Reformation Lutheran Church A Congregation of the ELCA

February 17, 2018

Dejlig er jorden,

Dejlig er jorden, Wonderful is the Earth,
prægtig er Guds himmel, marvelous is God’s heaven;
skøn er sjælenes pilgrimsgang! beautiful is the soul’s pilgrim travel!
Gennem de fagre, riger på jorden Through the lands on this earth
gå vi til paradis med sang! do we travel to Paradise with song!
   
Tider skal komme, tider skal henrulle, Times shall arrive, times shall pass,
slægt skal følge slægters gang. family shall follow families.
Aldrig forstummer tonen fra himlen Never shall die out the heavenly sound
i sjælens glade pilgrimssang. in the happy song of the pilgrim soul
   
Englene sang den først for markens hyrder, The Angels sang it first to the shepherds in the fields.
skønt fra sjæl til sjæl det lød: Beautifully it sounded from soul to soul:
Fred over jorden! Menneske, fryd dig, PEACE on Earth! Human be glad.
os er en evig frelser fød! To us an eternal savior has been born!  
   
Tekst: B. S. Ingemann, 1850
Melodi: Schlesisk, 18. årh.
Translation by Steen Mortensen  

 

The melody sounded in my dream, and I was very young and singing the beloved Christmas hymn in our little old red brick church….

And I awoke from the dream Sunday morning on a summer day far from December. The service last night had the melody with the familiar Beautiful Savior text that always brings memories back to a Danish hymn written in 1850 by B.S. Ingeman that uses the same melody. It is one of the most beloved and meaningful Christmas hymns I know of and apparently used as such only there in Denmark.

In writing about a particularly meaningful hymn, the associated melody is part of the memory and inspiration and here brings my distant childhood and its memories forward from so long ago, when parents were alive, living in a faraway country and with old Christmas traditions.

B.S.Ingeman was inspired to write this in Danish from a Schlesien hymn published earlier in the 1800s at a time when Denmark and the German states (there were quite a number then) were not always friendly, and native language use was important. At first his hymn was used not only at Christmas, but throughout the year. It was published as a Pilgrim’s Hymn after a battle between Prussia and Denmark. The German version may be as old as the pilgrims’ travel to Palestine. The third verse in this Danish hymn led to its use at Christmas and burials.

Steen Mortensen



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