A Swedish Drinking Song Tradition
The snapsvisa – a short drinking song sung before a glass of snaps – is a distinctive part of Swedish and Finland-Swedish food and drinking culture. Unlike songs simply associated with drinking, snapsvisor are closely tied to the ritual of raising the glass and drinking together.
A typical snaps song is short, easy to remember and sung to a familiar melody. The lyrics are often humorous, playful or irreverent, with a punchline at the end. Familiar tunes and concise verses have helped the songs spread from person to person and from one celebration to the next.
The songs frequently joke about intoxication and its consequences. In their exaggerated world, people drink, become cheerful and sociable, dance all night – and occasionally wake up with a headache, or worse. This playful treatment of drunkenness is part of what makes the tradition so revealing: snapsvisor offer a humorous counterpoint to Sweden’s long history of alcohol regulation and restraint.
From Student Culture to the Holiday Table
The modern tradition of snapsvisor developed during the second half of the 19th century, particularly in bourgeois and academic circles. Student communities played an important role in shaping the custom of singing before drinking snaps or aquavit.
During the early 20th century, snaps songs became increasingly widespread. This was also a period when Swedish alcohol policy became more restrictive, including the introduction of the ration-book system. The contrast between strict regulation and the playful freedom of the snaps song became part of Sweden’s complicated cultural relationship with alcohol.
Today, snaps and printed songbooks are less common at everyday gatherings than they once were. But the tradition remains closely associated with festive meals at Midsummer, Christmas and Easter, as well as with foods such as crayfish and fermented herring. As long as these traditions survive, the snaps song is likely to survive with them.
Helan går – Sweden’s Best-Known Snaps Song
No snaps song is more famous than Helan går. The song is around 150 years old and is often the first song sung at a Swedish festive meal.
The word helan – “the whole” – was once used for the first drink in a traditional sequence of snaps, followed by halvan – “the half” – and others. The song jokingly insists that anyone who does not drink helan will not be allowed halvan either.
Despite its enormous popularity, the early history of Helan går is surprisingly difficult to trace. One of the earliest known versions of its melody appears in an operetta from the 1840s, and researchers have also suggested that the tune may have roots in a military trumpet signal.
Its status in Swedish culture is illustrated by a famous story from the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championship in Moscow. After Sweden unexpectedly won the tournament, the players were expected to sing the national anthem. Not everyone knew the words well enough – so the team sang Helan går instead.
More Than 12,000 Snaps Songs
Spritmuseum holds an extensive archive of Swedish snaps songs. The collection began in 1992 at the Historical Museum of Wines and Spirits (today Spritmuseum) and contains more than 12,000 songs today.
The archive documents both traditional songs and newer compositions, showing how the form has continually responded to contemporary language, events and popular culture.
Want to try a few yourself? You can download our booklet of snaps songs in English here.