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The Norwegian birthday song is «Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år», written by Margrethe Munthe in 1911. It is sung in a circle around the birthday person, with choreography: you bow, nod, curtsey and march on the lines that say so.
For adults, it is sung less often. There, «Gratulerer med dagen» and a resounding «hipp hipp hurra» are the most common.
«Hurra for deg» – hele teksten
The text is free of copyright, so you can safely copy it, hang it on the wall or pass it on.
- 1
Hooray for you who're having your birthday! Yes, we want to congratulate you! Everyone stands in a ring around you, and look, now we're going to march, bow, nod, curtsey, turn around, dance for you with jumps and skips and runs. Wish you from the heart all good things! And tell me, what more do you want? Congratulations!
- 2
What more do you want? Congratulations! Hip hip hooray!
The movements, in order
- “Everyone stands in a ring around you” – hold hands in a circle.
- “And look, now we will march” – march around the birthday person.
- “Bow, nod, curtsy, turn around” – do exactly that, in that order.
- «Danse for deg med hopp og sprett og spring» – hopp. Barna trenger ingen instruksjon her.
- “Congratulations!” – full stop, and maybe a hip hip hooray afterwards.
«Gratulerer med dagen»
The other classic is sung to the tune of «Happy Birthday to You», with the text «Gratulerer med dagen» repeated, and the birthday person’s name in the third line. It is shorter, easier to get the tone right on, and the only one people remember the words to in restaurants.
3 varianter for voksne
For birthdays where a full ring dance would be inappropriate – work anniversaries, 50th birthdays, dinners at restaurants.
- 1
Hooray for you who're having your birthday – again. We don't count out loud anymore, but we celebrate just as hard.
- 2
Happy birthday to you who still stands strong. The cake is bought, the song practised in the car, and none of us hit the right note. Cheers!
- 3
We could have sung, but we love you. So instead: happy birthday!
2 varianter for barnebursdag
Insert the birthday person’s name where it is in square brackets.
- 1
Hooray for you who're having your birthday, today is your day! We clap and jump and sing so it echoes – congratulations!
- 2
One more time for [navn]! Hip hip – hooray! Hip hip – hooray! Hip hip – hooray!
In kindergartens and children’s birthday parties, the birthday song from Captain Sabertooth and the variant from NRK Super are also sung. They are newer and still protected by copyright, so the text is not reproduced here – but most kindergartens have them hanging on the wall.
Tre tips til innspillingen
- Don’t practise too much.The version that hits the mark is the one where someone laughs halfway through, not the perfect one.
- Say the name first.“Hi Grandma, this is from us” before the song makes the recording personal right away.
- Record indoors.Wind on the microphone ruins more than a false note does.