It started of with some adult choir singing "Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, I didn't know the melody but it sounded good. Then it changed to a boy singing the first verse of Swedens national anthem. After that one of the hosts sang classic Swedish songs translated to hebrew and the other translated to arabic as they have roots from there and speak the language. There was also a sami guy doing jojk, a special sami style of singing. The sami guy kept doing jojk while the boy and the hosts took turns singing the last verse of the national anthem, with a small change. They changed the last phrase "I want to live I want to die in the North" to "I want to live I want to die on the earth".
Sounds like a pretty good show? Well, yeah it was alright but the comments field on Facebook was on fire. Some complained about that they sang in arabic and hebrew but most complained about then ending of the national anthem. It could be seen as a political statement for a more generous immigration policy by SvT, the Swedish public television, which is supposed to be unbiased and I understood complaints about that. I take the statement as a "We are all one" message, not necessarily suggesting anything specific in politics but I understand those who see it differently. However, they were also a minority among the complainers.
I wouldn't be surprised either if they complained about that it was the national anthem they used to make a statement but that wasn't it either. People actually felt offended and like it hurt their Swedish identity that a show changed two words in the national anthem during a one time performance, not the message those two words gave but the actual changing of the words. They saw the text of the national anthem as something holy that should never be touched. Many wrote that the change of words hurt their swedish identity and feeling of beloninging in the country.
I think the Swedish national anthem is very beautiful. I know the text including two aditonal verses that were added later and I know the songs origin and history. The song was written 1844 and the melody comes from an old Swedish song called Kärestans död which in turn comes from a German song called Graf und Magd. But I would never guess that people found it holy in that way. It's not like it was disgraced either, or made fun of. It was simply changed for one performance. The song wasn't intended to be a national anthem from the start and is about the nordic region, not Sweden in particular. Sweden is actually not mentioned in the two original verses. The two ones that were added 1910 mention Sweden but they arn't well known.
To be honest I think this song was promoting for Sweden. The phrase "Yes I want to live, I want to die in the North" isn't the most patriotic one of the original verses. It is "I greet you thou loveliest land upon earth" in the first verse, which the boy sings without any raised eyebrows. It isn't the first time Swedish television changes a national anthem. It was done to the Russian some years ago with the song Tingaling. I didn't hear complaints except for from the Russian embassy but that was because the song said "goodbye Putin".
I think the saying "Empty barrels make the most noise" fits quite well here. People with nothing reasonable to say are the ones that speak the loudest..
How the qualification works for Eurovision
The first four saturdays are the qualification rounds. Two of the seven participants in every show go on to the finals, two go to something called the second chance and three are out. After the four week the second chance comes, four of the eight there will go to the final. The week after that it's the final and one of the twelve there will win. This Saturday was the fourth program, next up is the second chance.
I have seen the show one evening and listened to a few songs from artists that I like. So far I have been quite disappointed with what I've heard and how people have voted but that's just as usual. I wasn't hoping Sweden would win Eurovision last year either and I think Heroes is one of Måns Zelmerlöws worst songs, he does have some I like but not that one.
The picture is of the performance, the sami guy in the middle and the hosts to his left and right.
The music number in question, called "The whole of Swedens song"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejSbhxeikKE
Other songs that are Swedish "classics" but arn't originally from Sweden. The ones that surprised me the most were Brev från kolonien and Far, jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt
https://gotiskaklubben.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/latar-du-trodde-var-svenska/