När vi gräver guld i USA
| "När vi gräver guld i USA" | |
|---|---|
| Single by GES | |
| from the album Glenmark, Eriksson, Strömstedt | |
| A-side | "När vi gräver guld i USA" |
| B-side | "När vi gräver guld i USA" ("game mix") |
| Released | 1994 |
| Format | CD |
| Genre | Swedish pop |
| Label | Warner |
| Writer(s) |
Anders Glenmark Orup Niklas Strömstedt |
När vi gräver guld i USA also known with its English language title "When We Dig for Gold in the USA" is a song which was used as fight song for the Swedish national team during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA, where Sweden ended up third. During the Grammis Awards for 1994, it won the category "Song of the year 1994".
The song was written and recorded by Swedish pop trio GES. The words När vi gräver guld i USA (When we dig gold in the USA), who appear in the refrain, refers to both 19th century gold rushes in the USA, as well as to the gold medals awarded for the FIFA World Cup winner.
Staying at the Swedish singles chart for totally 40 weeks, the single topped the chart.
The song also charted at Svensktoppen for nine weeks between 18 June-13 August 1994, peaking at second position.[1]
The song lyrics "Flickorna har blommor i sitt hår, där står alla pojkarna på rad, tillsammans är vi oslagbara!" contain references to three other songs by the writers. The songs are Anders Glenmark's "Hon har blommor i sitt hår", Orup's "Då står pojkarna på rad" and Niklas Strömstedt's "Oslagbara".
2014 revival
In October 2014, the song was performed during Så mycket bättre in season 5 of the Swedish musical series. During "Orup Dag" ("Orup Day") when the participants were to pick songs from Orup to perform, Amanda Jenssen chose "När vi gräver guld i USA" reinterpreting the English version as "When We Dig for Gold in the USA". Her interpretation was a toned down much slower version as compared to the original hectic version meant as a rally of support for the Swedish National Football Team.
Her interpretation became very popular with the public. The release of the new version as downloads resulted in the single reaching number 4 on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish Singles Chart.
Chart
- När vi gräver guld i USA
| Chart (1994-1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sverigetopplistan Swedish Singles Chart[2] | 1 |
- Amanda Jenssen version
(as "When We Dig for Gold in the USA")
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sverigetopplistan Swedish Singles Chart[3] | 4 |
Chart successions
| Preceded by Lilla fågel blå by Staffan Hellstrand |
Grammis award for "Song of the year" 1994 |
Succeeded by Det vackraste by Cecilia Vennersten |
| Preceded by I Swear by All-4-One |
Number-one single in Sweden 22 July-13 September 1994 |
Succeeded by I Swear by All-4-One |