English: 'Thou ancient, Thou free' | |
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National anthem of Sweden | |
Lyrics | Richard Dybeck |
Music | Traditional;[1] later arranged by Edvin Kallstenius[2] |
Adopted | de facto |
"Du gamla, du fria" (say: doo GAM-lah doo FREE-ah, meaning "Thou ancient, thou free"), originally titled "Sång till Norden" (meaning "Song to the North"), is the national anthem of Sweden. The words of the song were written by Richard Dybeck in 1844, and the melody used for this song 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]
Unlike Norway's national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet", the Swedish anthem has not been made official yet—the Swedish constitution has yet to mention a national anthem.[5]