Swedish drinking songs and the snaps tradition
Sweden has a long tradition of snapsvisor – short drinking songs sung before raising a glass of snaps. The songs are closely associated with celebrations such as Midsummer, Christmas and crayfish parties, where singing, eating and drinking are part of the same social ritual.
A snapsvisa is usually short, easy to learn and often humorous. Many are set to familiar melodies, making it possible for everyone around the table to join in.
Why do Swedes sing before drinking snaps?
The drinking song is part of a wider Swedish tradition of communal eating and drinking. Before taking a snaps, someone may start a song and the rest of the table joins in. After the final line, the glasses are raised and the snaps is drunk together.
The songs, called snapsvisor, create a shared moment around the table and have long been used to mark celebrations, strengthen a sense of community and add humor to formal and informal gatherings alike.
Explore the history of snapsvisor
A living tradition
Swedish drinking songs are not only historical traditions. New songs continue to be written, often using well-known melodies with new lyrics that comment on everyday life, politics, food, drink or the occasion itself.
The tradition therefore changes with each generation while still following a familiar form: a short song, a shared toast and a moment of collective celebration.
Listen, sing and explore
Download our booklet with a selection of Swedish drinking songs and discover examples of this distinctly Swedish tradition. https://spritmuseum.se/app/uploads/2024/11/drinking-songs_english_06-2017.pdf
Drinking songs
HERRING AND SILL
Lili Marlene
You can give us herring
And you can give us sill
But you will still be erring
Unless you also will
Give us a glass of Akvavit
That sure smells sweet
To Swedes in heat
It gives the fish its feet
It makes the dish complete
Text: Christer Engström
I SEE THE SNAPS
I See the Moon
I see the snaps and the snaps sees me
down through my hals to my vänstra knee.
Please let the snaps now leave the glass,
go to my mage down.
Over the bottles, over the glass
faces are shining på vårt kalas.
Please let the snaps now leave the glass,
go to my mage down.
Hell and Gore
(Traditional Swedish)