Few would claim it’s the most stirring national anthem, and few know it by heart, but the Swiss Psalm has survived all attempts at replacement. You know when you’re singing a song in a group and someone gets the words wrong? This happens all the time in Switzerland when singing the national anthem – and no one’s even making a mistake. That’s if people actually bother singing. Many members of the men’s national football team, for example, keep their lips sealed before matches (the women’s team at the recent European Championships was less hesitant about singing). When former national footballer Valon Behrami (with blond highlights in that video from the 2018 World Cup) was asked about this by Swiss public television, RSI, in June, he came up with three excuses for his silence: the confusion of opponents at hearing different languages, his poor singing, and the fact that he couldn’t remember the words. Behrami is in good company. Knowing even the first verse by heart is a rare skill.
