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Jäger March

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"Jäger March"
Military march by Jean Sibelius
Sibelius in 1918
Native name"Jääkärimarssi"
Opus91a
Written1917 (1917)
TextHeikki Nurmio
LanguageFinnish
Performed19 January 1918 (1918-01-19): Helsinki
Scoring
    • Men's chorus
    • orchestra

The "Jäger March" (Finnish: "Jääkärimarssi", originally "Jääkärien marssi"), Op. 91a, is a military march by Jean Sibelius. He set in 1917 words written by the Finnish Jäger, Hilfsgruppenführer Heikki Nurmio who served in Libau, in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion of the Imperial German Army.[1] This unit was fighting against the Russian Empire, of which the Grand Duchy of Finland still was a part. The words were smuggled into Finland to Sibelius, who composed the song in Järvenpää.

Sibelius wrote the "Jäger March" originally for men's chorus and piano, and later arranged it for men's chorus and symphony orchestra.[2][3] The first public performance of Jäger March was in Helsinki on 19 January 1918 by the choir Akademiska sångföreningen, led by Olof Wallin. The Finnish Civil War began on the same day between the White and the Red troops. The march is the honorary march of many army detachments[4] such as the Lapland Military Band from Rovaniemi.[5]

Lyrics

[edit]
Finnish translation[6] Literal English translation[7] Stylized English translation
First stanza

Syvä iskumme on, viha voittamaton,
meil' armoa ei kotimaata.
Koko onnemme kalpamme kärjessä on,
ei rintamme heltyä saata.
Sotahuutomme hurmaten maalle soi,
mi katkovi kahleitansa.
Kertosäe (×2):
Ei ennen uhmamme uupua voi,
kuin vapaa on Suomen kansa.

Deep is our blow, our wrath is invincible,
We do not have mercy, nor a homeland.
Our happiness is at the tip of our sword,
our hearts will know no pity.
Our battle cry in thrill will sound to the land,
Which is cutting its chains.
Chorus (×2):
Our defiance will not be passed,
Before the people of Finland shall be free.

Deep is our blow, our wrath is unbeatable,
we have no mercy nor homeland.
Our whole fortune is at the tip of our sword,
our hearts will not be softened.
Our war cry echoes through the land,
breaking its chains.
Chorus (×2):
Our defiance will not fail
until the Finnish people are free.

Second stanza

Kun painuvi päät muun kansan, maan,
me jääkärit uskoimme yhä.
Oli rinnassa yö, tuhat tuskaa,
vaan yks' aatos ylpeä, pyhä:
Me nousemme kostona Kullervon,
soma on sodan kohtalot koittaa.
Kertosäe (×2):
Satu uusi nyt Suomesta syntyvä on,
se kasvaa, se ryntää, se voittaa.

When the rest of the people and the land hung their heads
we Jaegers still believed.
In our chest we had the night, a thousand pains,
but only one proud, holy thought:
We will rise like the revenge of Kullervo,
And we shall pass sweetly those destinies of the war.
Chorus (×2)
A new tale will be born now of Finland,
it grows, it charges, it triumphs.

While other Finns and the land had given up hope,
we Jägers still held strong.
There was a night in our hearts,
a thousand sorrows,
but one proud, sacred conviction:
We rise for revenge like Kullervo,
to be beguiled by the fate of war.
Chorus (×2)
A new tale of Finland is now being born,
it grows, it charges, it triumphs.

Third stanza

Häme, Karjala, Vienan rannat ja maa,
yks' suuri on Suomen valta.
Sen aatetta ei väkivoimat saa
pois Pohjolan taivaan alta.
Sen leijonalippua jääkärien
käsivarret jäntevät kantaa,
Kertosäe (×2):
yli pauhun kenttien hurmeisten
päin nousevan Suomen rantaa.

Over Tavastia, Karelia, the strand of Dvina, and the land,
there's only one great Finland.
Its ideal cannot be removed by sheer force
away from under the Northern sky.
Its Lion-flag is carried,
by the strong hands of Jaegers,
Chorus (×2):
over the roar of bloody battlefields,
to the rising shore of Finland.

Tavastia, Karelia, the shores of Dvina and the land,
Finland's might knows no bounds.
No force can take away its ideals
from beneath the Northern sky.
Its Lion flag is being
carried by the strong arms of the Jägers,
Chorus (×2)
Over the thundering fields of bloody battles
towards the rising shore of Finland.

References

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  1. ^ "The war and the fifth symphony 1915-1919". Jean Sibelius. Finnish Club of Helsinki. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Works for choir and orchestra". Jean Sibelius. Finnish Club of Helsinki. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. Yale University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0300111590.
  4. ^ "Jägers". mannerheim.fi. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. ^ "The Lapland Military Band - Sotilasmusiikki Sotilasmusiikki". sotilasmusiikki.fi.
  6. ^ "Jääkärimarssi Lyrics". www.justsomelyrics.com.
  7. ^ "Jean Sibelius - Jääkärimarssi lyrics + English translation". lyricstranslate.com.
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