National Anthem Comparison
Norway vs Sweden
3
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
15
15 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Norway and Sweden, both Europe nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Norway's "Yes, We Love This Country" was written in 1859, while Sweden's "Thou Ancient, Thou Free" dates to 1844.
Both anthems share themes of love of homeland, nature and ancestors / heritage. Norway additionally explores god / faith and peace, while Sweden also touches on freedom and identity.
The emotional tones differ: Norway's anthem is proud, while Sweden's is solemn.
Shared themes
Norway
❤ Love of homeland 🌿 Nature 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage ✝ God / Faith ☮ Peace
Sweden
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🕊 Freedom 🏛 Identity
Shared themes:
❤ Love of homeland 🌿 Nature 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Metadata
| Norway | Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1859 | 1844 |
| Adopted | 1864 | Traditional (de facto) |
| Lyricist | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson | Richard Dybeck |
| Composer | Rikard Nordraak | Traditional folk melody |
| Language | nb | sv |
| Region | Northern Europe | Northern Europe |
Lyrics Side by Side
Norway
Ja, vi elsker dette landet
Original
Ja, vi elsker dette landet,
som det stiger frem,
furet, værbitt over vannet,
med de tusen hjem,
elsker, elsker det og tenker
på vår far og mor
og den saganatt som senker
drømme på vår jord.
Norske mann i hus og hytte,
takk din store Gud!
Landet ville han beskytte,
skjønt det mørkt så ud.
Alt, hva fedrene har kjempet,
mødrene har grett,
har den Herre stille lempet,
så vi vant vår rett.
Ja, vi elsker dette landet,
som det stiger frem,
furet, værbitt over vannet,
med de tusen hjem.
Og som fedres kamp har hevet
det av nød til seir,
også vi, når det blir krevet,
for dets fred slår leir.
Translation
Yes, we love this country,
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, above the sea,
with its thousand homes,
love it, love it, and think
of our father and mother
and the saga night that sends
dreams upon our earth.
Norwegian man in house and cabin,
thank your great God!
The country He wanted to protect,
though it looked dark.
All that our fathers fought for,
our mothers wept for,
the Lord has quietly granted,
so we won our right.
Yes, we love this country,
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, above the sea,
with its thousand homes.
And as our fathers' struggle raised
it from need to victory,
we too, when called upon,
shall pitch camp for its peace.
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
Norway
- 1. Composer Rikard Nordraak, a cousin of Bjørnson, died of tuberculosis in March 1866 at just 23, less than two years after the first performance; his friend Edvard Grieg wrote a Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak.
- 2. The melody spans an octave and a fourth, an unusually wide range for a national anthem; in 1900 Edvard Grieg called it a "seeming impossibility" for a crowd to sing, yet said it captures the poem's feelings exactly.
- 3. The final text has eight stanzas, but usually only the first and the last two are sung.
- 4. The first version, printed in 1859 for the opening of the Storting, had six stanzas and was dedicated to Charles XV, king of the union of Sweden and Norway; in the revised version Bjørnson published in December 1863, the king was gone.
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
Norway
Sweden
