FINNISH LYRICS

Oi maamme Suomi, synnyinmaa!
Soi, sana kultainen!
Ei laaksoa ei kukkulaa,
Ei vettä, rantaa rakkaampaa,
Kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen,
Maa kallis isien! 

Sun kukoistukses kuorestaan
Kerrankin puhkeaa!
Viel' lempemme saa nousemaan,
Sun toivos, riemus loistossaan,
Ja kerran laulus, synnyinmaa,
Korkeemman kaiun saa.

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SWEDISH LYRICS
 
Vårt land, vårt land, vårt fosterland,
Ljud höjd, o dyra ord!
Ej lyfts en höjd mot himlens rand,
Ej sänks en dal, ej sköljs en strand,
Mer älskad än vår bygd i nord,
Än våra fäders jord.

Din blomning, sluten än i knopp,
Skall mogna ur sitt tvång;
Se, ur vår kärlek skall gå opp
Ditt ljus, din glans, din fröjd, ditt hopp,
Och högra klinga skall en gång
Vår fosterländska sång.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION (of Swedish lyrics)
 
Our land, our land, our native land, 
Oh, let her name ring clear!
No peaks against the heavens that stand,
No gentle dales or foaming strand
Are loved as we our home revere,
The earth our sires held dear.
 
The flowers in their buds that grope
Shall burst their sheaths with spring;
So from our love to bloom shall ope
Thy gleam, thy glow, thy joy hope,
And higher yet some day shall ring
The patriot song we sing!

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION (of Finnish lyrics)

O our home country, Finland, the land where we were born,
sound high, you golden word!
There is no valley, no mountain,
no lake or shore more dear,
than this northern home,
the land of our fathers.

There shall be time
when you will burst
into full blossom,
then our love shall be roused
by your glorious hope and joy,
at last, your song, o motherland,
will sound in higher tone!

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Finland
"Maamme" (Our Land)

Words by:Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Music by:Fredrik Pacius
In use since:1848

The melody of "Maamme" is identical to the Estonian anthem melody. The anthem
lyrics were taken from a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Swedish-speaking
poet, called "Vårt land" (Our Land). The song was first sung in 1848 and became
popular in Scandinavia and many of his patriotic poems, including Vårt land
were used by promoters of Finnish nationalism. The poem was translated into
Finnish by Paavo Eemil Kajander and became the anthem before 1917 independence.
Interestingly, the anthem has never been officially legislated as the Finnish
anthem, but rather is traditionally used as the anthem.

There is currently a debate in Finland to change the anthem to Jean Sibelius'
song "Finlandia" (the melody was used in Biafra), a song recognized
internationally as a symbol of Finland, but the general opinion seems to be for
now to keep the current anthem.

Special thanks to:Klaus Caussmacher for the sheet music, Daniel G. Andersson
for some of the information, and Matti Malinen for the English translation of
the Finnish lyrics.

See also: Aland_Islands.
