Sweden
"Sång till Norden" (Song of the North)

Words by: Richard Dybeck
Music by: traditional
In use since: 1844

Also known as "Du Gamla, Du Fria" (Thou Ancient, Thou Beautiful, Thou Mountainous North), Sweden's anthem was written in 1844. The author of the lyrics chose a Swedish folk tune from the province of Västmanland to set his words to to create the anthem. Verses were added later by Louise Ahlen, but they are rarely sung nowadays. The song was created at a time when a "pan-Scandinavian" movement was strong, which is why it is a "Song to the North" instead of just to Sweden.

In the late 19th century the anthem started to be considered as Sweden's "national anthem", differentiating it from the royal anthem that was being used as both a royal and national anthem. The anthem has never been officially legislated as Sweden's national anthem, one attempt in the 1930s by a member of parliament brought forth claims of wanting state controlled patriotism by the opposition.

Special thanks to: Elias Granqvist, Lars C. Stolt, and Josh Lim for some of the information, as well as to Ola Nenzelius for the English translation and some additional information

See also: Sweden (royal anthem).