Kungssången
Encyclopedia
Kungssången is the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 royal anthem. It is also known by its first line, Ur svenska hjärtans djup en gång ("Once from the depths of Swedish hearts"). Though sung on such occasions as the state opening of the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...

 (parliament) and Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

 ceremony, this song is not in fact the Swedish national anthem, which is Du gamla, Du fria
Du gamla, Du fria
"Du gamla, Du fria" is the de facto national anthem of Sweden. It was originally named "Sång till Norden" , and the first words of its lyrics have become adopted as the title in the interim....

.

The lyrics were written by Carl Vilhelm August Strandberg and the music composed for four part male chorus by Otto Lindblad
Otto Lindblad
Otto Lindblad , was a Swedish composer. He is most famous for the musical score of Kungssången, the Swedish royal anthem....

. Kungssången replaced the previous royal anthem, Bevare Gud vår kung
Bevare gud vår kung
"Bevare Gud vår Kung", literally God Save our King, is a song written by Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz as a song of honour to the King of Sweden. It was written in 1805 to the then king Gustaf IV Adolf. It is set to the music of the British God Save the King...

("God preserve our king") which was sung to the melody of the British royal anthem, God Save the King. It was first performed in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...

 on 5 December 1844 at a party arranged by the University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...

 to celebrate the accession of King Oscar I
Oscar I of Sweden
Oscar I was King of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to his death. When, in August 1810, his father Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm . Oscar's father was the first ruler of the current House of Bernadotte...

, and was officially adopted in 1893.

Only the first and fifth stanzas are normally sung (only the first if the King is present). The other three are very rarely heard.

Lyrics

1. Ur svenska hjärtans djup en gång
en samfälld och en enkel sång,
som går till kungen fram!
Var honom trofast och hans ätt,
gör kronan på hans hjässa lätt,
och all din tro till honom sätt,
du folk av frejdad stam!

2. O konung, folkets majestät
är även ditt: beskärma det
och värna det från fall!
Stå oss all världens härar mot,
vi blinka ej för deras hot:
vi lägga dem inför din fot -
en kunglig fotapall.

3. Men stundar ock vårt fall en dag,
från dina skuldror purpurn tag,
lyft av dig kronans tvång
och drag de kära färger på,
det gamla gula och det blå,
och med ett svärd i handen gå
till kamp och undergång!

4. Och grip vår sista fana du
och dristeliga för ännu
i döden dina män!
Ditt trogna folk med hjältemod
skall sömma av sitt bästa blod
en kunglig purpur varm och god,
och svepa dig i den.

5. Du himlens Herre, med oss var,
som förr du med oss varit har,
och liva på vår strand
det gamla lynnets art igen
hos sveakungen och hans män.
Och låt din ande vila än
utöver nordanland!


Translation (Highly unofficial)

1. From the depth of Swedish hearts,
a joint and a simple song,
which reaches forth to the King!
Be faithful to Him and his House,
make the Crown light upon his Head,
and all your faith in Him invest,
thou, people of high renown.

2. Oh King, Majesty of the people
It is also thine - embrace it
And protect it from fall.
If all the armies of the world against us stand,
We do not fear their threat
We place them before your foot
As a royal footstool

3. But, if one day our fall is near
From your shoulders let the mantle fall
Remove the burden of the crown
And put on the beloved colours
The old yellow and the blue,
lift the sword by the hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...

 and go
Towards war and doom

4. Raise our last banner in your hand
And lead your men yet
To the end and into death
Your faithful people of heroes stock,
Of their best blood, they shall sew
A royal robe, warm and pure
And shroud you in it

5. Thou Lord of Heaven, stay with us
Just like you did in the olden days
And live on our shores
the old life and spirit
Of the Svea king and his men
And let your spirit rest
Above the Northern Land



External links

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