Month: July 2022

The Swedish Armed Forces at Pride

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Several advertisements appeared in today’s newspapers in Sweden. The ads, from the Swedish Armed Forces, show how they support equal rights and will be participating in Stockholm Pride which starts tomorrow. This is one of the reasons I am proud to have Swedish citizenship.

The advert reads:

”MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER. Uncertain times do not mean we stop defending human rights, everyone’s equal value and your right to live as who you are. That’s why we’re participating in Pride, this year again.”

Songs about Sweden 7: Stockholm

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

There is an iconic song in Swedish about the capital city of Stockholm. The reason it is iconic is that everybody has heard it once a week for almost 30 years, throughout the summer. It is the opening song of the unceasingly popular 8-episode summer TV show Allsång på Skansen.

The song is called ’Stockholm i mitt hjärta’ and translates as ’Stockholm in my heart’. It was released by singer Lasse Berghagen in 1992, and written to celebrate the inauguration of Stockholm’s mayor that year.

The program Allsång på Skansen has had many hosts. Lasse Berhagen hosted the show between 1994-2003. He is one of Sweden’s most loved national treasures. The program is currently hosted by popular singer Sanna Nielsen.

The program is a live stage show with various artists singing and performing. The crucial element is the audience sing-a-long, the ‘allsång’, where even the viewers at home are encouraged to join in and sing the lyrics that are published on the tv screen.

The whole show is broadcast from a hilltop overlooking the city’s harbour. With Stockholm as a majestic backdrop, it is easy to see why the city is ‘in everybody’s heart.’

Songs about Sweden 7: Stockholm

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

There is an iconic song in Swedish about the capital city of Stockholm. The reason it is iconic is that everybody has heard it once a week for almost 30 years, throughout the summer. It is the opening song of the unceasingly popular 8-episode summer TV show Allsång på Skansen.

The song is called ’Stockholm i mitt hjärta’ and translates as ’Stockholm in my heart’. It was released by singer Lasse Berghagen in 1992, and written to celebrate the inauguration of Stockholm’s mayor that year.

The program Allsång på Skansen has had many hosts. Lasse Berhagen hosted the show between 1994-2003. He is one of Sweden’s most loved national treasures. The program is currently hosted by popular singer Sanna Nielsen.

The program is a live stage show with various artists singing and performing. The crucial element is the audience sing-a-long, the ‘allsång’, where even the viewers at home are encouraged to join in and sing the lyrics that are published on the tv screen.

The whole show is broadcast from a hilltop overlooking the city’s harbour. With Stockholm as a majestic backdrop, it is easy to see why the city is ‘in everybody’s heart.’

Flying the Swedish Goose Boat

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

In the south of Sweden, the port town of Trelleborg is the largest working harbour in Scandinavia. From here, passenger ferries take you to Germany, Poland and Lithuania.

Each of the ferries is named after a character from a children’s book, for example Peter Pan, Huckleberry Finn and Robin Hood. The ferry I travelled a few days ago to Germany was called Nils Holgersson.

Who, you might wonder, is Nils Holgersson? The character comes from a book called ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Nils’. It was published in 1906 by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

In the story, Nils Holgersson is a naughty boy who is shrunk to a tiny size, and who tours the counties of Sweden in the back of a goose. It is an educational book about Sweden’s geography but also full of drama, intrigue and adventure. I recommend reading it.

On the ferry there was actually a statue of Nils. Looking a little freaky, and without any explanation, I am certain it confused many of the non-Swedish passengers.

Songs about Sweden 6: Gothenburg

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

‘Don’t feel sorry for me, Gothenburg’ is a very popular song by Swedish artist Håkan Hellström. In Swedish, the track is called ’Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg’. It was released in 2000 on his solo debut album of the same name, selling platinum in Sweden.

Håkan Hellström is one of the Swedish artists who can sell out concerts in venues that hold 75,000 people. Very few other singers epitomize Gothenburg quite as much as Håkan, and the song has become synonymous with the singer and Sweden’s second city.

What other songs do you know that are about Sweden or a Swedish town?

Songs about Sweden 5: Skåne

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Ok I might have had to dig deep to find a song about the southern-most county of Sweden – Skåne. The classic song, from 1970, was a hit for legendary singer Siw Malmqvist, who is currently 85 years old.

The song called ‘Ingenting går upp mot gamla Skåne’ translates as ‘Nothing compares to good old Skåne’ and talks about how we love the place where we born. In the case of this song, Siw Malmqvist sings specifically about her home town of Landskrona.

Songs about Sweden 5: Skåne

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

Ok I might have had to dig deep to find a song about the southern-most county of Sweden – Skåne. The classic song, from 1970, was a hit for legendary singer Siw Malmqvist, who is currently 85 years old.

The song called ‘Ingenting går upp mot gamla Skåne’ translates as ‘Nothing compares to good old Skåne’ and talks about how we love the place where we born. In the case of this song, Siw Malmqvist sings specifically about her home town of Landskrona.

Songs about Sweden 4: ‘Sverige’ (Sweden)

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

There have been many songs written about Sweden and Swedish towns. In this series, I will share a few with you.

In 2002, the Swedish rock band Kent released a ballad called ‘Sverige’ (Sweden). it quickly shot up the charts and has, since then, become a popular track praising this country in the north. Many people feel that the song should be Sweden’s national anthem.

The song, written by Joakim Berg, includes a chorus with lyrics such as, ‘Welcome, welcome here, whoever you are. Whatever you are.’

In the last 20 years, the song has been covered by many other Swedish artists and continues to be successful in the Swedish charts.

Songs about Sweden 3: ‘Sweden’

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

There have been many songs written about Sweden and Swedish towns. In this series, I will share a few with you.

The Northern Irish band, The Divine Comedy, headed by the singer Neil Hannon, released in 1998 the song ‘Sweden’. This bizarre song is about how the singer would like to retire to Sweden when his work is done.

The song includes lyrics such as ‘I am gonna live in Sweden. Please don’t ask me why. For if I were to give a reason. It would be a lie.’

Songs about Sweden 2: ‘Stockholm tonight’

Posted on by Neil Shipley's watching the Swedes

There have been many songs written about Sweden and Swedish towns. In this series, I will share a few with you.

The second is a song in Swedish called ‘Stockholm inatt’, which translates as ‘Stockholm tonight’. The original song was released in 2007 by artist Peter Jöback, and is about a night out in central Stockholm. The lyrics take in classic locations and venues in the city.

However, it was covered in 2021 by soul singer Cherrie in a tribute show where artists interpret each other’s songs. She modernized the lyrics and placed the song partially in the suburbs of Stockholm. This re-working gave the song a huge renaissance, and a hit for Cherrie.