A SONG FOR SWEDEN - DU GAMLA DU FRIA
Music video by Swedish musician and filmmaker Jinna Jinton.
"Thou Ancient, Thou Free" is the de facto national anthem of Sweden. It was written by Swedish jurist and antiquarian Richard Dybeck in 1844, and its melody is based on a traditional folk tune which was later rearranged by Swedish composer and librarian Edvin Kallstenius nearly a century later.[1][2][3][4]
It was originally titled "Song to the North" (sv. "Sång till Norden").
Unlike Norway's national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet", the Swedish anthem hasn't been made official yet—the Swedish constitution has yet to mention a national anthem.[5]
Lyrics[]
Only the first two verses are used.

Richard Dybeck, author of the lyrics.
Swedish original[]
Latin script | Cyrillic script | Arabic script | IPA transcription |
---|---|---|---|
Du gamla, Du fria, Du fjällhöga nord |
Ду гамла, Ду фрия, Ду фьелльхёга норд |
دو غاملا، دو فريا، دو فيلهوغا نورد |
[dʉː ˈɡâmː.la dʉː ˈfrîː.a dʉː ˈfjɛ̂lː.ˌhøː.ɡa nǔːɖ] |
English version[]
Thou ancient, thou glorious, thou mountainous North,
Thou quiet, thou joyful and fair!
I grant thee, most beautiful land upon earth,
𝄆 Thy sun, thy sky, thy meadows green! 𝄇
How proudly we dwell on thy great deeds of yore,
What time thy name was famed in story,
Thy children still are as valiant as before:
𝄆 In thee I'll live and die, thou land of glory! 𝄇
Forever to thee be my loyalty,
Unto my grave I shall serve thee,
With heart and hand thine right defend,
𝄆 Thy banner sternly gleaming advance! 𝄇
God willing, our graceful hearth sustaineth!
Our loved native Northland liveth!
No other clime takes after my heart,
𝄆 From thee I shall ne'er depart! 𝄇
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Du gamla, du friska – från folkvisa till nationalsång. Danielson, Eva; Ramsten, Märta. Svenskt visarkiv / Musikverket.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Edvin Kallstenius (1991). Holm, Anna Lena. Musik- och teaterbiblioteket / Musikverket.
- ↑ Sveriges Medeltida Ballader, Vol. 4:1, pp. 16-17
- ↑ Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project (2005-11-16). Collections., University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Department of Special.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sweden – NationalAnthems.me
- ↑ Nationalsången. Sveriges Kungahus.