Clay wrote:
Hi: My name is Clay and I live in Canada. My grandfather decended from Norway. He taught my mother a song when she was little and we are trying to find the lyrics to the whole song. All I know is jeg ere sa glad til yewl kevll. I don’t know how to spell in Norwegian, so I’m not sure if this makes any sense at all. If it does, I would sure appreciate it if you could send me the words to this song.
Thank-you
If anyone can help, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
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26 Responses to “Can You Help with a Norwegian Song?”
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January 18th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
It is a Christmas song. We are so glad on Christmas Day. I don’t know all the words right now.
January 20th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
The words in norwegian are:
Jeg er så glad hver julekveld, for da ble Jesus født.
Da lyste stjernen som en sol, og engler sang så søtt.
Det lille barn i Betleham, han var en konge stor
som kom fra himlens høye slott, ned til vår arme jord.
Nå bor had høyt i himmelrik, han er Gud’s egen sønn,
men husker alltid på de små og h°rer deres bønn.
Jeg er så glad hver julekveld, da synger vi hans pris.
Da åpner han for alle små sitt søte paradis.
Da tenner moder alle lys, og ingen krok er mørk.
Hun sier stjernen lyste så i hele verdens ørk.
Jeg holder av vår julekveld og av den Herre Krist,
og at han elsker meg igjen, det vet jeg ganske visst.
It is a most beautiful Christmas song!
February 7th, 2007 at 12:26 am
The song is “I am so glad on Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus’s birth, when like the sun the star shone forth, and angels sang on earth. ” It’s a popular Children’s Christmas song, and is in the Lutheran hymnal. The song your grandfather sang was” Jag er sa glade en Jul kvall,” (missing the dots on scandanavian vowels.)I know it as an old Swedish song, so I think it is claimed by all of Scandanavia, too.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Thanks for all of your help!
It looks like the name of the song with the accents is Jeg er så glad hver julekveld.
According to this site:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/non/no/jegersag.htm
It was written by Inger M. Wexelsen (1832-1911) in 1859.
The melody is by Peder Knudsen, and was written in the same year also.
Here’s the midi tune from the same site:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/c/h/r/christmas_eve.mid
Here you can find the sheet music
If anyone can provide a full English translation of this song, that would be great!
Thanks!
Lisa
February 19th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Thanks very much Lisa, and all the responses. My mother will be so happy to see these words. I’m sure it will allcome back to her then.
Thanks again, Clay Schwartz
December 13th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
This is a very common , and beautiful, Christmas song along with the English translation.
Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
for da ble Jesus født,
da lyste stjernen som en sol,
og engler sang så søtt.
Det lille barn i Betlehem,
han var en konge stor
som kom fra himlens høye slott
ned til vår arme jord.
Nå bor han høyt i himmerik,
han er Guds egen Sønn,
men husker alltis på de små
og hører deres bønn.
Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
da synger vi hans pris:
da åpner han for alle små
sitt søte paradis.
Da tenner moder alle lys,
så ingen krok er mørk;
hun sier stjernen lyste så
i hele verdens ørk.
Hun sier at den lyser enn
og slukkes aldri ut,
og hvis den skinner på min vei,
da kommer jeg til Gud.
Jeg holder av vår julekveld
og av den herre Krist
og at han elsker meg igjen,
det vet jeg ganske visst.
ENGLISH LYRICS TRANSLATION
1. I am so glad each Christmas Eve,
The night of Jesus’ birth!
Then like the sun the Star shone forth,1
And angels sang on earth.
2. The little Child in Bethlehem,
He was a King indeed!
For He came down from heaven above
To help a world in need.
3. He dwells again in heaven’s realm,
The Son of God today;
And still He loves His little ones
And hears them when they pray.
4. I am so glad on Christmas Eve!
His praises then I sing;
He opens then for every child
The palace of the King.2
5. When mother trims the Christmas tree
Which fills the room with light,
She tells me of the wondrous Star
That made the dark world bright.
6. She says the Star is shining still,
And never will grow dim;
And if it shines upon my way,
It leads me up to Him.
7. And so I love each Christmas Eve
And I love Jesus, too;
And that He loves me every day
I know so well is true.
December 14th, 2007 at 5:49 am
The version and the translation above are from the site linked to in Lisa’s comment. I found a longer version with 9 verses on Wiki
1. Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
for da ble Jesus født;
da lyste stjernen som en sol,
og engler sang så søtt.
2. Det lille barn i Betlehem,
han var en konge stor
som kom fra himlens høye slott
ned til vår arme jord.
