Arne Paasche Aasen was a Norwegian politician, journalist and poet, who worked for the labour movement.

He was born in Steinkjer

Steinkjer

is a town and a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Steinkjer, which is also the seat of the county government...

 as a son of teacher and politician Augusta Aasen

Augusta Aasen

Augusta Aasen, née Paasche was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.She was born in Osen as a daughter of Fredrik Christian Paasche and Pauline Sivertsdatter Vaagen...

, née Paasche (1878–1920) and typographer Edolf Aasen (1877–1969). The family soon moved to Kristiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. In 1927 he married Valborg "Vaps" Moe (1901–1994). His sister was married to Paul René Gauguin for some years.

He joined the Norwegian Labour Party

Norwegian Labour Party

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....

 at an early age. His mother was a central figure here before her early death. Aasen was also a member of the Left Communist Youth League

Left Communist Youth League

Left Communist Youth League was the youth organization of the Norwegian Labour Party from 1923-1927. VKU published Den røde ungdom...

, and was present at the congress of 24 April 1927 when the Left Communist Youth League was merged with the Socialist Youth League

Socialist Youth League of Norway

Socialist Youth League of Norway , initially founded as the Social Democratic Youth League of Norway , was the youth wing of the Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway...

 to found the Workers' Youth League

Workers' Youth League (Norway)

The Workers' Youth League is Norways biggest political youth organization, and is affiliated with the Norwegian Labour Party.AUF took its current form in April 1927, following the merger of Left Communist Youth League and Socialist Youth League of Norway corresponding with the merger of its...

.

His poetic debut came in 1921 with the collection Sigd og hammer ("Sickle and Hammer"), where he hailed the revolution and Lenin. Later highlights among his poetry collections were Høstens have (1923), Plog og penn (1930), Verden vårt hjem (1931), Nakne livet (1935), Blomster og brød (1937) and Bak hvert vindu (1950). Many of his poems became songs, when given melodies by Jolly Kramer-Johansen

Jolly Kramer-Johansen

Jolly Kramer-Johansen was a Norwegian composer. He composed music for several films, including De vergeløse from 1939, Bastard from 1940, Tørres Snørtevold from 1940, Den farlige leken from 1942, and Bustenskjold from 1958. Among his song compositions are Frihetens forpost, with lyrics by Arne...

. Well-known working class anthems include "Frihetens forpost", "Seiren følger våre faner", "Sleggene synger (Samholdsangen)", and "Vi bygger landet". More popular songs include "De nære ting" and "Blåveispiken

Blåveispiken

"Blåveispiken" is a Norwegian song with lyrics by Arne Paasche Aasen, and melody by Kurt Foss and Reidar Bøe. Foss and Bøe recorded the song in 1950. The record was a great success, and sold 100,000 items. The song was a popular hit in Norwegian radio in the 1950s.The lyrics centers around the...

". "Blåveispiken" was recorded by Kurt Foss

Kurt Foss

Kurt Foss was a Norwegian composer, singer and vaudeville artist.He was born in Bergen, and together with Reidar Bøe Kurt Foss created the hugely popular duo "Radiofantomene" that was active throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s...

 and Reidar Bøe in 1950, and became a great success, selling 100,000 records.

He worked as a journalist for a short time, in Fremtiden

Fremtiden

Fremtiden was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Drammen.Fremtiden was started in 1905. Its first editor was Torgeir Vraa, who edited the newspaper from its start until his death in 1934. Fremtiden became the main organ for tne Norwegian Labour Party in Buskerud. During the 1980s the newspaper had...

from 1924 to 1925 and also in Arbeidernes Pressekontor. He edited the Christmas magazine Arbeidets Jul. He also wrote humorous petites in Arbeiderbladet

Dagsavisen

Dagsavisen is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999, and it is now fully independent...

under the pseudonym Dorian Red.

He died in November 1978 in Oslo.