The song has been widely recognised as the national anthem since the late 19th century, gaining prominence afterKing Oscar II, attending a dinner in 1893, stood in acknowledgement upon hearing the song.[10][8] It gained further recognition in 1938, whenSveriges Radio, the national public broadcaster, began playing it at the conclusion of its daily programming.[8] In 2000, theRiksdag (Swedish Parliament) declined a proposal to officially recogniseDu 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 ofScandinavianism.[12] It references theNordic region (Swedish:Norden) but not Sweden itself, making thePolish 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]
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 toVerner 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 ofScandinavism 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 [sv] wrote four verses beginning with "Jag älskar min hembygd" (lit.'I Adore My Homestead'); andLouise Ahlén with two verses. However, these are not accepted as part of the anthem, and are not normally published or sung.
The song gained status as the national anthem from the late 19th century, becoming predominant in 1893 afterKing Oscar II stood up in acknowledgement of the song at a dinner atLund 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 theRiksdag. In 1986, a motion proposed granting the song legal recognition, but it was not passed.[26] Further motions fromMPs of variouspolitical 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, asDu 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]
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.[e] 𝄆 Ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden. 𝄇
You ancient, you free, you mountainous North You quiet, you joyous beauty! I greet you, loveliest land upon Earth, 𝄆 Your sun, your sky, your countryside[f] 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. 𝄇
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 the1906 Swedish spelling reform.[42]
Du gamla, du friska
Swedish original
English translation
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 countryside[f] 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. 𝄇
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]
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. 𝄇
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. 𝄇
^abHolm, Anna Lena (August 1991)."Edvin Kallstenius".musikverket.se (in Swedish). Musik- och teaterbiblioteket / Musikverket. Archived fromthe original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved3 June 2017.
^Collections., University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Department of Special (2005-11-16)."Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project".cylinders.library.ucsb.edu.Archived from the original on 2017-10-20. Retrieved2017-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
