(), is the de facto national anthem of Sweden. Originally titled (), its lyrics were written in 1844 by Swedish antiquarian Richard Dybeck, 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, attending a dinner in 1893, stood in acknowledgement upon hearing the song.
Dybeck's original lyrics consist of two verses, reflecting the ideals of Scandinavianism. It references the Nordic region () but not Sweden itself, making the Polish national anthem 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, Kungssången ().
History
The original lyrics were written by Richard Dybeck 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 variant from Västmanland 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. 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 and coat of arms. Despite this, the song enjoys universal recognition, and is used at official events such as state visits and the Opening of the Riksdag, at sporting events, and at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony.
The song gained status as the national anthem from the late 19th century, becoming predominant in 1893 after King Oscar II stood up in acknowledgement of the song at a dinner at Lund University.
The song's status has been the subject of multiple motions in the Riksdag. In 1986, a motion proposed granting the song legal recognition, but it was not passed. Further motions from MPs of various political parties in 2000, 2007, 2019 and 2024 have also sought official status for the anthem. However, none of these proposals have ever been accepted by the Riksdag.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Du gamla, du fria</big>
! Swedish original
! IPA transcription
! English translation
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem lang|sv|italic="no">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. 𝄇
</poem>
|<poem lang|ipa|italic="no">[dʉː ˈɡâmː.la dʉː ˈfrîː.a dʉː ˈfjɛ̂lː.ˌhøː.ɡa nǔːɖ ]
[dʉː ˈtʏ̂sː.ta dʉː ˈɡlɛ̂ːd.jɛ̠.ˌriː.ka ˈɧø̂ː.na ‖]
[jɑː(ɡ) ˈhɛ̂lː.sa‿ɖɛj ˈvɛ̂ː.nas.tɛ̠ lanːd ˈɵ̌p.poː juːɖ ]
𝄆 [dɪnː suːl dɪnː ˈhɪ̂m.mɛ̠l ˈdîː.na ˈɛ̂ŋː.dɛ̠r ˈɡrø̂ː.na ‖] 𝄇
[dʉː ˈtrûː.nar poː ˈmɪ̂n.nɛ̠n froːn ˈfûːɳ.ˌʂtuː.ra dɑːr ]
[dǒː ˈæ̂ː.rat dɪtː namːn fløːɡ ˈøː.vɛ̠r ˈjǔː.ɖɛ̠n ‖]
[jɑː(ɡ) věːt atː dʉː æːr ɔ(kː) dʉː bliːr vɑː(d) dʉː vɑːr ]
𝄆 [jɑː jɑː(ɡ) vɪlː ˈlêː.va jɑː(ɡ) vɪlː døː iː ˈnǔː.ɖɛ̠n ‖] 𝄇
</poem>
|<poem lang|en|italic="no">You old, you free, you high mountain North
You silent, you joyful beauty!
I greet you, friendliest land upon Earth,
𝄆 Your sun, your sky, your countryside green. 𝄇
You sit enthroned upon memories of ancient great places,
When your your name flew over the Earth in glory,
I know that you are, and you will be what you were,
𝄆 Yes, I want to live, I want to die in the North. 𝄇
</poem>
|}
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"
|+<big>Du gamla, du friska</big>
! Swedish original
!English translation
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem lang|sv|italic="no">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! 𝄇
</poem>
|<poem lang|en|italic="no">You ancient, you healthy, you mountainous North
You quiet, you joyous beauty!
I greet you, loveliest land upon Earth,
𝄆 Your sun, your sky, your countryside 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. 𝄇
</poem>
|}
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. it has been used in textbooks produced by the Swedish National Agency for Education. Finnish is an official national minority language in Sweden.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Pohjolanmaa</big>
! Finnish version
! English translation The lyrics were taken from the 1911 songbook Sami laulotasah – Liten lappsk och svensk sångbok (), though the author is unknown.
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem lang|se|italics="no">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. 𝄇
</poem>
|}
See also
- Flag of Sweden
- National Day of Sweden
- Public holidays in Sweden