norseman in house and cabin,
thank your great God!
The country he wanted to protect,
although things looked dark.
All the fights fathers have fought,
and the mothers have wept,
the Lord has quietly moved,
so we won our rights.

Yes, we love this country
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, above the sea,
with those thousand homes.
And as the fathers' struggle has raised
it from need to victory,
even we, when it is demanded,
for its peace will encamp.

A lovely a capella version by the Norsk Solistkor can be seen and heard here at YouTube, and a men's-chorus version by Den norske Studentersangforening directed by Thomas Caplin, with a copy of the poem in its original spelling here at "Bjørnson for vår tid" from Nasjonalbiblioteket.

And here is a version of the public-domain arrangement, from the Norwegian Society of Texas: