Maamme: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Maamme (Finnish) or Vårt Land (Swedish), meaning Our land, is the title of Finland's national anthem.

It was composed by the German Fredrik Pacius, written by the Finland-Swede Johan Ludvig Runeberg (in Swedish), and performed first time on May 13, 1848. The original poem has 11 stanzas. It was written in 1846, but printed first in 1848 as prologue to the grand cycle of poems The tales of Ensign Stål, a masterpiece of Romantic nationalism.

The tales of Ensign Stål were much appreciated through all of Scandinavia. Up to Finland's independence 1917-18, when the song started to be recognized as specifical for Finland, Pacius's tune and Runeberg's text was often sung also in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The theme of the poem is also suspiciously similar to that of the national anthems of Sweden (Du gamla, Du fria) and Norway (Ja, vi elsker dette landet).

Some Finns would now like to change the Finnish national anthem to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius (also a Finland-Swede), partly because original Vårt Land is written in Swedish, not Finnish, partly because Pacius's tune is also used for the national anthem of Estonia with a similarly themed text (1869): "Mu isamaa" (My Fatherland), and partly because Pacius was German. It is also told that he had composed the tune in fifteen minutes because he didn't know that it would be so important to the Finns that they would make it their national anthem. Jean Sibelius is the national composer of Finland. But Finlandia was meant to be just a tune, so it is very difficult to sing. The Finns are also very conservative and want to keep their traditions, so the national anthem probably does not get changed. Finlandia is also used for the national anthem of Biafra.

Here are the lyrics of the first verse in Finnish translation, Swedish (original), and English translation:

Maamme

(translation by Paavo Cajander)

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.

Vårt land

(the original, by Johan Ludvig Runeberg)

Vårt land, vårt land, vårt fosterland,

ljud högt, 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 högre klinga skall en gång

Vår fosterländska sång.

Our Land

(translation by Clement Burbank Shaw)

Our land, our land, our fatherland,

Sound loud, O name of worth!

No mount that meets the heaven's band,

No hidden vale, no wavewashed strand,

Is loved, as is our native North,

Our own forefathers' earth.

Thy blossom, in the bud laid low,

Yet ripened shall upspring.

See! From our love once more shall grow

Thy light, thy joy, thy hope, thy glow!

And clearer yet one day shall ring

The song our land shall sing.