This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine; this is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine: but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine: O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine. May truth and freedom come to every nation; may peace abound where strife has raged so long; that each may seek to love and build together, a world united, righting every wrong; a world united in its love for freedom, proclaiming peace together in one song.
I burst into tears while in Finland and trying to sing the original; it is such a lovely melody. This version is golden, thank you. And thank you for the lyrics.
Actually as a Finn I like these words as much as the original wording. These words make The Finland as a Hymn for UN and whole world. We can share our Finlandia to the whole peaceful World!
¨The Finlandia hymn is one the most reverered compositions of Finlands national composer, Jean Sibelius. Whenever it is sung by an able male choir, its power brings tears to my eyes. That is much said for a man who really never sheds any tears. Beautiful music is beautiful, no matter the country it's performed in.
This song can quiet my soul. It has a powerful message or prayer. Hearts beat world wide for peace in every nation. This, too, is my song and prayer. Peace for every nation.
I have been a Cantus fan for many years, and I have always found myself drawn to this piece over and over again. It just never seems to lose it's beauty no matter how many times I listen to it.
The words of that are sung are “This Is My Song,” also known as “A Song of Peace,” and were authored by the poet Lloyd Stone. The music is from the hymn-like portion of Finlandia composed by Jean Sibelius in 1899-1900. Finlandia had no words. Lloyd Stone’s poem was first set to the music in 1934 and published by the Lorenz Publishing Company. The author of the words, Lloyd Stone, was a poet who was born in California and whose parents were from Missouri. The Finnish composer Johan Julius Christian [Jean] Sibelius (08 Dec 1865 - 20 Sep 1957) composed Finlandia in 1899-1900. Some people have posted “This Is My Song” but called it the “Finlandia Hymn.” Finns then protest that the words (Lloyd Stone’s words) aren’t the words of the “Finlandia Hymn.” The words sung in Finland, which weren’t written until 1941 (long after Lloyd Stone’s words were set to the tune!) are by the Finnish poet Veikko Koskenniemi. The “Finlandia Hymn” quickly became a popular anthem for Finland. There is no connection between Lloyd Stone's 1934 poem and the 1941 Finnish words of the "Finlandia Hymn" by the poet Veikko Koskenniemi. Their words do happen to have been set to the same music. [There are other words sung to the hymn-part of Finlandia; “Be Still, My Soul,” for example. The old hymn “Stille mein Wille (Be Still, My Soul)” by Catharina von Schlegel (1752)-translated by Miss Jane Borthwick in 1855-was set to Finlandia for the 1941 Lutheran Hymnal. One source claims a setting of “Be Still, My Soul” to Finlandia appeared in 1927, but I haven’t found it.] Lloyd Stone was also an illustrator and composer. I own a copy of one of his books: The Story of an Ozark Grandmother: As the Grandmother, Jane Honey Howell Marr, Told her Story to her Grandson, Lloyd Stone. Point Lookout, Missouri. (1938). Lloyd Stone’s words appear in at least 18 hymnals, but it is never called the "Finlandia Hymn" in any of the hymnals. It is called either "This Is My Song" or "Song of Peace." Its appearance in The Hymnal for Friends, published by the Friends General Conference (Philadelphia, 1955) is the earliest use of it >>in a hymnal
Thank you Sir for all this information, as a Finn I hugely appreciate all this new information it gave me. I do not personally mind Finlandia Hymn not being the "original", although so I thought. These two versions shall always share the first place in my heart. ^^
There are several lyrics in Finnish too for this instrumental tune. Jalmari Finne 1907, Yrjö Sjöblum 1919, Väino Sola and finally V A Koskenniemi. For a short period it was even anthem of Biafra (Land of rising sun). Because of historical reasons the lyric by Koskenniemi are much beloved here up in North. I understand many of my fellow citizens may even get dissappointed if not sung with these words. - thank you for giving international aspects!
I sang this with public school children and only changed "...Oh God of all the nations" to "...people of all the nations" I actually like it better that way because it directs it to the all the people on earth.
Alas, the secularists have taken over public education and the legal system, and as a result, our children can no longer sing, at school, the most beautiful works of art from ages past, without first whitewashing those works to fit our new politically correct atheistic world view. Why is it that the atheists have been able to make a monopoly on politically correct at the expense of everyone else? Even Richard Dawkins admits he enjoys the transcendent beauty of religious music written by Bach, Mozart, and Monteverdi. But nowadays, unveiling beauty in school is asking for a lawsuit from Freedom from Religion or Amnesty International. This is a recent change. Only a few years ago, we were able to sing a Bach mass alongside a Jewish hymn, alongside the Beatles and Miles Davis. Imagine if our children could encounter the unadulterated beauty of religious art and music at school - imagine Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, or Michaelangelo's David, Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers in our public schools!
Why are you all getting so pissy? It's a gorgeous, wonderful piece of music. That's what is important. Certainly it was originally written by Sibelius to invoke the need for Finland to gain it's independence from the Russian Empire, but it's sentiments are universal.
