Kongesangen

Kongesangen

King Harald V
Royal anthem of  Norway
Lyrics	Henrik Wergeland & Gustav Jensen
Music	God Save the Queen
Adopted	1906

Kongesangen ("King's Song") is Norway's royal anthem.^[1] The lyrics come in several versions. The first version (Gud signe kongen vor) was written by Henrik Wergeland, but the version used today and quoted below was written by Gustav Jensen for the coronation of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud, a British royal princess, in 1906. It was inspired by the British royal and national anthem, and set to the tune of "God Save the Queen".^[2]

Lyrics 1 Gud sign vår konge god! Sign ham med kraft og mod sign hjem og slott! Lys for ham ved din Ånd, knytt med din sterke hånd hellige troskapsbånd om folk og drott! 2 Høyt sverger Norges mann hver i sitt kall, sin stand, troskap sin drott. Trofast i liv og død, tapper i krig og nød, alltid vårt Norge lød Gud og sin drott.

Free translation 1 God bless our good king! Bless him with strength and courage bless home and castle! Guide him with your Spirit, forge with your strong Hand holy bonds of allegiance around people and sovereign! 2 Loudly pledge men of Norway each in his calling, his station, loyalty to the sovereign. Loyal in life and death, courageous in war and distress, always our Norway obeyed God and its sovereign.

References

1. Doug Lennox, Now You Know Royalty (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2009), p. 56
2. "Kongesangen". Store norske leksikon (2005 - 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2015.