The Provincial Anthem of Jämtland

This is the story:

Inspired by the win (2-0) I sat down with the swedish version of the song and made a translation of the lyrics.

Elisabeth then met with her friends Annika Cawthorn and Pär Lundhag to add music and produce the English version of the anthem for Jämtland. In the beginning she was met with skepticism since the Jämtland song is seen as sacred by many in the province. But now the new version is accepted with open arms.

We wanted both the song and film to mediate a feeling of the province. The grand, the delightful and beautiful in combination with the cold, cool and rocky.

The rocky part with the guitar solo is signed by Janne Berglund. The recordings were made by Johan Arveli and the film was produced by Andreas Englund.

It is an overwhelming feeling having a Jämtland song which can be spread and understood by so many more. It is totally in the line with the openness and the welcoming attitude which is our trademark.

Big thanks to Elisabeth & Co – we are proud to present the Jämtland song in English!

The origins of the Jämtland song

The Jämtland song is a celebration of, and a tribute to nature and the cultural heritage of the province. It is a sign of the fighting spirit deeply rooted in the inhabitants of the region.
Directly translated the original name of the song Jämtländsk brudvals is The Bride´s Waltz of Jämtland. The song is frequently used around festive occasions like weddings and graduations.

The text was originally written by the composer Wilhelm Peterson Berger in 1931 with the inspiration from an old bridal march dating from the late 1700s. In 1983 the song was translated into local dialect, “jämtska”, by PG Norman and Bo Oscarsson and since then it is an non-negotiable annual event at the city festival Storsjöyran in the province capital Östersund. The impact is immense when some 20 000 people form a choir after the local president´s speech around midnight. The song is the culmination of the festival and it is crowned by fireworks.