3. Nu bor han høyt i himmelrik,
han er Guds egen sønn,
men husker alltid på de små
og hører deres bønn.
4. Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
da synger vi hans pris;
da åpner han for alle små
sitt søte paradis.
5. Da tenner moder alle lys,
så ingen krok er mørk.
Hun sier stjernen lyste så
i hele verdens ørk.
6. Hun sier at den lyser enn
og slokner aldri ut,
og hvis den skinner på min vei,
da kommer jeg til Gud.
7. Hun sier at de engler små,
de synger og i dag
om fred og fryd på jorderik
og om Guds velbehag.
8. Å gid jeg kunne synge så,
da ble visst Jesus glad;
ti jeg jo også ble Guds barn
engang i dåpens bad.
9. Jeg holder av vår julekveld
og av den Herre Krist,
og at han elsker meg igjen,
det vet jeg ganske visst.
Could anyone provide a LITERAL translation please?
December 16th, 2007 at 11:00 am
This is a fairly well known Christmas song and is found in the “Lutheran Book of Worship” (published in 1978 and aslo known as “The Green Hymnal”) It is hymn #69
March 1st, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@Monique, in case you’re still there: Well, a LITERAL translation will look like broken English, of course… here is mine – deliberately disregarding English syntax etc. so that you can actually match each couple of Norwegian and English words, thanks to the similar structure of these languages:
1. Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
for da ble Jesus født;
da lyste stjernen som en sol,
og engler sang så søtt.
I am so glad every Christmas Eve,
because then was Jesus born;
then shone the star like a sun,
and the angels sang so sweet(ly).
2. Det lille barn i Betlehem,
han var en konge stor
som kom fra himlens høye slott
ned til vår arme jord.
The small (“little”) child of Bethlehem,
he was a great king (lit. “king great”)
who came from Heaven’s high castle
down to our poor Earth.
3. Nu bor han høyt i himmelrik,
han er Guds egen sønn,
men husker alltid på de små
og hører deres bønn.
Now lives he high in the heavenly kingdom,
he is God’s own son,
but loves always the small (ones)
and hears their prayer.
4. Jeg er så glad hver julekveld,
da synger vi hans pris;
da åpner han for alle små
sitt søte paradis.
I am so glad every Christmas Eve,
then sing we his praise;
then opens he for all small ones
his sweet Paradise.
5. Da tenner moder alle lys,
så ingen krok er mørk.
Hun sier stjernen lyste så
i hele verdens ørk.
Then turns on mother all the lights,
so no corner is dark (“murky”).
She says the star shone so
(illuminating) all the world’s darkness.
6. Hun sier at den lyser enn
og slokner aldri ut,
og hvis den skinner på min vei,
da kommer jeg til Gud.
She says that it shines still
and turns never off,
and when (i.e. as long as) its shines on my way
then come I to God.
7. Hun sier at de engler små,
de synger og i dag
om fred og fryd på jorderik
og om Guds velbehag.
She says that the small angels
they sing also today
for peace and joy on the Earthly kingdom
and for God’s pleasure.
8. Å gid jeg kunne synge så,
da ble visst Jesus glad;
ti jeg jo også ble Guds barn
engang i dåpens bad.
Oh if only I can sing so,
then is surely Jesus glad;
indeed I’d also remain God’s child
even (just like) in Baptism’s bath.
9. Jeg holder av vår julekveld
og av den Herre Krist,
og at han elsker meg igjen,
det vet jeg ganske visst.
I believe (=”hold” for true) our Christmas
and the Lord Christ,
and that he loves me in turn,
that know I quite for sure.
March 1st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Thanks Marco! This is exactly the sort of translation that I need! People out there will understand and I can start from it to translate it into other languages.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Maria Arrendondo sings “Jeg er så glad hver julekveld”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhM9MWzp5LQ
December 10th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Dear Clay,
I am spanish and live in Santander ( Spain) but my grandfathers came from Norway in 1920. We sang this song all the 24 December dancing around the Christmas tree . My grand mother , Else use to put out the light and the ambience tourned very misterious before having the christmas gifts. In 1993 I ask my mother ( Else again) to translate to spanish the song and I gave this to the director of a chorus . Now I sing in this chorus called ” A Cappella” and we are going to sing it in the Christmas concert in Santander cathedral.
