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national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. Originally titled (), its lyrics were written in 1844 by Swedish antiquarian
Richard Dybeck Richard Dybeck (1 September 1811 – 28 July 1877) was a Swedish jurist, antiquarian, and lyricist. He is mainly remembered as the author of the lyrics to what is now the de facto Swedish national anthem, ''Du gamla, Du fria''. Biography Dybeck w ...
, who set them to a variation of the old folk melody ''Kärestans död'' ()''.'' The song has been widely recognised as the national anthem since the late 19th century, gaining prominence after
King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
, attending a dinner in 1893, stood in acknowledgement upon hearing the song. It gained further recognition in 1938, when
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
, the national public broadcaster, began playing it at the conclusion of its daily programming. In 2000, the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
(Swedish Parliament) declined a proposal to officially recognise ''Du gamla, du fria'' as the national anthem, stating that its established status through tradition rendered formal adoption unnecessary. Dybeck's original lyrics consist of two verses, reflecting the ideals of
Scandinavianism Scandinavism (; ; ), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,"Pan-Scandinavi ...
. It references the Nordic region () but not Sweden itself, making the
Polish national anthem "Poland Is Not Yet Lost", also known in Polish as "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (; ) and formerly the "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy", is the national anthem of Poland. The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, in No ...
the only national anthem to reference Sweden. Various attempts have been made to introduce additional verses that explicitly mention Sweden, but none have been popularly adopted. In addition to the national anthem, Sweden has a
royal anthem The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescrib ...
,
Kungssången ''Kungssången'' (''The King's Song'') is the Swedish royal anthem. It is also known by its first line, ''Ur svenska hjärtans djup en gång'' ('). Although sung on such occasions as the King's birthday, the annual opening of the Riksdag and t ...
()'','' which holds official ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...
'' status.


History

The original lyrics were written by
Richard Dybeck Richard Dybeck (1 September 1811 – 28 July 1877) was a Swedish jurist, antiquarian, and lyricist. He is mainly remembered as the author of the lyrics to what is now the de facto Swedish national anthem, ''Du gamla, Du fria''. Biography Dybeck w ...
in 1844, to the melody of a variant of the ballad "" (). The ballad type is classified as D 280 in
The Types of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballad ''The Types of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballad: A Descriptive Catalogue'' (TSB) is the designation for a cataloguing system for Scandinavian ballads. It is also the title of the underlying reference book: ''The Types of the Scandinavian Medieva ...
; the variant from
Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...
that Dybeck reproduced is classified as SMB 133 G. It was recorded by Rosa Wretman at the beginning of the 1840s. Dybeck published the traditional text in ''Folk-lore I'', and the melody in 1845 in his ''Runa'', where he also published his new text "Sång till Norden" (Song for/to the North). Dybeck himself originally wrote the beginning as "" (), but in the late 1850s, he changed the lyrics to "". The song was already published in several song books and sung with "", but a priest who had known Dybeck took the opportunity to inform the singer most associated with the song, opera singer , about the change in the year 1900. From that point on, printings of the "" version ceased to be seen in song books, but a recording from 1905 where it is sung with "friska" still exists. The Swedish composer Edvin Kallstenius made an orchestral arrangement of the song in 1933. By the early 20th century, many regarded the song unsuitable as a national anthem. From the 1890s, it was included in the "patriotic songs" section of song books, but up to the 1920s it was occasionally published just as "folk music". In 1899, a contest to produce a national anthem was held. It led to
Verner von Heidenstam Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and prose work are filled with a great j ...
writing "Sverige", but did not lead to a new national anthem. Patriotic sentiment is notably absent from the text of the original two verses, due to their being written in the spirit of
Scandinavism Scandinavism (; ; ), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,"Pan-Scandinavi ...
popular at the time. After the song started to acquire its informal status as the national anthem, various people wrote additional verses to increase the "Swedish-ness" of the song. The aforementioned Lundqvist wrote his own third verse beginning with "" (); wrote four verses beginning with "" (); and Louise Ahlén with two verses. However, these are not accepted as part of the anthem, and are not normally published or sung.


