# Danish: Han skal leve (song)



## ammot

Hello, 
  I was just wondering if anyone here could help me out with a christmas song my family has been singing, since before i was born.  Each year on Christmas Eve, we have a shot of Akavidt, and sing, sorry for the spelling, Onskalieve, Onskalieve, Onskalieve a hu rah hu rah...but that is all I know.  I was wondering if anyone could tell me 1: how the song goes; and 2: what it means in English.
I would be greatly appreciative.  Thank you for your help.


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## hanne

Do you know if it's supposed to be Danish, Norwegian or Swedish?

Anyway, I recognise it as a Danish (birthday) song, then we'll wait for the others to tell us if they know it too. It's certainly not a Christmas song - it's either a birthday song, or just an all-purpose drinking song.

In Danish the text goes: "Han skal leve, han skal leve, han skal leve, højt hurra" (for Swedish and Norwegian the words should be the same, but the spelling slightly different).

"Han skal leve" is something like "may he live". "Hurra" is "hooray".
"Højt" either goes with hooray, and then it would mean "loud", or you could move the comma, and then "leve højt" would mean something like "live well". Old songs tend to have texts that we don't really think about anymore, and I'm not sure which interpretation is the original.


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## Södertjej

It sounds more like a birthday song. What language is it anyway?

EDIT: Hanne was faster


Ja må han (he) / hon (she) leva is the Swedish version but it's abit longer

You can search "ja må han leva" or replace han with hon, on youtube and you'll get the song.


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## ammot

Thanks everyone.  As I was told, we sing it as Happy Birthday, as in the birth of Christ from what Im told.  Because I have moved away from my family who's carried on this tradition, I was just hoping to get the accurate words to share with my new family.  Thanks again.


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## Södertjej

So it's a birthday song, but what *language *was it supposed to be?


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## ammot

From what I can recall, it is like happy birthday.  As far as language, I can only say that it is a Danish tradition for us, so I assume Danish.


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## hanne

Thanks, then it matches what I wrote above.

Remember that this forum covers 5 different Scandinavian languages, so if you don't tell us which one (you think) you've got, we need to start guessing...

(Södertjej, I think you were thinking about a different song - at least I'd sing yours to a different tune.)


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## Södertjej

Oh, of course it was a different one, I was just guessing maybe they only sang the last part "jag visst ska hon leva...", now we know.


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## dagmar311

Hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve, højt hurra.
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra.
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra.
Hun skal leve (ja, hun ska’),
hun skal leve (ja, hun ska’),
Hun skal leve så hurraaaaaa.
lenge leve, HURRA, HURRA, HURRA!!

It is a traditional Danish song. We used to sing it every Sunday at our post church service coffee gatherings.


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## Dirk van Antwerpen

In Dutch we have an old song:
Lang zal hij leven
Lang zal hij leven
Lang zal hij leven in de gloria, in de gloria
Hip hip hip hoera.

Lang zal hij leven = long will he live


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## Karenhansen

My family also sings this song at weddings and birthdays. We are Americans of Danish descent and have been told that it means roughly "Long may he live!". I was visiting Tivoli in Copenhagen a decade ago and the table next to ours burst into this song of celebration and I found it very touching! I am so very happy to be of Danish descent!


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## bicontinental

Karenhansen said:


> I am so very happy to be of Danish descent!



 

 And welcome to the forum


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## Sepia

Karenhansen said:


> My family also sings this song at weddings and birthdays. We are Americans of Danish descent and have been told that it means roughly "Long may he live!". I was visiting Tivoli in Copenhagen a decade ago and the table next to ours burst into this song of celebration and I found it very touching! I am so very happy to be of Danish descent!



I'd say that  is a good translation - at least both the Danish original and your translation both use expressions that are "good substitutes" for the real subjunctive that both languages do not have, but obviously still need in some cases. Otherwise "han skal leve" would be an imperative and that, of course, would make no sense at all.


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## Nepa

I'm Danish, and I'd say that song is meant for happy occasions such as weddings, communions and when you general pass a milestone (eg. when you're celebrating, that you're turning 18, 21 or 30 etc. of age). I don't recall many singing it at 'normal' birthdays. However, I do recall my family singing it on-and-on-and-on when I turned 18.

If you insist (which a lot of Danes do in good company), the song can be very, very long: 
'Hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve højt hurra. 
Hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra', hurra, hurra, den skål, den var bra, hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve højt hurra. 
For hun er så ung, og så yndig ser hun ud, for hun er så ung, og så yndig ser hun ud! 
Hun skal leve, hun skal leve, hun skal leve højt hurra. (... and then again, and again, and again).


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## hanne

Nepa said:


> I'm Danish, and I'd say that song is meant for happy occasions such as weddings, communions and when you general pass a milestone (eg. when you're celebrating, that you're turning 18, 21 or 30 etc. of age). I don't recall many singing it at 'normal' birthdays. However, I do recall my family singing it on-and-on-and-on when I turned 18.


I guess you mean it is "used for" happy occasions, not "meant for", right? The song is so old that I think it's very hard to say what it was meant for by the author.

Since you say that you "recall" it being sung, does that mean it used to be, but isn't anymore?


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