Page "Du gamla, Du fria" Paragraph 5

The melody Swedish composer Edvin Kallstenius arranged the traditional melody from Västmanland.

Dybeck himself originally wrote the beginning as " Du gamla, Du friska " ( Thou ancient, Thou hale ), but in the late 1850s personally changed the lyrics to " Du gamla, Du fria " ( Thou ancient, Thou free ).

The song was already published in several song books and sung with " Du gamla, Du friska ", but a priest who had known Dybeck got the opportunity to tell the singer most associated with the song, opera singer Carl Fredrik Lundqvist, about the change in the year 1900.

From that point on, printings of the " friska " version ceased to be seen in song books, but a recording from 1905 where it is sung with " friska " still exists.