Icelandic National Anthem performed in Stockholm by Icelandic choirs from Copenhagen, Gothenburg, London, Lund, Oslo and Stockholm on 28th March 2009. With subtitles in Icelandic and English.
Euro 2016... Portugal vs Iceland. It was the first time i heard Iceland's national anthem. I liked it so much, that i had to come year to listen it again. Just amazing. Iceland supporters were amazing too on that game. Always singing and making noise. I always wanted to visit Iceland, and now... Even more. You seem to be very nice people :) Greetings from Portugal
I love to hear national anthems from all around the world. Probably because most of them are actually masterpieces. Some even give me goosebumps. Like the Egyptian anthem, Icelandic anthem, my country's anthem too of course... :)
Who came here after watching the Icelandic comedian Ari Eldjárn on Netflix? BTW I've been to Iceland - a fascinating country. Best wishes from Patagonia, Chile.
What a beautiful national anthem. I enjoy listening to national anthems of different countries. It is interesting how some countries have a militaristic tone to the music and lyrics. So refreshing to hear a national anthem of such beauty and with lyrics which invoke images of peace.
Yes, I used to sing with the London choir and, quite apart from the fact that the overwhelming majority of those involved were always Icelanders, who knew many of the songs (and Icelandic pronunciation) inside out, the level of ability and passion was often remarkable. Some of the singers I knew back then have been pursuing international operatic careers and so on.
I've heard a lot of national anthems, but I think Iceland's is probably the most beautiful I've heard yet. I'm an American and I don't speak Icelandic, but this song really commands my respect.
Iceland, my favourite country! After Hungary of course! But their hymn is more optimistic then the Hungarian. However, both of them are addressed to God. That is why they are so beautiful!
As national anthems go... This is one of the greatest. I don't speak Icelandic but as a Dutch speaker I can recognize some of the words and phrases.....
Wonderful.I just belive that the last lines would be better translated, in stead of :(that PRAYS to its God and dies).I believe the correct translation is:That WORSHIPS its God and dies. I really enjoyed this video.Thank you. :) Greetings from Iceland....Ragnhildur.
@ThomasJames7184 Also, THANK YOU SINCERELY for being civilized about our disagreement. I really appreciate it when people actually debate instead of name-call.
This hymn immidiately sent chills down my spine. Watching the football cup now you hear severall different anthems, nice and beautiful and cool. But this puts so many others to shame. Sad that Iceland didn't make it just to hear its anthem in the games. Greetings from Germany
I see your point. But you can't really compare the people at the stadium and the players as they sing their anthems, with a professional choir. I bet there are many other beautiful underrated anthems =)
Likes: - Beautiful, deeply moving music - Not boastful or nationalistic like other anthems - No mention of "glorious" battles, martial valor etc. - Incredibly melancholic, reflecting the nordic soul - I just love the sound of the Icelandic language, even though I don't understand a single word :-) Dislikes: - Essentially a church song rather than anthem - The religiousness doesn't do justice to a modern pluralistic nation such as Iceland - An anthem should be singable by anyone, not just a professional choir.
Oh my... I meant the word "fucking". But I think it's your level. And do not bring up the wars to me, those are the fault of the people, and not of God. All I wanted to say, that I like the spirit, the mood of those two songs. And the fact, that they contain a dedication to God, is part of that mood (for me, I emphasize once again). I can't even understand why I'm explaining myself .
@Ferrariman601 Yeah, maybe. But I can't really understand much of a conversation in Icelandic though... but some spoken and written words here and there :P
@skrivbok Yes, I can also understand a few words here and there. I speak English and Spanish, but English is all I've got in terms of a Germanic/Nordic vocabulary. If I can understand a bit of Icelandic as an English speaker, I'm sure you as a Swede can understand a great deal more.
@HimmiJoe Sæll, ég má vera ekki Íslendingur en ennþá að læra tungumál þitt og íslenska er líka mjög áhugaverð mál víkingana. Hvar get ég lært frá Íslendingum til að tala hana vel eins og þú?
@Ferrariman601 Yeah, I know what you mean, my friend... I am Swedish and I don't speak Icelandic either, but I can understand some words, spoken or written due to... Scandinavic linguistic heritage?? Once we all spoke similar languages in the North, but in time they developed their own ways. But some parts are left mostly unaltered. :)
Just returned from Iceland where we heard this first. It was playing on an old film about herring fishing, and a man in the audience started singing along to it in a lovely tenor voice. There is some controversy in Iceland about the words as it is more of a praise of God than an anthem about Iceland, and Icelanders have become very secular.
@Paulbarlow They're certainly not all icelanders, because the swedish accent in between is audible! It starts right at the beginning! They sing something like "o gud vorsh lands, o land vorsh gud"! To make an "sh" out of an "s" is swedish and norwegian! In Iceland an "s" stays an "s", and not a "sh"! But never mind! Nice rendition all together
The Icelandic Men's National Soccer team, I shall call them the Vikings, and I'm not talking about the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. Because vikings have been around Iceland for years. The Nordic country with a population of just 300,000 people, their soccer team is making noise in the 2016 Euro Cup.
@ThomasJames7184 Would it surprise you to know that I'm actually an atheist? I just happen to hold a deep respect for the traditions and mythologies of the Norse. It would also seem that you didn't read my first comment. I LOVE ICELAND, I love the Icelandic people, and I love the language. Part of the reason I resent Christianity is that it assumes that those not in the faith are incomplete inside. Thus the drive to convert and I feel like a lot of cultural diversity is missing because of that.