Status

Similarly to the national anthems of
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, ''Du gamla, du fria'' is not defined in Sweden's constitutional Basic Laws, nor has it been formally recognised by other legislation, unlike Sweden's
flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
and
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
. Despite this, the song enjoys universal recognition, and is used at official events such as
state visits A state visit is a formal visit by the head of a sovereign country (or representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or representative) of that foreign country, with th ...
and the
Opening of the Riksdag The Opening of the Riksdag Session () is an annual ceremony in the Kingdom of Sweden to mark the start of a new parliamentary year for the Swedish Riksdag. The current ceremony was first held in 1975, replacing an older ceremony known as the Sole ...
, at sporting events, and at the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
Award Ceremony. The song gained status as the national anthem from the late 19th century, becoming predominant in 1893 after
King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
stood up in acknowledgement of the song at a dinner at
Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
. In 1938,
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
, the national public radio broadcasting service, began playing it at the conclusion of its daily programming, gaining it further recognition. By the end of the 1930s, the song's status had effectively been established. The song's status has been the subject of multiple motions in the
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
. In 1986, a motion proposed granting the song legal recognition, but it was not passed. Further motions from MPs of various
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in 2000, 2007, 2019 and 2024 have also sought official status for the anthem. However, none of these proposals have never been accepted by the Riksdag. In 2000, a Riksdag committee concluded that, as ''Du gamla, du fria'' had already become de facto the national anthem, formal recognition was unnecessary. The committee argued that no official confirmation was required, as the anthem's status was already entrenched in Swedish society.


Melody

\new Staff << \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \override Score.BarNumber #'transparent = ##t \clef treble \key bes \major \tempo 4=76 \relative c'' { \key bes \major \partial 8 d8 , d4 bes8 bes bes4 c8 d , d4 c8 bes a4 r8 c8 , \break c4 a8 bes c a d8. bes16 , g2 f4 r8 f8 , \break bes4 bes8 c a4 a8 bes , g8. f16 g8 a f4 r8 \repeat volta 2 { f8 , \break % \repeat unfold 2 { f8 , \break bes8. a16 bes8 c d bes es d , c2 bes4 r8 } \bar ":, ." } \addlyrics { Du gam -- la, Du fri -- a, Du fjäll -- hö -- ga nord Du tys -- ta, Du gläd -- je -- ri -- ka skö -- na! Jag häl -- sar Dig, vä -- nas -- te land __ _ up -- på jord, Din sol, Din him -- mel, Di -- na äng -- der grö -- na. Din sol, Din him -- mel, Di -- na äng -- der grö -- na. } \addlyrics { Du tro -- nar på min -- nen från forn -- sto -- ra da'r, då ä -- rat Ditt namn flög ö -- ver jor -- den. Jag vet att Du är och Du blir __ _ vad Du var. Ja, jag vill le -- va jag vill dö i Nor -- den! Ja, jag vill le -- va jag vill dö i Nor -- den! } >>


Lyrics


Swedish


Modern version

''Du gamla, du fria'' contains two verses, both of which are sung. {, class="wikitable" cellpadding="6" , +Du gamla, du fria ! Swedish original ! IPA transcription ! English translation , - style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;" , Du gamla, Du fria, Du fjällhöga nord Du tysta, Du glädjerika sköna! Jag hälsar Dig, vänaste land uppå jord, 𝄆 Din sol, Din himmel, Dina ängder gröna. 𝄇 Du tronar på minnen från fornstora da'r, då ärat Ditt namn flög över jorden. Jag vet att Du är och Du blir vad Du var. 𝄆 Ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden. 𝄇 , ʉː ˈɡâmː.la dʉː ˈfrîː.a dʉː ˈfjɛ̂lː.ˌhøː.ɡa nǔːɖ ʉː ˈtʏ̂sː.ta dʉː ˈɡlɛ̂ːd.jɛ̠.ˌriː.ka ˈɧø̂ː.na ‖ ɑː(ɡ) ˈhɛ̂lː.sa‿ɖɛj ˈvɛ̂ː.nas.tɛ̠ lanːd ˈɵ̌p.poː juːɖ 𝄆 ɪnː suːl dɪnː ˈhɪ̂m.mɛ̠l ˈdîː.na ˈɛ̂ŋː.dɛ̠r ˈɡrø̂ː.na ‖𝄇 ʉː ˈtrûː.nar poː ˈmɪ̂n.nɛ̠n froːn ˈfûːɳ.ˌʂtuː.ra dɑːr ǒː ˈæ̂ː.rat dɪtː namːn fløːɡ ˈøː.vɛ̠r ˈjǔː.ɖɛ̠n ‖ ɑː(ɡ) věːt atː dʉː æːr ɔ(kː) dʉː bliːr vɑː(d) dʉː vɑːr 𝄆 ɑː jɑː(ɡ) vɪlː ˈlêː.va jɑː(ɡ) vɪlː døː iː ˈnǔː.ɖɛ̠n ‖𝄇 , You ancient, you free, you mountainous North You quiet, you joyous beauty! I greet you, loveliest land upon Earth, 𝄆 Your sun, your sky, your meadows green. 𝄇 You are enthroned upon memories of ancient days, When honoured your name flew across Earth, I know that you are, and you will be, what you were, 𝄆 Yes, I want to live, I want to die in the North. 𝄇


