Swiss Psalm

First anthem

Until the end of the 19th century, there was no Swiss national anthem. The German-language patriotic song Rufst du, mein Vaterland (French Ô monts indépendants, Italian Ci chiami o patria, Romansh E clomas, tger paeis), composed in 1811 by Johann Rudolf Wyss (1743–1818), was the first national anthem, used until 1961. The setting of the hymn to the British tune of God Save the Queen led to confusing situations when both countries' anthems were played. Therefore, it was replaced with another tune in 1961.

Second anthem

The Swiss Psalm was composed in 1841 by Alberich Zwyssig (1808–1854), with lyrics by Leonhard Widmer (1809–1867). Since then it had been frequently suggested it be adopted as the official anthem, but the Swiss Federal Government had refused several times, wishing to let the people decide what they want to sing on political and military occasions.

The Swiss Psalm temporarily became the national anthem in 1961. After a trial period of three years the Swiss tune was adopted indefinitely in 1965. The statute could not be challenged until ten years later but did not totally exclude the possibility of an ultimate change. A competition was set up in 1979 to search for a successor to the anthem. Despite many submissions, none of the others seemed to express the Swiss sentiment. The Swiss anthem finally got its definitive statutory status in April 1981, the Federal Council maintaining that it was purely a Swiss song suitably dignified and solemn. The popularity of the song has not been established. At least, it has been shown with several vox pops taken that many people do not know it at all, and only a small percentage can recite it all.

Lyrics

Because Switzerland has four national languages, the lyrics of the original German song were translated into the other three national languages: French, Italian and Romansh.

Idea of a new anthem

Among proposed replacements for the psalm,

2014-2015 public competition and unofficial vote

In 2014, the Société suisse d’utilité publique started a public competition for a new national anthem. The instruction was to take inspiration from the preamble of the Federal Constitution of Switzerland. The jury received 208 proposals; it selected six of them and translated them in the four national languages of Switzerland. In March 2015, the six selected proposals were released on-line (with videos in four languages) and opened to public vote (until May 2015). The top three vote-getters were selected for a second on-line ballot between June and August. In September 2015, a televised final has selected one song. Finally, the Société suisse d’utilité publique will propose the winning anthem to the federal authorities.

A version of the winning anthem was also made by combining the four national languages of Switzerland:

Weißes Kreuz auf rotem Grund,
unser Zeichen für den Bund:
Freiheit, Unabhängigkeit, Frieden.
Soyons forts et solidaires,
que la liberté nous éclaire.
Per mintgin la libertad
e per tuts l'egualitad.
La bandiera svizzera,
simbolo di pace ed unità.

Translation:

White Cross on red foundation
Our sign for the Confederation
Freedom, Independence, Peace
Let us be strong and united
That liberty enlightens us
Freedom for everybody
And all for equality
The Swiss Flag
Symbol of peace and unity.