Lofsöngur
Encyclopedia
"Lofsöngur" also known as "Ó Guð vors lands" ("O, God of Our Land"), is the national anthem
of Iceland
. The lyrics are by Matthías Jochumsson
and the music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
. The anthem contains three stanzas, but only the first one is commonly sung. The melody is by many considered difficult to sing, and requires a vocal range
of a minor fourteenth. Many Icelandic people claim to be unable to sing it. That the anthem is essentially a hymn
has been the subject of controversy in recent times, but proponents point to the fact that Iceland has a state church and that Christianity is by far the most popular religion.
Many other patriotic and nationalistic songs are sung to show allegiance to Iceland, on various occasions as people often know them better when it comes to singing them, like "Ísland er land þitt" ("Iceland is your country"), "Ísland ögrum skorið" ("Iceland cut with bays"), "Öxar við ána" ("By the Öxará
(Axe River)"), "Ó fögur er vor fósturjörð" ("Oh how beautiful is our motherland"), "Hver á sér fegra föðurland?" ("Who has a more beautiful motherland?"), "Eldgamla Ísafold" ("Ancient Ice-land"), "Ég vil elska mitt land" ("I want to love my country") "Úr útsæ rísa Íslandsfjöll" ("From the sea rise Iceland's Mountains"), the newest (by the popular band Baggalútur): "Ísland ég elska þig" ("Iceland I love you"), and many others ranging from very well known to lesser known.
Vér lofum þitt heilaga, heilaga nafn!
Úr sólkerfum himnanna hnýta þér krans
þínir herskarar, tímanna safn.
Fyrir þér er einn dagur sem þúsund ár,
og þúsund ár dagur, ei meir;
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Ó guð, ó guð! Vér föllum fram
og fórnum þér brennandi, brennandi sál,
guð faðir, vor drottinn frá kyni til kyns,
og vér kvökum vort helgasta mál.
Vér kvökum og þökkum í þúsund ár,
því þú ert vort einasta skjól.
Vér kvökum og þökkum með titrandi tár,
því þú tilbjóst vort forlagahjól.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
Voru morgunsins húmköldu, hrynjandi tár,
sem hitna við skínandi sól.
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!
Vér lifum sem blaktandi, blaktandi strá.
Vér deyjum, ef þú ert ei ljós það og líf,
sem að lyftir oss duftinu frá.
Ó, vert þú hvern morgun vort ljúfasta líf,
vor leiðtogi í daganna þraut
og á kvöldin vor himneska hvíld og vor hlíf
og vor hertogi á þjóðlífsins braut.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
verði gróandi þjóðlíf með þverrandi tár,
sem þroskast á guðsríkis braut.
We worship Thy name in its wonder sublime.
The suns of the heavens are set in Thy crown
By Thy legions, the ages of time!
With Thee is each day as a thousand years,
Each thousand of years, but a day,
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.
Our God, our God, we bow to Thee,
Our spirits most fervent we place in Thy care.
Lord, God of our fathers from age unto age,
We are breathing our holiest prayer.
We pray and we thank Thee a thousand years,
For safely protected we stand;
We pray and we bring Thee our homage of tears,
Our destiny rest in Thy hand.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
The hoarfrost of morning which tounted those years,
Thy sun rising high, shall command!
Our country's God! Our God's country!
Our life is a feeble and quivering reed;
We perish, deprived of Thy spirit and light
To redeem and uphold in our need.
Inspire us at morn with Thy courage and love,
And lead through the days of our strife!
At evening send peace from Thy heaven above,
And safeguard our nation through life.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
O, prosper our people, diminish our tears
And guide, in Thy wisdom, through life!
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. The lyrics are by Matthías Jochumsson
Matthías Jochumsson
Matthías Jochumsson was an Icelandic poet, playwright, and translator. He is best known for his lyrical poetry and for writing the national anthem of Iceland, Lofsöngur, in 1874. He was born in Skógar into a poor family and traveled to the continent to further his education...
and the music by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson
Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson , was an Icelandic composer best known for composing Lofsöngur, the National Anthem of Iceland....
