Du gamla, du fria

Du gamla, du fria
English: 'You ancient, you free'
	A vinyl record of "Du gamla, du fria" published by Tal och ton, dated 1930
	National anthem of Sweden
Also known as	Sång till Norden (English: 'Song to the North')
Lyrics	Richard Dybeck, 1844
Music	Based on a Swedish folk tune (arranged for orchestra by Edvin Kallstenius, 1933)
Audio sample
	U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (two verses) file; help;

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]

^ Gustafson, Anita Olson (2018-12-14), "CHAPTER 5. SWEDISH NATIONALISM IN A NEW LAND", Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920, Cornell University Press, pp. 119–152, doi:10.1515/9781501757624-007/html?lang=en, ISBN 978-1-5017-5762-4, retrieved 2025-03-30
^ "Du gamla du fria (1 of 2) - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ Eva Danielson; Märta Ramsten (30 May 2013). "Du gamla, du friska – från folkvisa till nationalsång". musikverket.se (in Swedish). Svenskt visarkiv / Musikverket. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
^ Holm, Anna Lena (August 1991). "Edvin Kallstenius". musikverket.se (in Swedish). Musik- och teaterbiblioteket / Musikverket. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
^ Gustafson, Anita Olson (2018-12-14), "CHAPTER 5. SWEDISH NATIONALISM IN A NEW LAND", Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920, Cornell University Press, pp. 119–152, doi:10.1515/9781501757624-007/html?lang=en, ISBN 978-1-5017-5762-4, retrieved 2025-03-30
^ "Du gamla du fria (1 of 2) - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ "Sweden's national anthem". Sharing Sweden. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c "This is why Sweden doesn't have an official national anthem". Classic FM. Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ "Begravningen (Kärestans död)". www.isof.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ swed20chamb19admin (2021-06-07). "Sweden National Day – a June 6 digital celebration". Swedish Chamber of Commerce Taipei. Retrieved 2025-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Allmänna helgdagar, symboler m.m. Sammanfattning [Public holidays, symbols, etc. Summary] (in Swedish). Committee on Constitutional Affairs. 2000.
^ Pierre-Robert Cloet, Bénédicte Legué, Kerstin Martel (2013-12-03). "United in diversity: Anthems and flags of the European Union - Sweden" (PDF). Jacques Delors Institute.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Därför sjunger Polen om Sverige i sin nationalsång". gp.se. Göteborgsposten. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
^ Katie Barclay, François Soyer (2021). "Richard Dybeck (1811–1877)". Emotions in Europe, 1517-1914. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ "Historik - Sveriges Kungahus". web.archive.org. 2014-03-02. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
^ "HM The King opens the new Parliamentary Session". www.kungahuset.se. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] Gustafson, Anita Olson (2018-12-14), "CHAPTER 5. SWEDISH NATIONALISM IN A NEW LAND", Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920, Cornell University Press, pp. 119–152, doi:10.1515/9781501757624-007/html?lang=en, ISBN 978-1-5017-5762-4, retrieved 2025-03-30

[2] "Du gamla du fria (1 of 2) - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[3] Eva Danielson; Märta Ramsten (30 May 2013). "Du gamla, du friska – från folkvisa till nationalsång". musikverket.se (in Swedish). Svenskt visarkiv / Musikverket. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2017.

[Holm-4] Holm, Anna Lena (August 1991). "Edvin Kallstenius". musikverket.se (in Swedish). Musik- och teaterbiblioteket / Musikverket. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.

[6] Gustafson, Anita Olson (2018-12-14), "CHAPTER 5. SWEDISH NATIONALISM IN A NEW LAND", Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920, Cornell University Press, pp. 119–152, doi:10.1515/9781501757624-007/html?lang=en, ISBN 978-1-5017-5762-4, retrieved 2025-03-30

[7] "Du gamla du fria (1 of 2) - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[:4-8] "Sweden's national anthem". Sharing Sweden. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[:0-10] "This is why Sweden doesn't have an official national anthem". Classic FM. Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[11] "Begravningen (Kärestans död)". www.isof.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[:1-12] swed20chamb19admin (2021-06-07). "Sweden National Day – a June 6 digital celebration". Swedish Chamber of Commerce Taipei. Retrieved 2025-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[:2-13] Allmänna helgdagar, symboler m.m. Sammanfattning [Public holidays, symbols, etc. Summary] (in Swedish). Committee on Constitutional Affairs. 2000.

[14] Pierre-Robert Cloet, Bénédicte Legué, Kerstin Martel (2013-12-03). "United in diversity: Anthems and flags of the European Union - Sweden" (PDF). Jacques Delors Institute.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[15] "Därför sjunger Polen om Sverige i sin nationalsång". gp.se. Göteborgsposten. Retrieved 2025-01-18.

[16] Katie Barclay, François Soyer (2021). "Richard Dybeck (1811–1877)". Emotions in Europe, 1517-1914. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[17] "Historik - Sveriges Kungahus". web.archive.org. 2014-03-02. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

[18] "HM The King opens the new Parliamentary Session". www.kungahuset.se. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

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