It's only been the official national anthem since 2019
Yep, the current national anthem – written by dramatist and poet Bjørnsterne Bjørnson and Rikard Nordraak (a friend of famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg) in the mid to late 1800s – wasn't officially recognised as Norway's national anthem until December 2019, even though it had been in use since the 1860s.
That's partly because 'Ja vi elsker', as the national anthem (or nasjonalsangen) is more commonly known, was actually conceived as a patriotic ode to the country.
Until 2019, it was usually sung alongside the rather rousing 'Sønner av Norge' (Sons of Norway) which tended to be the preferred option for more official occasions.
Side note: 'Sons of Norway' was actually the de facto anthem until the early 1900s. It was written in response to the Royal Norwegian Society for Development's national anthem competition in 1819.
It is always sung at Constitution Day
Constitution Day, or Syttende Mai, is Norway's national day and, unsurprisingly, the national anthem gets a lot airtime on this day of celebration.
You'll hear it played and sung all over the country that day at parades, commemorative events and more.
But like most national anthems, it is also played at sporting events if Norwegian athletes are taking part, national celebrations, and various public gatherings.
Typically, not all the verses are sung
The whole anthem is now eight verses' long, but generally only the first verse and the last two verses are sung.
And the last two lines of each verse are sung twice and on the second go, one or two words are repeated. For example, in the first verse, senker (lays) is repeated when you sing the line for the second time.
Interestingly, Bjørnson's work originally had six verses, but in 1863, he had different views about the monarchy, so deleted a verse that was a tribute to King Carl XV and added three others.
The verses that are commonly sung talk about Norwegians' love for, pride in, and devotion to their beautiful country and heritage while the other verses celebrate freedom and highlight Norway's resilience in battle.
The anthem has come to be a symbol of independence. It reflects the period in which it was written, when Norway was struggling to find its independence and identity after centuries of union with its neighbours, Denmark and Sweden.
Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in 1814 but Norway did not gain its independence from Sweden until 1905.
It's been the subject of recent controversy
Norwegian pop star Astrid S, performed 'Ja, vi elsker dette landet' before Norway's opening match at the UEFA Women's Euro 2025. So far, so straightforward.
People went crazy over her spellbinding performance with videos of it going viral on social media, but the trouble started when people complained about similarities they'd noticed between the musical arrangement she used and versions created by other artists, with some calling it an act of plagiarism.
Here's where it gets a bit confusing. There's a Norwegian company called Tono that manages performance rights for music in Norway and there are several different arrangements of the anthem registered with it. But there are two that are relevant here: one by Helene Bøksle from 2021 and one by Elisabeth Karsten from 2015.
It may seem weird that artists can have intellectual property on a national anthem, but although the song is a free work, artists can register new arrangements of it on Tono and both of these have been approved as separate works.
Karsten's husband reported Astrid S's performance to Tono as an act of plagiarism against his wife's (and her co-composers') work and they want to take action in Norway and internationally as the match was broadcast abroad, too.
"If you listen to the version from 2015 where the vocals begin, the interpretation, the pitch and not least exactly where the string instrument comes in, it is completely the same," he told Norwegian newspaper VG this week.
Bøksle also pointed out a few similarities between her version and the one sung by Astrid S, including "the strokes on the piano, the way the song is built up, and the orchestration," she told the newspaper.
Astrid S's team, meanwhile, said that the version Astrid S sang was made and arranged on request from UEFA.
We think the three versions are pretty similar, what about you? Here's Helene's and Elisabeth's.
It's always a good time to practice
And if you want to have a practice singalong yourself, you can watch below or listen here: we've put the first verse (this and the last two are usually the only ones sung) in all its glory below, with the literal (unofficial) English translation alongside.
[embed]https://youtu.be/HnknxUvIACw[/embed]
Ja, vi elsker dette landet, Yes, we love this country
som det stiger frem, as it rises forth,
furet, værbitt over vannet, rugged, weathered, over the water,
med de tusen hjem, – with the thousands of homes, –
elsker, elsker det og tenker love, love it and think
på vår far og mor of our father and mother
og den saganatt som senker and the saga-night that lays
drømmer på vår jord. dreams upon our earth.
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