Our land

Translation of the Finnish national anthem

Our land, our land, our fatherland,

Resound loudly, O precious word!

No peak towards the sky is raised,

No valley is lowered nor shore is washed,

More beloved than our home in north,

Than our fathers’ hearth.

Our land is poor, shall so be,

For he whom desires gold,

A stranger proudly walks us by,

But this land, ‘tis love we,

For us, with moor, woods and skerries,

‘Tis a golden land.

We love the river’s sound

And our brook’s leaps,

The dark forest bitter buzz,

Our start night, our bright summer days

Ev’rything here seen, as songs,

Hath once touched our hearts.

It was here our fathers fought,

With thoughts, swords, and plow,

Here, as clear in sorrow times,

In great joy, and in great times,

The Finnish heart, which now stirs,

Is that which prefers.

Who was it that our stories told,

Of the wars we endured,

When the sound of war did roar,

When hunger’s choke was clear,

Who measured the spilled Finnish blood,

And our strength so bold?

It was here the blood did flow,

And where our roots do grow,

It was here where we joyously lived,

It was here where we so greatly suffered,

The people, whom their burdens bore,

Like in days afore.

Here it’s safe, here it’s good,

Here, riches to thee be granted,

How lucky we are despite our fate,

A land, a fatherland we have,

What on earth could valued more

And for us to more adore?

And here and there is our land,

Which all we Finns dearly share,

We can reach out our hand,

And show, with joy, our lakes and strand,

And say: “see the land, there,

‘tis our fatherland.”

And we were brought to dwell in pride,

In golden clouds by our side,

And our lives have become a dance of stars,

And now we shall no longer bear olden scars,

And to this impoverished land, yet still,

We can long and will.

O land, thou land of thousand lakes,

Where song and faith hath built,

Where the sea of life gave us a strand,

Our ancient land, our future land,

Do not of your dearth bear guilt

Be safe, be free, be glad.

Your blossom, closed in bud,

Shall be free from its bond,

See our love for thee shall rise,

Your light, your joy, your hope and pride,

And louder shall it sound its throng,

Our patriotic song.