Text & Translation
Den hvite, røde rose, 'The white and the red rose'
Norwegian source:
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
saa kaltes Søstre to, ja to.
Den hvide var saa stille,
den røde altid lo.
Men omvendt ble det siden, ja,
for saa kom Friertiden, ja.
Den hvide blev saa rød, saa rød,
den røde blev saa hvid.
Ti ham den røde elsked,
ham ville Far ej ha, ej ha.
Men ham den hvide elsked,
han fikk paa Timen ja.
Den røde, ak, hun falmer, ja,
med Suk og Sorg og Salmer, ja,
Den hvide blev saa rød, saa rød,
den røde blev saa hvid.
Nej, saa blev Far skam bange
og maatte til med ja, aa ja!
Og saa klang glade Sange
til bryllupsskudd, hurra!
Og snart sprang mindre Roser, ja,
paa Sko og bitte Hoser, ja,
den rødes de var hvide,
men den hvides alle rød’!
The white and red roses
English translation ©
William Jewson, © BIS Records AB, adapted by Claire Booth
Two sisters were called.
The white one was so calm,
The red one always lively.
But when it came to matters of love
Their roles were quite reversed.
The white one blushed so red
And the red one became so so pale.
For the father would not give his consent
To the man the red rose loved –
Though to the white rose’s lover
He consented almost straight away.
The red rose, she withered
With sighs and tears and hymns,
And while the white one blushed so red
The red one became so so pale.
Well the father became afraid and ashamed –
And finally gave way and said yes!
And so joyful songs were heard
To the tread of a wedding dance, hurrah!
And soon little roses appeared
With tiny shoes and stockings,
The red rose’s were all white,
And the white rose’s were all red!
Den hvite, røde rose, 'The white and the red rose'
Norwegian source:
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
The white and red roses
English source:
William Jewson, © BIS Records AB, adapted by Claire Booth
Den hvide, røde Rose
The white and red roses,
saa kaltes Søstre to, ja to.
Two sisters were called.
Den hvide var saa stille,
The white one was so calm,
den røde altid lo.
The red one always lively.
Men omvendt ble det siden, ja,
But when it came to matters of love
for saa kom Friertiden, ja.
Their roles were quite reversed.
Den hvide blev saa rød, saa rød,
The white one blushed so red
den røde blev saa hvid.
And the red one became so so pale.
Ti ham den røde elsked,
For the father would not give his consent
ham ville Far ej ha, ej ha.
To the man the red rose loved –
Men ham den hvide elsked,
Though to the white rose’s lover
han fikk paa Timen ja.
He consented almost straight away.
Den røde, ak, hun falmer, ja,
The red rose, she withered
med Suk og Sorg og Salmer, ja,
With sighs and tears and hymns,
Den hvide blev saa rød, saa rød,
And while the white one blushed so red
den røde blev saa hvid.
The red one became so so pale.
Nej, saa blev Far skam bange
Well the father became afraid and ashamed –
og maatte til med ja, aa ja!
And finally gave way and said yes!
Og saa klang glade Sange
And so joyful songs were heard
til bryllupsskudd, hurra!
To the tread of a wedding dance, hurrah!
Og snart sprang mindre Roser, ja,
And soon little roses appeared
paa Sko og bitte Hoser, ja,
With tiny shoes and stockings,
den rødes de var hvide,
The red rose’s were all white,
men den hvides alle rød’!
And the white rose’s were all red!
Composer
Poet
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer. In 1903 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Norwegian Nobel laureate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) among Norwegian writers, the…