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Du gamla, du fria
National anthem of Sweden From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Du gamla, du fria[a] (lit. 'You ancient, you free'),[5][6] is the de facto national anthem of Sweden.[7] Originally titled Sång till Norden[b] (lit. 'Song to the North'), its lyrics were written in 1844 by Swedish antiquarian Richard Dybeck, who set them to a variation of the old folk melody Kärestans död (lit. 'Death of a loved one').[8][9]
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.[10][8] It gained further recognition in 1938, when Sveriges Radio, the national public broadcaster, began playing it at the conclusion of its daily programming.[8] In 2000, the Riksdag (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.[11]
Dybeck's original lyrics consist of two verses, reflecting the ideals of Scandinavianism.[12] It references the Nordic region (Swedish: Norden) but not Sweden itself, making the Polish national anthem the only national anthem to reference Sweden.[13] Various attempts have been made to introduce additional verses that explicitly mention Sweden, but none have been popularly adopted.[14]
In addition to the national anthem, Sweden has a royal anthem, Kungssången (lit. 'The King's Song'), which holds official de jure status.[15][16]
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History
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The original lyrics were written by Richard Dybeck in 1844, to the melody of a variant of the ballad "Kärestans död" (lit. 'Death of a loved one'). 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.[17] 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 "Du gamla, du friska" (lit. 'You ancient, you healthy'), but in the late 1850s, he changed the lyrics to "Du gamla, du fria". The song was already published in several song books and sung with "Du gamla, du friska", but a priest who had known Dybeck took the opportunity to inform the singer most associated with the song, opera singer Carl Fredrik Lundqvist, about the change in the year 1900. From that point on, printings of the "friska" version ceased to be seen in song books, but a recording from 1905 where it is sung with "friska" still exists.[18] The Swedish composer Edvin Kallstenius made an orchestral arrangement of the song in 1933.[4]
By the early 20th century, many[who?] 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 writing "Sverige", but did not lead to a new national anthem.[19]
Patriotic sentiment is notably absent from the text of the original two verses, due to their being written in the spirit of Scandinavism popular at the time.[c] 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 "Jag älskar dig Sverige" (lit. 'Thee I Adore, Sweden'); Frans Österblom wrote four verses beginning with "Jag älskar min hembygd" (lit. 'I Adore My Homestead'); and Louise Ahlén with two verses. However, these are not accepted as part of the anthem, and are not normally published or sung.
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Status
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Similarly to the national anthems of Finland and the United Kingdom,[20] 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[21] and coat of arms.[22] Despite this, the song enjoys universal recognition, and is used at official events such as state visits and the Opening of the Riksdag,[23] at sporting events, and at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony.[24]
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.[10][8] In 1938, Sveriges Radio, the national public radio broadcasting service, began playing it at the conclusion of its daily programming, gaining it further recognition.[8] By the end of the 1930s, the song's status had effectively been established.[25]
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.[26] Further motions from MPs of various political parties in 2000,[27] 2007,[28] 2019[29] and 2024[30] have also sought official status for the anthem. However, none of these proposals have never been accepted by the Riksdag.[11]
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.[11]
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Melody
Lyrics
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Swedish
Modern version
Du gamla, du fria contains two verses, both of which are sung.[7][31]
Original lyrics
Richard Dybeck originally wrote these lyrics, but revised them in the late 1850s to the version used today.[41] The lyrics presented here also follow archaic spelling conventions that were in use before the 1906 Swedish spelling reform.[42]
National minority languages
Du gamla, du fria is sung in Swedish in official contexts,[43] however translations of the lyrics into some of Sweden's national minority languages exist.[44][45]
Finnish
Pohjolanmaa (lit. 'Nordic land') is the de facto Finnish version of the song. Originally translated by Finnish writer Alpo Noponen (1862–1927),[46] it has been used in textbooks produced by the Swedish National Agency for Education.[44] Finnish is an official national minority language in Sweden.[47]
Southern Sámi
In 1938, Sveriges Radio recorded a Southern Sámi version of Du gamla, du fria, performed by students from Skarvsjöby nomad school in Västerbotten.[45] The lyrics were taken from the 1911 songbook Sami laulotasah – Liten lappsk och svensk sångbok (lit. 'Little Lapp and Swedish songbook'),[49] though the author is unknown.[45] The Sámi languages have official national minority language status in Sweden.[47]
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See also
Notes
- Swedish pronunciation: [dʉː ˈɡâmːla dʉː ˈfrîːa]
- pronounced [ˈsɔŋː tɪl ˈnǔːɖɛn]
- Norden in general refers to the Nordic countries in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish
- See Help:IPA/Swedish and Swedish phonology.
- The word ängd[40] is nowadays often interpreted as synonymous with 'äng' (meadow).
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References
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