"Oleanna" (or "Oleana") is a Norwegian folk song that was translated into English and popularized by former Weavers member Pete Seeger. The song is a critique of Ole Bornemann Bull (Ole Bull) and his vision of a perfect society in the United States.
Oleanna was actually the name of one of Ole Bull's settlements in the Ole Bull /New Norway colony of Pennsylvania. Bull's society failed, and all of the immigrants moved away, as the dense forest made it hard to settle there.
The lyrics concern the singer's desire to leave Norway and escape to Oleanna, a land where "wheat and corn just plant themselves, then grow a good four feet a day while on your bed you rest yourself."Folk Songs Of Four Continents (New York City, NY: Folkways Records, 1955).
The lyrics for Oleanna were written by Ditmar Meidell, a Norwegian magazine editor, who set his words to the melody "Rio Janeiro".Emigrantviser by Svein Schröder Amundsen and Reimund Kvideland, (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1975). The song was first published on March 5, 1853, in Krydseren (The Cruiser), a satirical magazine which Meidell had founded.Norwegian Emigrant Songs and Ballads by Theodore C. Blegen, (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1936).
In English
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; in 1955 wrote a six-verse translation that was later published in Sing Out! magazine.The collected reprints from 'Sing Out!' the folk song magazine. Vols. 1-6: 1959-1964, (Bethlehem, PA: Sing Out Corporation, 1990).
In 1960 Theodore BikelFolksongs and Footnotes by Theodore Bikel, (New York: Meridian Books, 1960). and Alan LomaxFolk Songs of North America by Alan Lomax, (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960). each published versions of Oleanna that drew on Seeger's translation, Ditmar Meidell's original lyrics, and their own imaginations.
Seeger recorded Oleanna twice for Folkways Records.With Voices Together We Sing (New York City: Folkways Records, 1956). Among those who also covered his translation were Theodore Bikel,Folk Songs From Just About Everywhere (New York City: Elektra, 1959). Joe GlazerWelcome To America (Silver Spring, MD: Collector Records, 1991). and the Gateway Singers.The Gateway Singers At The Hungry I (New York City: Decca, 1958). The Kingston Trio would release a version of the song, however it had lyrics unrelated to Meidell's original text.Here We Go Again! (Hollywood: Capitol, 1959).
Jerry Silverman translated 19 of the 22 verses in 1992.Mel Bay’s Immigrant Songbook by Jerry Silverman, (Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 1992).
English and Norwegian recordings of the song "Oleanna" can be found online.
References
External links Ole Bull statue in Minneapolis by Jacob Fjelde Lyrics Oleana lyrics in Norwegian 1944 translation of Oleana by Theodore C. Blegen 1955 translation of Oleanna by Pete Seeger Click on "Download Liner Notes". Videos Pete Seeger and Lillebjørn Nilsen The Kingston Trio Ole Bull State Park Ole Bull's Colony at ExplorePAhistory 2002 Ole Bull monument at Ole Bull State Park