"Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (Danish: [kʰʌŋ ˈkʰʁestjæn ˈstoðˀ ve̝ ˈhʌjˀn̩ mæst]; lit.

[2] The lyrics first appeared in May 1778[3] in Johannes Ewald's vaudeville play The Fishermen, which premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in January 1780 on the birthday of King Christian VII.

The play depicts the heroics of fishermen from the northern part of Zealand, who saved many sailors from drowning and then refused to accept a reward for it.

The first three verses were omitted because of the animosity they showed towards Sweden, who at the time was an important ally against the United Kingdom as a member of the League of Armed Neutrality.

It specifically names the Danish-Norwegian naval heroes King Christian IV, Niels Juel and Peter Wessel Tordenskiold.

[5] Another suggestion was that Johannes Ewald's friend, High Court judge Ditlev Ludvig Rogert, known to have played the violin, had been the original composer.

In 1880, Vilhelm Carl Ravn presented his theory that the score significantly preceded Ewald's poem and had no one particular composer.

Da skreg de højt blandt stormens brag: Nu er det tid!

Da ty'de kæmper til dit skød; thi med ham lynte skræk og død.

He hoisted his blood-red flag once more, And smote upon the foe full sore, And shouted loud, through the tempest's roar, "Now is the hour!"

Then champions to thine arms were sent; Terror and Death glared where he went; From the waves was heard a wail, that rent Thy murky sky!

Receive thy friend, who, scorning flight, Goes to meet danger with despite, Proudly as thou the tempest's might, Dark-rolling wave!