Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm

"Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" (IPA: [mu ˈisɑmɑː mu ˈɤnʲː jɑ ˈrɤːm]; lit. "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy") is the national anthem of Estonia. It was adopted as the national anthem ((riigi)hümn) in 1920.

The lyrics were written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and are set to a melody composed in 1848 by Fredrik (Friedrich) Pacius which is also that of the national anthem of Finland: "Maamme" (Swedish: Vårt land, which was the unofficial anthem of the Grand Duchy of Finland).^[1] The only differences between the two anthems are their key signature and the repetition of the last four lines of each verse in the Finnish anthem. It is also considered to be an ethnic anthem for Livonian people with text "Min izāmō".

History

The song was first presented to the public as a choral work in the Grand Song Festival of Estonia in 1869 and quickly became a symbol of the Estonian National Awakening.^[1]

"Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" was officially adopted as the national anthem of Estonia in 1920, after the Estonian War of Independence.^[2]

In 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, and "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" ended up being banned by the Soviet government.^[1] The Soviet Estonia had its own regional anthem. Yet the people of Estonia could often hear their former national anthem, as Finland's state broadcaster Yleisradio, whose radio and television broadcasts were received in northern Estonia, played an instrumental version of the Finnish national anthem, identical to this song (except for an additional repetition of the last verse in the Finnish version), at the conclusion of its broadcast every night.^[1][3]

Lyrics

1908 piano and vocal recording

First vocal recording

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c. 1914 band instrumental recording (one verse)

First instrumental recording

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1927 a cappella choral vocal recording (with repeats)