Oleanna in English
The lyrics for Oleanna were written by Ditmar Meidell, a Norwegian magazine editor who set his words to the melody "Rio Janeiro". The song was first published on March 5, 1853 in Krydseren, a satirical magazine which Meidell had founded.
Theodore C. Blegen included the song in his 1936 book Norwegian Emigrant Songs and Ballads, which had the original lyrics, a literal translation by Martin B. Ruud and musical notation. Eight years later Blegen himself wrote a singable translation consisting of 22 verses.
Folksinger Pete Seeger learned Oleanna from Blegen's book and in 1955 wrote a six-verse translation that was later published in Sing Out! magazine. In 1960 Theodore Bikel and Alan Lomax each published versions of Oleanna that drew on Seeger's translation, Ditmar Meidell's original lyrics and their own imaginations. Jerry Silverman translated 19 of the 22 verses in 1992.
Seeger made two recordings of Oleanna for Folkways Records. They appeared on Folk Songs Of Four Continents in 1955 and With Voices Together We Sing in 1956. Bikel recorded Oleanna for his 1959 album Folk Songs From Just About Everywhere on the Elektra label. In 1959 The Kingston Trio included Oleanna on their chart-topping album Here We Go Again!. Their version of the song had new lyrics which had nothing to do with Meidell's original text.
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