Original lyrics

Richard Dybeck originally wrote these lyrics, but revised them in the late 1850s to the version used today. The lyrics presented here also follow archaic spelling conventions that were in use before the 1906 Swedish spelling reform. {, class="wikitable" cellpadding="6" , +Du gamla, du friska ! Swedish original !English translation , - style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;" , Du gamla, du friska, du fjellhöga Nord, Du tysta, du glädjerika sköna! Jag helsar dig, vänsta land uppå jord, 𝄆 Din sol, din himmel, dina ängder gröna. 𝄇 Du tronar på minnen från fornstora da'r, Då äradt ditt namn flög öfver jorden; Jag vet att du är och blir hvad du var, 𝄆 Ack, jag vill lefva, jag vill dö i Norden! 𝄇 , You ancient, you healthy, you mountainous North You quiet, you joyous beauty! I greet you, loveliest land upon Earth, 𝄆 Your sun, your sky, your meadows green. 𝄇 You are enthroned upon memories of ancient days, When honoured your name flew across Earth, I know that you are, and you will be, what you were, 𝄆 Oh! I want to live, I want to die in the North. 𝄇


National minority languages

''Du gamla, du fria'' is sung in Swedish in official contexts, however translations of the lyrics into some of Sweden's national minority languages exist.


Finnish

''Pohjolanmaa'' () is the ''de facto'' Finnish version of the song. Originally translated by Finnish writer (1862–1927), it has been used in textbooks produced by the
Swedish National Agency for Education The Swedish National Agency for Education (, commonly known as ''Skolverket'') is a Government agency in Sweden that oversees the Swedish public school system for children and adults. Formed in 1991, The Swedish National Agency for Education is ...
. Finnish is an official ''national'' ''minority language'' in Sweden. {, class="wikitable" cellpadding="6" , +Pohjolanmaa ! Finnish version ! English translation , - style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;" , Sä jylhä ja ponteva pohjolanmaa, sä hiljainen riemun kehto parhain, sä armahin seutu, min kohdata saa, 𝄆 maa kukkanurmein, koskein, tähtitarhain. 𝄇 Sun muistosi suuret, sun uljahat työs ei hukkua saata ajanvuolla; mit’ ennen voit olla, voit vastakin myös – 𝄆 mä pohjolassa tahdon elää, kuolla. 𝄇 , You majestic and vigourous North, you quiet cradle of joy, the best of them all, you most beloved country, that one can ever meet. 𝄆 Land of flower fields, brooks, starry heavens. 𝄇 Your great memories, your grand works, may not drown in the passage of time; what you once were, you can be once more – 𝄆 In the North I want to live, to die. 𝄇


Southern Sámi

In 1938,
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
recorded a
Southern Sámi Southern or South Sámi (; ; ) is the southwesternmost of the Sámi languages, and is spoken in Norway and Sweden. It is an endangered language. The designated main village of the language in Norway is Snåasen Municipality (Snåsa) where the c ...
version of ''Du gamla, du fria'', performed by students from Skarvsjöby nomad school in
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...
. The lyrics were taken from the 1911 songbook ''Sami laulotasah – Liten lappsk och svensk sångbok'' (), though the author is unknown. The Sámi languages have official ''national'' ''minority language'' status in Sweden. {, class="wikitable" cellpadding="6" ! Southern Sámi version , - style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;" , Tån aiteki lanta tu all vari kum, tån tjappa tån avost tievas ätnam. Mån ätsav tu fapmokis ruodnis mietsi kum 𝄆 tu almev, tu jaurit, tu änoit. 𝄇 Tu namma li allak tu fapmo vil aj, tu kudne kitt alme radjai kulloi. Mån tietav att nåu tat kalka sjaddat aj. 𝄆 Mån sitav viessot, japmet ietjat lunne. 𝄇


See also

*
Flag of Sweden The national flag of Sweden () consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design traditionally repres ...
*
National Day of Sweden National Day of Sweden ( ) is the National Day of Sweden, observed annually as a public holiday on 6 June. Prior to 1983, the day was celebrated only as the Swedish Flag Day (). It was officially named the Swedish National Day by the parliame ...
*
Public holidays in Sweden In Sweden, public holidays () are established by acts of Parliament (the ''Riksdag''). The official holidays can be divided into Christian and non-Christian holidays. The Christian holidays are '' jul'' (Christmas), ''trettondedag jul'' ( Epipha ...


Notes


References


Sources

*


External links

* * {{authority control 1844 songs European anthems National symbols of Sweden National anthems Songs in Swedish Swedish patriotic songs Compositions in B-flat major