National Anthem Comparison
Denmark vs Sweden
3
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
25
25 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Denmark and Sweden, both Europe nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Denmark's "There Is a Lovely Land" was written in 1819, while Sweden's "Thou Ancient, Thou Free" dates to 1844.
Both anthems share themes of nature, love of homeland and ancestors / heritage.
The emotional tones differ: Denmark's anthem is proud, while Sweden's is solemn.
Shared themes
Denmark
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Sweden
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🕊 Freedom 🏛 Identity
Shared themes:
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Metadata
| Denmark | Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1819 | 1844 |
| Adopted | 1835 | Traditional (de facto) |
| Lyricist | Adam Oehlenschlager | Richard Dybeck |
| Composer | Hans Ernst Kroyer | Traditional folk melody |
| Language | da | sv |
| Region | Northern Europe | Northern Europe |
Lyrics Side by Side
Denmark
Der er et yndigt land
Original
Der er et yndigt land,
Det står med brede bøge
Nær salten østerstrand;
Det bugter sig i bakke, dal,
Det hedder gamle Danmark,
Og det er Frejas sal.
Der sad i fordums tid
De harniskklædte kæmper,
Udhvilede fra strid;
Så drog de frem til fjenders mén,
Nu hvile deres bene
Bag højens bautasten.
Det land endnu er skønt,
Thi blå sig søen bælter,
Og løvet står så grønt;
Og ædle kvinder, skønne møer
Og mænd og raske svende
Bebo de danskes øer.
Hil drot og fædreland!
Hil hver en danneborger,
Som virker, hvad han kan!
Vort gamle Danmark skal bestå,
Så længe bøgen spejler
Sin top i bølgen blå.
Translation
There is a lovely land,
it stands with broad beeches
near the salty eastern shore;
it winds itself in hills and valleys,
it is called old Denmark
and it is Freja's hall.
There sat in ancient times
the armour-clad warriors,
resting from battle;
then they marched forth to the enemies' harm,
now their bones rest
behind the mound's standing stones.
This land is still fair,
for the sea is blue around it,
and the foliage stands so green;
and noble women, fair maidens
and men and brave lads
inhabit the Danish isles.
Hail king and fatherland!
Hail every honest citizen
who does what he can!
Our old Denmark shall endure,
as long as the beech tree mirrors
its crown in the blue wave.
Sweden
Du gamla, du fria
Original
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,
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.
Ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden,
ja, jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden.
Translation
You ancient, you free, you mountainous North,
you quiet, you joyful, beautiful one!
I greet you, most lovely land upon earth,
your sun, your sky, your green meadows,
your sun, your sky, your green meadows.
You sit enthroned on memories of great days of old,
when your honoured name flew across the earth.
I know that you are and you shall remain what you were.
Yes, I want to live, I want to die in the North,
yes, I want to live, I want to die in the North.
Interesting facts
Denmark
- 1. The royal anthem 'Kong Christian stod ved højen mast' tends to be heard on military and royal occasions, while 'Der er et yndigt land' is the one most often heard at sports matches, where since the 1990s it has been customary to sing only the first verse and the closing lines of the last.
- 2. Hans Ernst Krøyer's melody, with its mix of wide leaps and small chromatic steps, is not easy to sing, yet later settings by Thomas Laub (1919) and Carl Nielsen (1924) never displaced it.
- 3. Beeches, a symbol of Danish nature and patriotism since the 1800s, appear in the anthem's second line and again in its closing lines; in 1936, when Argentina asked which tree should represent Denmark in a park of national trees, the Foreign Ministry named the beech.
Sweden
- 1. The words never name Sweden: written when the pan-Scandinavian movement was strong, the song hails 'the North' (Norden), with its mountains, its sun, its sky and its green meadows.
- 2. The melody is an old folk tune from the province of Västmanland, a variant of the medieval ballad 'Kärestans död' (The Loved One's Death).
- 3. In 2001 the Riksdag rejected a motion to give the song legal recognition as Sweden's national anthem, after its Committee on the Constitution said there was no need for it; the song's status still rests on tradition alone.
Listen
Denmark
Sweden
