This is the song used at birthdays in Sweden. It is thought to date back to the 18th century, though the composer is unknown. The words and melody have changed somewhat over time. The song first appeared with the current lyrics in a songbook published in 1914, when it was used as a drinking song. Since 1940 is has been used as a birthday song.
Versions of this tune are also found in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, though with different words.
Ja, må han/hon leva, Ja, må han/hon leva,
Ja, må han/hon leva uti hundrade år.
Ja, visst ska han/hon leva, Ja, visst ska dhan/hon leva,
Ja, visst ska han/hon leva uti hundrade år.
Yes, may he/she live, Yes, may he/she live,
Yes, may he/she live for a hundred years.
Oh sure, he/she will live, Oh sure, he/she will live,
Oh sure, he/she will live for a hundred years.
Lyrics and translation provided by Hjalmar Friberg
Information about this song (include musical score)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja,_må_han_(hon)_leva
Recordings of this song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4iH3k33kHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv8bPAhLiko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQim_tGoxFc
Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh
How to say "Happy Birthday" in many different languages
Information about Swedish | Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Colours | Family words | Time | Weather words | Idioms | Tongue twisters | Tower of Babel | Books about Swedish on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