For me and my brothers is our Christmas song and I feel always touched when I sing it or hear. I a following letter I will give to you the spanish translation
Yours sincerely
Olav Mazarrasa Mowinckel
December 10th, 2009 at 9:39 am
That’s wonderful Olav! If you’d like to post the translation here, please do. Also, if you’d like me to post a recording to you singing it, that would be lovely.
Happy holidays!
Mama Lisa
December 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Dear Marco:
Many thousand thanks for the literal translaction of “Jeg er so glad”. That is a very valuable contribution. I wonder, would it be possible for you to write a phonetic version of the norwegian words to allow English-only speakers to sing it with close to Norwegian pronunciation? For example “Jeg” as “Yay”. I don’t know what to do with “hver” or “og”. Sometimes it is hard to decipher when listening to native Norwegian singing it on You-Tube, since we are not used to the real Norwegian sounds and do not always recognize them. Thanks again for the literal translation!
David Nelson
February 15th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Deae Clay,
As I told to you last 18 th December the chorus “A Cappella” which I belong gave a concert of Christmas songs of Europe and USA in Santander cathedral (Spain). I taught the norvegian song to them years ago. We sing the first verse in norvegian , then in spanish ( my mother translated) and again the same in norvegian.
I give you the youtube adress for Jeg er so glad ver julekveld:
Jeg eg sa glad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2x8NKuRRSs
The first verse in spanish is:
En nochebuena contento estoy porque nació Jesus.
la estrella brilla igual que el sol
Los ángeles cantan ya.
This is more or less in english:
In Christmas night I am happy beacause Jesus is born
The star shines like the sun
The angels are now singing
Kiss
Olav
February 15th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Dear Clay,
i send you as promised the youtube adress , we sung the norvegian song in Santander cathedral ( Spain) last 18 December
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2x8NKuRRSs
I sing as a bass in the second file at right, the third from the right , without glasses and without hair
Kiss ( Besos)
Olav
February 15th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Dear Lisa
What thats mean ” Your comment is awaiting moderation”?? .I am trying to send a message to Clay in Canada with a youtube adress with the norvegian song sung by our chorus in Santander (Spain )but something doesnt work properly
thankyou very much for your reply
Olav
February 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
It means I have to approve the comment!
August 12th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Since you are all so knowledgeable with Norwegian Songs a friend of mine is trying to locate a norwegian song he heard in Norway some years back and since he is not a Norwegian speaker he said that the words sounded something like “hand to hold me”!!!!
I know this is very challenging but maybe someone knows. I would like to find the song for him :)
November 4th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Maybe someone could send me the Norwegian words to Nidleven. I can’t find my Norske song book!!!
Help!! Thank you all!
Dee
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:53 am
“Hand to hold me” could be “Ei hand aa holde i”, artist Jorn Hoel, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlU6HFBvXaI . Lyrics http://www.jornhoel.no/content/news/index.php?news_id=353 . This is my best suggestion based on the information available :-)
Geir
December 22nd, 2010 at 8:03 am
Nidleven is perhaps “Nidelven stille og vakker du er”.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwYqHOS5lGU . Lyrics: http://www.trondheim.com/content/1117692721/Nidelven-stille-og-vakker-du-er . Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidelva
Geir
September 8th, 2011 at 6:41 am
Please , somebody can help me with another norwegian song? I think that the tittle is Ved Rondane, perhaps from Grieg?
My grand parents from norway use to sing it . Is it possible to get the score of this song?
Thankyou very much
Olav Mazarrasa
December 6th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Hello Lisa and friends, I’m afraid I am about two years late :-)
but I couldn’t find the address of this site anymore (I have to change computers quite often).
@Nelson in Tokyo: I can’t provide a phonetic transcription, for three very good reasons…
first, as you know, English pronunciation is far from standardized (even in a simple word like “water” only the first letter (w) sounds the same in RP (“Queen’s English”) and in General American – not to mention Scots, Geordie, Brummie, etc.)
second, the same applies to Norwegian…
Third… my mother tongue is Italian! :-)
@ Olav: You can find the score here
http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/b/bb/Grieg.rundarne.pdf
BTW and off topic: I hadn’t noticed Lisa’s last name… you have Italian ancestors, haven’t you?
Merry Christmas to all of you!
December 6th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
I do Marco! My last name should be spelled Iannucci!
December 30th, 2011 at 7:27 am
Marco, thankyou very much for the score. We will try to sing it in a spanish-norwegian meeting next october in Covarrubias ( Spain) where a norwegian princess is buried and discovered ( the burial) in 1954.
The princess Kristina was maried in XIII century with Felipe , brother of king Alfonso X ( El sabio).