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11 Responses to “Can Anyone Help with a Norwegian Rhyme with the Line, “Kan du gleme gammel Norge”?”

1. valerie Says:
   October 27th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

   There are versions of it on youtube. I suspect your spelling was incorrect with one word, which makes it hard to search..

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaB-ueZpX_Q

2. Lisa Says:
   October 27th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

   Thanks for your help Valerie!

   Does that mean the spelling should be “Kan Du Glemme Gamle Norge”?

   It seems to translate to “Can you forget old Norway” or “How can you forget old Norway”?

   I found these lyrics…

   Kan Du Glemme Gamle Norge?

   Kan du glemme gamle Norge?
   Aldri jeg det glemme kan,
   som med stolte klippeborge
   er og blir mitt fødeland

   Kan du glemme dette landet
   som dig først tok i sin favn?
   Mon du fi nne vil et annet
   med så stolt og herlig navn?

   Kan du glemme Norges skover
   med sin furu, birk og gran?
   Kan du glemme sjøens vover,
   ald du da forglemme kan.

   Rough English translation I did (I welcome criticism/help!)…

   Can you forget old Norway?
   That I can never forget,
   As the proud citizen(?)
   It is and remains my country of birth.

   Can you forget this country
   that first took you in its arms?
   Can you ever find another
   With a proud and glorious name?

   Can you forget about Norway’s fjords
   With its pine, Birk(?) and spruce?
   Can you forget lake vover(?),
   (?) then you can forget.

   I welcome help with the translation!

   This is an American Norwegian immigrant song.

3. Barb Tendall Sellevold Says:
   July 23rd, 2010 at 11:39 pm

   My grandmother and mother sang this to me back in the 1930’s. We sang it during the 17th of May parade in Chicago. I thought it was the national anthem as a child. My husband tracked your site down based on my memories of the words I remembered. Thanks for the memories! I’m now 77 years old.

4. Cathrine Says:
   March 23rd, 2012 at 6:10 pm

   Hi!

   In the song ‘Kan du glemme gamle Norge’

   ‘kippeborg’ isn’t spelled right.

   It should be ‘klippeborg’ meaning a fortress on a cliff.

   ***

   Kan du glemme Norges skover

   med sin furu, BJØRK (birk is misspelling) og gran?

   = Can you forget Norway’s forests

   with its pine, birch and spruce?

   Kan du glemme sjøens vover,

   aldRI du da forglemme kan.

   Can you forget lake vover(?),
   never then you can forget.

   I’m not sure about the word ‘vover’,

   but I think it has to mean ‘surface’.

   The whole song;

   1.Kan du glemme gamle Norge, aldri jeg det glemme kan,
   med de stolte klippeborge, du er mine fedresland.
   2.Hvordan kunne du dog drage bort fra barneminnets plett,
   skynd deg dog og kom tilbake hvor du sang så glad og lett.
   3.Kan du glemme dette landet som deg først tok i sin favn,
   aldri finner du et annet med så stolt og herlig navn.
   4.Kan du glemme disse trange fjorder som seg bukter inn
   der hvor du så mange ganger vugget ble for sakte vind.
   5.Kan du glemme Norges skove, glemme furu, bjerk og gran,
   vannets klare blanke vove aldri du forglemme kan.
   6.Hvordan kunne du dog glemme slekt og folk og fedreland,
   hører du ei sagas stemme kalle deg til hjemlig strand.
   7.Svever dog ei titt din tanke hjemad hvor din vugge sto
   føler du ei hjertet banke for det landet du forlot.
   8.La da kun din tanke sveve det kan ikke falle tungt,
   og hver nordmann lenge leve gamle Norge evig ungt.
   9.Snart vil gravens kolde leie gjemme deg i vestens land,
   aldri gleden ved at eie hvilested ved norske strand.

   From Cathrine, Norway

5. Lisa Says:
   March 25th, 2012 at 4:26 pm

   Thanks for your help Cathrine!

6. Arnie Slater Says:
   April 29th, 2012 at 3:17 pm

   My great grandmother taught my mother and I this song when I was 5. I never forgot it….but we only learned the first verse and what it meant. Recently I found a great recording of the song on iTunes ! A great folk singer by the name of Knut Bell. The album is: Songs of our Forefathers it has both English and Norwegian songs! kan Du Glemme Gammel Norge (can you remember old Norway?) is sung in it’s entirety in beautiful Norwegian. I almost cried. The whole album is great. Mr. Knut Bell is obviously a proud Norwegian American. I am still listening often so I can learn the whole song!
   Hilsen!
   “Arne”

7. Lori Ann Reinhall Says:
   May 12th, 2012 at 9:49 pm

   Please see my video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCX7Xw7ld2s with my translation. Just in time for Syttende Mai!

8. David Øyen Says:
   January 18th, 2013 at 9:33 pm

   vover–think waves

9. Dave Russett Says:
   January 30th, 2014 at 2:40 pm

   Thanks so much to everyone. One of my cousins remembered the whole thing, too.

10. Gunnar Says:
    January 19th, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    This is the version many Norwegian pioneers sang on the prairie:

    How Can You Forget Old Norway,
    land of rock and narrow fjord?
    : Where the mountains are like castles
    stand like sentinels on guard? :

    How can you forget old Norway,
    land of everlasting fame?
    : Can you ever find another,
    with so glorious a name? :

    How can you forget old Norway,
    and its narrow fjords so grand?
    : In and out between the mountains?
    ‘Tis my own, my native land. :

    They only had three verses in the English version.

    Cathrine’s Norwegian version above is correct and original.

    Here is the the Norwegian version sang by Rita Engebretsen:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbzjK29NhEQ

    The melody is the same as for the Norwegian song: “Husker du de høye fjelle?”

11. L.H. Olsen Says:
    April 3rd, 2016 at 10:55 pm

    Does anyone have the words to this one:
    Norge, i det vakre Norge, der jeg fant mitt hjertes ideal.
    I know the tune, but not sure of the words. My mother sang this song. She came to the U.S. in 1924.

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