The Icelandic National Anthem

Þjóðsöngur Íslendinga - Icelandic National Anthem

Lofsöngur

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,:/:

eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,

sem tilbiður Guð sinn og deyr.

English translation by Jakobina Johnson

Our country's God! 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!, ;:

Eternity's flow'r, with its homage of tears,

That reverently passes away.

THE ICELANDIC NATIONAL ANTHEM

          The Icelandic National Anthem, Ó, Guð vors lands (God of our land) was written by the poet Dr. med. Matthías Jochumsson (1835-1920) who wrote his “psalm of praise” for the millennial festival in 1874 in commemoration of the thousand years anniversary of the settlement of Iceland. The melody is by the composer Professor Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson (1847-1927).

Matthías Jochumsson was Iceland’s greatest poet for half a century. He was honorary citizen of Akureyri, where he lived and D.D. honoris causa at the University of Iceland. He was a voluminous writer of poetry. Jochumsson’s funeral poems are the greatest of the Icelandic language and by his profound understanding of Iceland’s history and his rare gift of sympathy he was able to embrace and re-create the most diverse characters. Jochumsson also contributed some of the noblest and loftiest hymns to Iceland’s religious poetry. He also wrote plays, some of which have proved very popular entertainment in Iceland. He was an energetic translator. Of his many translations these may be mentioned: four plays by Shakespeare, Byron’s Manfred, Tegner’s Fridthjóf’s Saga, Ibsen’s Brand, and a great number of short poems by different authors, English, German and Scandinavian. As a translator he was exceptionally fluent and faithful, undoubtedly one of the best Iceland has ever produced. His biography “soegukaflar af sjálfum mér” was published in 1959 by Ísafoldarprentsmiðja, Reykjavík.

Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson studied theology in Reykjavík and graduated in 1868. He spent most of his mature life abroad. He studied piano both in Reykjavík, Copenhagen and Leipzig and taught piano in Edinburgh until 1919. He was one of the founders of the Edinburgh Society of Musicians (1887) and served as Vice President of that organization. From 1919 to 1922 Sveinbjörnsson lived in Canada and then returned to Reykjavík where he became known as the “Grand Old Man” in the musical spheres in Iceland. From 1923 until his death in 1927, he again lived in Copenhagen. The biography, Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, Ævisaga by Jón Thórarinsson is an excellent documentation of this famous Icelandic composer and his works.

 For additional information please contact the following website: 

http://www.musik.is/Lofsaungur