NATIONAL
SONGS
The national anthem of India is “Jana Gana Mana” which was written by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The Anthem is written in high Bengali Sanskrit and is taken from the first five stanzas of a Brahmo Hymn, which was composed and scored by Rabindranath Tagore himself.
|| INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM ||
भारत-भाग्य-विधाता
पंजाब-सिंध-गुजराता-महाराता
-द्रविड़-उत्कल-वंगा
विंध्य-हिमाचल-यमुना-गंगा
उछाला-जलाधि-तरंगा
तव शुभ नाम जागे
तव शुभ आशीष मागे
गवे तव जय- गाथा
जन-गण-मंगल-दायक जय हे
भारत-भाग्य-विधाता।
जया हे! जया हे! जया हे!
जय जय जय, जय हे!
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Panjaba-Sindha-Gujrata-Maharata-
Dravida-Utkala-Vanga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchhala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tava shubha ashisha mage
Gave tava jaya-gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he! Jaya he! Jaya he!
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of the Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha.
of the Dravida, Orissa and Bengal.
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganges
and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.
In Copenhagen in 1771, Johan Nordahl Brun wrote the drinking song ‘Norges Skaal’ (‘Norway’s Toast’), also known by its first line: ‘For Norge, Kiæmpers Fødeland’, or ‘For Norway, birthplace of warriors’. It carried themes of Norwegian nationalism, and as a result was banned just a year after its composition by Danish-Norwegian officials for being anti-Danish in nature. Its revolutionary themes gained it the nickname ‘the Norwegian Marseillaise’ after the French national anthem.
|| NORWEGIAN NATIONAL SONG ||
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. 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 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 slår leir.
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, over the water,
with the thousands of homes, —
love, love it and think
of our father and mother
and the saga-night that lays
dreams upon our earth. Norwegian man 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 eased
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 (for defence).