. The anthem contains three stanzas, but only the first one is commonly sung. The melody is by many considered difficult to sing, and requires a vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
of a minor fourteenth. Many Icelandic people claim to be unable to sing it. That the anthem is essentially a hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
has been the subject of controversy in recent times, but proponents point to the fact that Iceland has a state church and that Christianity is by far the most popular religion.
Many other patriotic and nationalistic songs are sung to show allegiance to Iceland, on various occasions as people often know them better when it comes to singing them, like "Ísland er land þitt" ("Iceland is your country"), "Ísland ögrum skorið" ("Iceland cut with bays"), "Öxar við ána" ("By the Öxará
Öxará
Öxará is a river in Iceland in Þingvellir National Park. It ends in Öxaráfoss, a waterfall.-See also:*Rivers of Iceland...
(Axe River)"), "Ó fögur er vor fósturjörð" ("Oh how beautiful is our motherland"), "Hver á sér fegra föðurland?" ("Who has a more beautiful motherland?"), "Eldgamla Ísafold" ("Ancient Ice-land"), "Ég vil elska mitt land" ("I want to love my country") "Úr útsæ rísa Íslandsfjöll" ("From the sea rise Iceland's Mountains"), the newest (by the popular band Baggalútur): "Ísland ég elska þig" ("Iceland I love you"), and many others ranging from very well known to lesser known.
Icelandic lyrics
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!Vér lofum þitt heilaga, heilaga nafn!
Úr sólkerfum himnanna hnýta þér krans
þínir herskarar, tímanna safn.
Fyrir þér er einn dagur sem þúsund ár,
og þúsund ár dagur, ei meir;
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Ó guð, ó guð! Vér föllum fram
og fórnum þér brennandi, brennandi sál,
guð faðir, vor drottinn frá kyni til kyns,
og vér kvökum vort helgasta mál.
Vér kvökum og þökkum í þúsund ár,
því þú ert vort einasta skjól.
Vér kvökum og þökkum með titrandi tár,
því þú tilbjóst vort forlagahjól.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
Voru morgunsins húmköldu, hrynjandi tár,
sem hitna við skínandi sól.
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!
Vér lifum sem blaktandi, blaktandi strá.
Vér deyjum, ef þú ert ei ljós það og líf,
sem að lyftir oss duftinu frá.
Ó, vert þú hvern morgun vort ljúfasta líf,
vor leiðtogi í daganna þraut
og á kvöldin vor himneska hvíld og vor hlíf
og vor hertogi á þjóðlífsins braut.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
verði gróandi þjóðlíf með þverrandi tár,
sem þroskast á guðsríkis braut.
English translation
Oh, God of our country! Oh, our country's God!We worship Thy name in its wonder sublime.
The suns of the heavens are set in Thy crown
By Thy legions, the ages of time!
With Thee is each day as a thousand years,
Each thousand of years, but a day,
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,
That reverently passes away.
Our God, our God, we bow to Thee,
Our spirits most fervent we place in Thy care.
Lord, God of our fathers from age unto age,
We are breathing our holiest prayer.
We pray and we thank Thee a thousand years,
For safely protected we stand;
We pray and we bring Thee our homage of tears,
Our destiny rest in Thy hand.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
The hoarfrost of morning which tounted those years,
Thy sun rising high, shall command!
Our country's God! Our God's country!
Our life is a feeble and quivering reed;
We perish, deprived of Thy spirit and light
To redeem and uphold in our need.
Inspire us at morn with Thy courage and love,
And lead through the days of our strife!
At evening send peace from Thy heaven above,
And safeguard our nation through life.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
O, prosper our people, diminish our tears
And guide, in Thy wisdom, through life!