The Divine Comedy

Sweden

4 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Sweden Lyrics

I would like to live in Sweden
When my work is done
Where the snow lies crisp and even
'Neath the midnight sun
Safe and clean and green and modern
Bright and breezy, free and easy
Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, in Sweden

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
Tall and strong and blonde and blue eyed
Pure and healthy, very wealthy
Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, in Sweden

I'll grow wings and fly to Sweden
When my time is come
Then at last my eyes shall see them
Heroes everyone
Ingmar Bergman
Henrik Ibsen
Karin Larsson
Nina Persson
Sweden, Sweden,Sweden
In Sweden

Submitted by

jon On Jan 22, 2002

Count Grassi's Passage Over Piedmont

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

JON

Submitter

2002-01-22 22:17:59

4 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

Cover art for Sweden lyrics by Divine Comedy, The

by Linus

17y ago

Personally, I think this is one of the most hilarious songs ever. It can easily be mistaken for a Swedish anthem with its Ode to Joy-like string section, the dramatic choir and the eruditely expressed admiration; while it is in fact a tongue-in-cheek parody of Sweden, her rumoured idyllic life, her 'blonde and strong' and civilised Nordic people. The overblown mock-grandness of the song thus hides the biting sarcasm. And mentioning Nina Persson after Ibsen and Bergman is just the gravy.

We are not worthy, Sweden!

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by puncherello

16y ago

Henrik Ibsen is Norwegian... Back in school, I believe Neil Hannon skipped the Scandinavian litterature class...

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by ScottishAngle

15y ago

Henrik Ibsen, Henrik Larsson with hindsight

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Skylarkin

15y ago

Neil recently said that Sweden is a metaphor for "heaven"...maybe that's not far off from biting sarcasm, Linus.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.