Sibelius (who was not religious himself) would turn around in his grave if he heard these lyrics. Finlandia is a piece he wrote in times when Finland was suffering terrors from the russians (Sibelius himself was oftened threatened by the russian general Boborski) and the song (and the hymn especially) is the unofficial national anthem of Finland.
+Wlerin please dont tell that to a northern european. The majority of us arent religious is any way, many parents never marry because its a outdated thing that does nothing more than cause trouble and wasting money.
SportSoulLife Like I said, he either _has no opinion_ (he's gone, caput, returned to the void), or he knows the truth. Unless "not religious" somehow incorporates belief in an afterlife, it falls under the first option. But if the second option is true, then northern Europeans need to hear it as much or more than anyone, lest they too meet Sibelius' fate. To keep silent would be the greatest inhumanity imaginable.
Wlerin There is nothing called "The Truth" after death, if he is gone, returned to the void, he does know the thruth, that there is nothing after you died. Everything can be "The truth", we just don't know which theory is the truth, no one can prove it and therefore the void is just as of a valid theory if not even more valid than the Christian idea of heaven.
I knew this song as a child growing up in the Philippines. Here are the lyrics: 1. "Dear Land of home, our hearts to thee are holden, By loyal love for each familiar scene; |: Thy mountains guard the fields of grain all golden, Thy rivers flow thro' meadows of green. :| 2. "Thy children we, our love and pride confessing In this fair land, this pleasant place of home, |: And may we strive to bring a richer blessing To crown thee now, and thro' years to come. :| "
Have sung this in a quartet. It's powerful and melodic, and it soars. It draws one into putting everything one has into the melodic, rising power of the theme. It will transport you.
@Ferrariman601 My heart still only beats to our Finnish lyrics. This song to us is about the awakening of a young nation and the struggle to earn one's place among the free countries of the world.
We did record it in Finnish on the record, btw: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6SO9F5SRf3Q.html Hopefully we did justice to the language!
People seem to be confusing who composed the music with who authored the words being sung. Yes, Jean Sibelius did compose a wonderful piece of music in 1899-1900 which is know by the name "Finlandia," but "Finlandia" didn't have any words. The words that are being sung are from a poem by Lloyd Stone. The poem sometimes is called "This Is My Song," but also sometimes is given the title "A Song of Peace." He wrote this poem shortly after he graduated from the University of Southern California as a music major. He was going to be a teacher, but he instead joined a circus that was on its way to Honolulu. He soon quit the circus, but stayed on in Hawaii. He wrote many books of poetry while there, illustrated his own works as well as works by others, and also created and sold greeting cards. His words were set to the hymn-like portion of "Finlandia" and published by the Lorenz Publishing Company in 1934. (I have a copy of this sheet music.) The words sung to this music in Finland (sometimes called the "Finlandia Hymn") weren’t written until 1941 (long after Lloyd Stone’s words were set to the tune!). Those words are by the Finnish poet Veikko Koskenniemi. The “Finlandia Hymn” quickly became a popular anthem for Finland. There is no relationship between the words of Lloyd Stone's poem, sung to the music since 1934, and the words by the Finnish poet Veikko Koskenniemi, sung to the same music since 1941, except for having been set to the same music. [There are other words sung to the hymn-part of Finlandia; “Be Still, My Soul,” for example. The old hymn “Stille mein Wille (Be Still, My Soul)” by Catharina von Schlegel (1752)-translated by Miss Jane Borthwick in 1855-was set to Finlandia for the 1941 Lutheran Hymnal. ] I own a copy of one of Lloyd Stone's books: "The Story of an Ozark Grandmother: As the Grandmother, Jane Honey Howell Marr, Told her Story to her Grandson, Lloyd Stone. Point Lookout, Missouri" (1938). In 1951, the territorial legislature of Hawaii passed a joint resolution bestowing on Lloyd Stone the honor and title of poet laureate of Hawaii (Ka Haku-Mele O Hawaii). Although Lloyd Stone's words are in hymnals and are often sung in churches, he doesn't appear to have had any strong religious leanings himself. In fact, his poem is so lacking in religious references that in many hymnals, an additional verse by Georgia Harkness is tacked on in an attempt to "Christianize" the hymn. In my opinion, "This Is My Song/A Song of Peace" is just fine (both as a poem and as a hymn) just the way it is, without the additional verse by Harkness. After spending many years in Hawaii, Lloyd Stone returned to California. He served as state president of the California Federation of Chaparral Poets in 1982. His father died in Lindsay on 30 Jan 1978. His mother lived to be 100, dying on 03 Dec 1987. Lloyd Stone died, age 80, in Visalia, Tulare County, California, on 09 Mar 1993. His two-line obituary in the Fresno Bee described him as “a retired teacher,” and made no mention of his poems, his being the poet laureate of Hawaii, or his well-known “A Song of Peace.”
The message in this song is so different to the original in Finnish. The original lyrics sing about overcoming great obstacles and how Finland as one nation showed the world they survived. It feels so different, I like the original more.
