Ja, må han (hon) leva facts for kids
Ex B: "Ja, må han (hon) leva" as sung lately.
Ex C: "Venus Minerva", Fredman's song no 12 with lyrics by Carl Michael Bellman.
Ex D: "Portugal, Spanjen", Fredman's song no 11 with lyrics by Carl Michael Bellman.
Ja, må han (hon) leva means "Yes, may he (she) live" in English. It's a very popular Swedish birthday song. This song started way back in the 1700s. Over time, how it's used and even its words and tune have changed. Almost everyone in Sweden knows this song! That's why you rarely see it printed in music books. We don't know who first wrote the words or the music.
The tune of "Ja, må han leva" is similar to other birthday songs. For example, the Dutch song "Lang zal hij leven" sounds alike. The Indonesian song "Panjang Umurnya" and the Romanian song "Mulți ani trăiască" also share a similar melody.
Contents
The Music Behind the Song
Old Melodies and Famous Composers
A music expert named James Massengale says the tune is from the 1700s. It was a common type of melody back then. Even famous composers like Mozart and Haydn used similar tunes. This means the melody was well-known in Austria by the late 1700s.
The Swedish poet and musician Carl Michael Bellman used this melody. He used it in different ways for three of his songs. For example, Fredman's song no. 11, called “Portugal, Spanjen,” is a quick dance tune. But song no. 12, “Venus Minerva,” is a steady march. The melody also appears in his song "Högtid beredes och Ganymedes."
How the Melody Traveled
The melody of "Ja, må han leva" also appeared in Germany. In 1877, it was published in a songbook for high schools. The German words for this tune were ”Hoch soll er leben,” meaning "May he live high."
In the Netherlands, the song "Lang zal hij leven" is sung for birthdays. The first three parts of this Dutch song are exactly like "Ja, må han leva." This shows how popular and widespread the tune became.
The Words of the Song
From Drinking to Birthdays
The songs by Bellman that use this melody were often about parties and celebrations. Around the year 1800, a wedding song called "Brudgum och bruden vilka i skruden" was published. It was noted that this song could be sung to the tune of "Venus Minerva."
Later, in 1884, the Salvation Army published a hymn. It was called "Jesus allena mitt hjärta skall äga" ("Jesus alone shall own my heart"). This hymn also used the melody of ”Venus Minerva.”
The words "Ja, må han leva" first appeared in a student songbook in 1914. At that time, it was used as a song for celebrations where people might raise a toast. It wasn't until around 1940 that it became a common birthday song. So, for a long time, it was mostly a party song. But after 1940, it became known as the birthday song we know today.