The text is incorrect in the Icelandic version, although the english translation seems to get it right. The second line is "Ó, lands vors guð". It is not "land of our god". The english translation gets it right, though
@ThomasJames7184 1. Atheists don't do the faith thing. You are right, negative claims are usually pointless. That's why I don't say, "There is no god." I say "I don't think there is a god after studying the matter". 2. I don't think Christians are incomplete. Too many of them, however, have assumed that I AM though, and the experience is virtually identical for people of other religions.
What a truly beautiful anthem! I've always liked anthems that praise God and seek His Blessings and Protection for the nation. This is one of the best!
brianclough Finally, someone who truly sees the real beauty of this anthem, it's a shame that most people, including the ones that "own it" can't appreciate it as it deserves.
@meinkunkoneko ég er íslendingur. Þetta er ekta Íslenska vinur. Enska hefur lítið að segja hér. In your language, I think your sounds should be more proper. The "R" should not be made in the throat but on the tongue! Do you know Icelandic? If so, start a conversation please.
We already have a better. Search for "Ísland er land þitt"(preferably by Pálmi Gunnarsson). A lot of Icelanders do wish it were the national anthem. I am an atheist, but I still think it's kind of silly to dismiss this song because it has religious views in it. Reason to dismiss it is rather the fact it doesn't really fill you with national pride when listening to it. Ísland er land þitt does.
Consider the fact that most Icelanders are Christian... It's a great anthem anyways, very pretty, and no matter how religious the lyrics are, they're still pretty :)
@ThomasJames7184 3. I wasn't referring to Norse diversity, I mean all the cultures that Christianity (Not necessarily Christians in general) has homogenized and, to an extent, marginalized. You make a sound point in your diversity argument though. I don't resent Christianity (again, not necessarily Christians) because of the disagreement. I resent the relatively common notion shared by many Christians that being different from them means being unhappy (I have experienced this firsthand).
Anonie324 As if we christians ever said you non-christians aren't happy. Of fucking course you're happy, you're happy living in the land of fools and ingnorants, and just when you come in contact with the truth then your life turns into a grieving hell (That if you are smart enough to reason the truth, and since nordics are so thickheaded, that usually don't happen with them, i'm afraid).
Mentioning Jesus...For me, yes, that's one of the reasons, cause it makes the song more sophisticated. It wasn't an order, you don't have to like them because of this, you have your own reasons, and I respect it. You should too, instead of dropping f bombs...
I looked it up, they had been converted mostly before the Danes conquered the damn place, Irish monks got there... This might be the only time I've resented the Irish...
Anonie324 Irish monks were the first inhabitants of the island, the fucking danes came later and murdered them. It would have been better if the island had remained as a good celtic catholic nation instead of a filthy germanic atheistic one.
And if I'm not mistaken, the Italian hymn also mentions God...Now, can you leave me alone please, I don't need a pointless discussion with a kid. Addio!
It's very beautiful anthem, and I like your country more than others in the world (Canada, New Zeland and Iceland - best countries eva!)! And language is really ancient and interesting and hard. And you are the most reading nation in the world. But its kind of sad that you are so religious out there =(
Everyone has their own beliefs, and all of them are different. No one knows what really happens when we die, but we can believe. One thing that all people SHOULD agree on, is to respect what other people believe. I'm not saying that they are right, I am not saying you are right. I am saying you should respect Iceland for what it is, and be happy for them to feel religious.
Ashley Miller No, its pretty obvious what happens when we die. We just die. We just fade into nothing. Our bodies are too bad for such complicated and unique thing as our soul. It's good for animals, they are simple robots, its ok to die for them. But humans... We are way too complicated robots. We should not die. We should discover a way to transfer information from this weak bodies to some kind of nano-robo-cell robots. This will be very big victory for humanity. And if person beliving in some kind of afterlife, than he/she just afraid or lazy to think about such complicated but basic things as life and death. They choose to fool themselves just to forget about this things. They are too afraid or stupid to accept it. And I think its a bad thing. Thinking always better than believing, because thinking can lead to something new. And I will never respect such people. Because there is no respect for those who afraid to think.
No... just no. It is NOT obvious what happens when you die. Have you died before? Have you proof? No, because when you die, you don't come back. Secondly, if you think dying is good for anything but humans, you are wrong. Dying is something that happens to everything that lives, and it is neither good nor bad. And lastly, your insult to religious people is just outright rude, selfish, and unbelievable. I'm shocked that a person, as yourself, could be so rude to another person over their belief. They are not afraid to think, they simply wish to THINK of something greater than what we have. Why do you care anyway? Is their religion harming you? Is Iceland being Lutheran affecting you in any way at all? No. So get over the fact that not everyone is as agnostic as you, and show at least a little respect for others around you.
This is more spiritual than religious and if we would take that out of our song, our Elves, fairies and hidden people would disappear our reverence and abiding love and gentleness towards our land and fellow countrymen wouldn't be there either. and Iceland would be just a lonely cold and miserable rock in the North Atlantic Ocean. We'll keep it :)
O.Alden Productions. Relying that much on an anthem and on the word god eh? Well I think I'll stay in Sweden then, where our morals don't depend on religious words. Besides elves and fairies is kind of anti-christian, you know, from the old norse mythologies
Haha what a strange person you are, afraid you might be infected by religion? Yes, please stay in Sweden, you don't deserve to live in a beautiful country like Iceland