+Tumex83 the Finnish lyrics are older than that, that's the year they made the lyrics official and sibelius made this song for Finland not for "the god of all the nations" he didn't want lyrics to the song in English nor in Finnish but the Finnish original lyrics capture the song a lot better since the song is about Finland(made when Finland was part of Russia for nationalistic purposes as a protest against the Russian rule among other Finnish artists) so that's why Finnish people hate these English lyrics because they have nothing to do with the original purpose of the song
Finnish ("original") lyrics: O, Finland, see, thy days as dawning. Threat of the night has been banished. And morning's lark sings in the brightness, just as the top of the heaven sings. The night's power is defeated by the brightness. Thy day has come, of land of birth. O rise, Finland, raise your head high, crowned by the great memories. O rise, Finland, you have shown the world, that you have pushed slavery away, and that you did not bend under oppression. Your dawn is now, o land of birth.
This song was composed by Sibelius in 1899, at a time when Finland was not yet independent, but still a part of Russia. It echoed a time when young Finns rose to oppose Russian oppression, and in itself it reflected a dream and a hope of a new independence, that came true 18 years later in 1917.
Keith Bollard's comment hit the nail right on the head. Finlandia by Jean Sibelius is my most favorite national anthem. Strange how this tune runs through my mind whenever I am enjoying a hot sauna.
Below my humble translation of the Finnish original text, written in 1941. It echoes the time when Finland had been victorious in the Winter War (1939-1940) against the Red Army. Luckily Finland managed to maintain it's independence in the following war too (The Continuation War 1941-1944, defending against Soviet Unions troops Again), and did not have to join Soviet Union. Finland was lucky, many other countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania... etc. were not so lucky.
Great melodies move out beyond their origins to something bigger, more universal. Its a testament to Sibelius' genius this happened to Finlandia. He himself was very happy with the many versions and lyrics attached to it. But he was a bigger man than many who nit-pick about music on the web!
So many could sing this song now....makes me cry! But until more of us can sing it together for the "One Earth" that belongs to all of us, nothing will change....ie: Ukraine, Taiwan, et al.
Actually, the only the tune is called Finlandia, and many hymns have used that tune. This particular one is called This is My Song. Yes. it's a great hymn.
o gracious lord by whom the morning dawneth, in thy mercy bless our native land, let thy light shine to chase away the shadows, and free our homes from wars cruel hand.
I adore this song, many people who don't speak Finnish would not understand the true meaning if it weren't translated. I've listened to the original many times and it means so much more now that I understand it.
Beautiful flawless harmonies... .I imagine the original language means more to the Finnish folks, but as an American, I find the English words inspirational.
Sibelius did not originally set this music to ANY words, it was part of an orchestral piece. Later on, several lyrics appeared in Finland. Some of them did mention God, like Wäinö Sola's words from 1937, which, it appears, was the one on which Sibelius based his male-choir arrangement. About the same time, the well-known poet V. A. Koskenniemi produced the lyrics that are presently most well-known and which PhoneixAsh misleadingly calls "original and only true version."
as a male small ensemble . . . this is AMAZING . . . are the lyrics in finnish, no . . . are they official lyrics . . . no . . . but this is something everyone who appreciates great vocal music should hear
Oh Finland behold, your day is dawning The threat of the night has been banished away And the morning lark is playing in the brightness As if the heavens itself would play The light of the morning is already winning the powers of the night Your day is dawning, oh native land Oh rise, Finland, and raise high Your head wreathed by grand memories Oh rise, Finland, you showed to the world That you banished slavery And that you did not bend under the oppression Your morning has begun Oh native land!
The text to Finlandia was written in 1941 by V. A. Koskenniemi, a nationalist poet. Finland had already been independent for several decades, but faced a new danger: Soviet Union wanted to use the chaos of World War Two to occupy Finland again.
So disappointed to see too many negative reactions. I know the Finns to be a gracious people, and I feel most of them would be proud to share it. It is NOT their national anthem. How lovely to include others in your prayers! What a novel thought. Of course I'm biased. I live on Hawaii, and I love Sibelius and good singing!
Jago Tremain I think every country making its own is a great thing, rather than using one song for every anthem. For example, the USA’s anthem is from the poem by Francis Scott Key as he watched from a British vessel as they bombed and shelled Fort McHenry from offshore. The flag waved all through the night, and by morning when the shelling had stopped, it was still waving. Then they set it to the tune of a British drinking song to really stick it to them, and make it possible to sing the national anthem in a bar, which is a great way to show your patriotism. Just one example.
Indeed, although called "finlandia" in this post, the song sung here to sebelius's composition is actually titled "this is my song" with lyrics by Lloyd Stone, written in 1934 as a hymn to world peace. Many such songs have been written to sibelius piece over the years and since it has been said that imitation is the highest compliment, I don't think he would be too upset about it.The patriotic lyrics you refer to weren't even written till 1941 as a response to the 2nd world war conflict.
I also prefer the original Finlandia, but I think it's only because I can relate to it. It feels more closer to me as it is about my homeland. I still like that there is a english version of Finlandia that sings about peace and harmony, because that's the way I want my homeland to be viewed as by others; a peaceful country.
