On Thursday 26 April 2012, a rainy Youngstorget was filled to the brim with people. According to NTB, as many as 40,000 people gathered in the square and in the surrounding streets.
The occasion was the trial against Anders Behring Breivik in the Oslo courthouse. The terrorist used the days in the witness box to explain his far-right world view. Among other things, he had an outburst against precisely Lillebjørn Nilsen and the song “Children of the rainbow”, which he referred to as “Marxist indoctrination of children”.
The response from Norwegians from around the country was to ring the song, which many have grown up with, and to show their disgust for Breivik, his terror and attitudes was to sing the song together. And the man who had written the lyrics to the song, Lillebjørn Nilsen, stood up himself to lead the sing-along.
In the documentary “Quiet guy – Lillebjørn Nilsen’s own story”, which was broadcast on NRK in 2022 it will be shown how Nilsen was reluctant to stand. He called his old friend and the song’s originator Pete Seeger (who was then over 90 years old) to ask for advice.
– You must do this. That is your duty, Seeger replied. And so it was.
When the sing-along was over, Nilsen walked over to the microphone stand and uttered a few words.
– We are the winners, he said.
– Exploded
But it was far from obvious that the sing-along of “Children of the Rainbow” would become the rallying point and comfort for Norwegians that it became. That explains the two women who initiated the event at Youngstorget, Christine Bar and Lill Hjønnevåg.
– It was very random, a bit on impulse. It was actually a friend of mine who suggested the idea. She didn’t dare, so I asked if I could steal her idea, so I did. It happened very spontaneously, then it exploded, says Hjønnevåg to Dagsavisen.
She was helped by Christine Bar, who, through trade union work, among other things, has helped organize 1 May at Youngstorget.
– We agreed that we had to make a plan. We couldn’t just meet a hundred people and stand there staring at the wall. So we contacted the management of Lillebjørn. He was a bit reluctant, as he wasn’t so sure if he wanted this to become a big deal, says Bar.
But even though it took time to get it clarified, Nilsen stood up.
– What people remember best in retrospect is probably that he stood up and sang. It really set the mood and seriousness. Even though it is a song about saving the world and the environment, people probably needed to know that we can save the world together. Especially after the horrible thing that happened on 22 July, says Bar.
Hjønnevåg says that every time “Children of the rainbow” is mentioned, she is taken back to the trial and the rainy April day at Youngstorget.
– I was a little blank-eyed when I saw the online newspapers bring up pictures from that day, and when I heard the news that Lillebjørn had died. I grew up with that song, and I don’t think I was indoctrinated by it at all. Neither I nor my children, she says.
– How was it to hear the song at Youngstorget?
– Then I got standing fur. That whole day was surreal. We never thought it would be this big.
She believes “Children of the Rainbow” helped to comfort people in the wake of the terror on 22 July.
– When this song was trodden on during the trial, people took it back a bit, I think. And gave it back the meaning we had all felt it had, says Hjønnevåg.
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Lillebjørn Nilsen
- Bjørn Falk Nilsen was born on 21 December 1950 in Oslo. Died January 27.
- One of Norway’s foremost singers and songwriters in his genre. His songs became public property.
- Awarded the Prøysen prize, Oslo city’s artist prize, Oslo city’s culture prize and six Spellemann prizes, among them the honorary prize. Appointed a knight 1st class of the Order of St. Olav for his artistic skills.
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Bar agrees.
– It has comforted, but most of all I think all those who were at Youngstorget knew it as unifying. I believe that that community is important for all people, to know that we are united about one thing regardless of political position, cultural preferences and the like, she says.
[ Kutter støtte til russiske skoler – flere land vurderer tiltak ]
Victor Jara
In the hours after it became known that Nilsen passed away on Saturday 27 January, AUF-ers from all over Norway thanked the musician for the role he and his music played in the wake of 22 July. Today’s AUF leader Astrid Hoem herself survived the terrorist attack on 22 July. She remembers well the significance of what feels like the whole of Norway gathered for a collective sing-along of “Children of the rainbow” while the trial against Anders Behring Breivik was ongoing.
– Lillebjørn Nilsen’s music has meant an enormous amount to AUF. Especially after 22 July, when Breivik talked about his thinking in the middle of the trial. That 40,000 gathered at Youngstorget together with Lillebjørn sent a very strong signal that we distanced ourselves from him together, says Hoem.
She herself was not present at Youngstorget when people gathered to sing. She still went to school, and was at home in Kristiansund.
– But the images from the sea of people at Youngstorget were very strong.
– The song is mainly about environmental protection, but also about hope. And I’ve always thought of “Children of the Rainbow” as an anti-racist song, even though the lyrics aren’t directly about that. But he sings about all the children in the whole world, that we have a responsibility for the coming generation.
Although “Children of the rainbow” became a symbol of how people in Norway distanced themselves from Anders Behring Breivik, the terrorist attack on 22 July and his far-right ideology, Hoem says that there is another song by Lillebjørn that may have meant even more to AUF up through history, namely the tale of Víctor Jara.
Jara was a Chilean activist, musician and poet who was tortured and killed by the Pinochet regime after the 1973 military coup.
– We sing that song at virtually all AUF events. From national board meetings and central board meetings to on the ground at summer camp on Utøya. The song was also translated into Spanish, and is sung to this day in Chile. It is one of the strongest Norwegian songs ever. A unique battle song about the history of Victor Jara, which gives courage and will to fight also to today’s AUF.
[ Lillebjørn Nilsen er død, 73 år gammel. Ingen andre norske sangere har satt et sterkere preg på sin samtid. ]
– Very, very strong
Raymond Johansen was party secretary in the Labor Party at the time, and was responsible for the party’s follow-up to 22 July. He was also a city councilor in Oslo for 8 years, the same city that Lillebjørn wrote so many songs about.
He says that he had a very strong relationship with Lillebjørn Nilsen.
– Lillebjørn was, after all, a vice singer for the whole of Norway, but especially one for Oslo. He put things into words so nicely. During the pandemic, there was a video showing empty streets and the like, set to his “Good night Oslo”. It couldn’t have been anyone else but Little Bear. There has always been something nice and close about listening to Lillebjørn, says Johansen.
– Were you there at Youngstorget during “Children of the Rainbow”?
– That was me. I’ve had that song with me since I was a child. It’s also a song I know well since I’ve worked with children. So it was very strong when it was sung at Youngstorget. There are many memories that have come to light during the day.
– Do you think this song has helped to comfort people?
– There were many important cultural expressions that day which gave many people comfort and provoked reflection. When he sang it at Youngstorget in the context it was in, it was strong. Very, very strong.
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