Author's comments:
Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes about "Under Sions kalla stjärna" in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:

"Sången berättar vad som hände. Året var 1988, och Intifadan, det palestinska upproret mot den israeliska ockupationsmakten, var bara några månader gammal. När jag åtta år senare mötte den nyvalde palestinske presidenten, Yasser Arafat i Stockholm, tackade han mej personligen för min insats i Aten den gången. Få statsmän har ett bättre minne för detlaljer än Arafat"

"The song tells what happened. The year was 1988, and Intifada, the Palestinian rebellion against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip beginning in 1987, was only a few months old. When I met the newly elected Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, eight years later in Stockholm, he thanked me personally for my input in Athens at that time. Few statesmen have a better memory for details than Arafat."

The following translation is reproduced from Lyricstranslate, made by “Seppo Ilmarinen”. Though his Kalevala nickname, the translator declares English to be his native language. Nevertheless, I think he has misunderstood a certain number of points in the Danish lyrics (especially tenses), and his “native English” seems to be a bit lame here and there. I confess I don't like that much criticizing other people's translations, but I couldn't help making some corrections in the English. I hope of course not to have added new errors! Anyway, a new English translation should be advisable. [RV]

Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:

On the back of the album cover, there is a photo, and Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes:

"Salvador Allende 1909-1973
Vald till president i Chile 1970 efter allmänna demokratiska val. Vid en militärkupp den 11 september 1973 angreps presidentpalatset och Allende uppmanades att avgå. han vägrade och mötte i stället militären beväpnad för att in i det sista försvara demokratin. Kort efter bilden togs stormades presidentpalatset. Salvador Allende var död."

"Salvador Allende 1909-1973
Voted to President in Chile in 1970 after a completely democratic election. In a military coup on the 11th of September, the presidential palace was taken and Allende was forced to leave. He refused and met instead the armed military to save democracy. Shortly after the photo was taken, the presidential palace was stormed. Salvador Allende was dead."

Björn Afzelius wrote the following notes in his 95 Sånger (95 Songs) book:

"Allting är relativt här i världen. Det kan vara bra at komma ihåg innan man gnäller nästa gång. Först sedan jag sett misären i Managua började jag bli tacksam över att jag vara född i Sverige."

"Everything is relative here in the world. It can be good to remember before one whines next time. Only after I have seen the misery in Managua I began to be grateful that I was born in Sweden." [Ceil Herman]

“Sång till friheten” is an adaptation by Björn Afzelius, of the Silvio Rodriguez song. The lyrics are on his tombstone at his grave in Göteborg, Sweden. It was my introduction to his music in a Swedish course at Uppsala Universitet in Uppsala, and remains one of his all time favorites, as well as mine. [Ceil Herman]

Thank you to the original poster for the French lyrics; this is a beautiful song.
I have made a rough English translation in case any other English speakers like myself stumble on this page.

For the 50th anniversary of the May ’68 uprising in Paris, which set a more personal feel to revolution and led to new ways of thinking about society and standing up for our lives: from Peoples’ Park to postmodernist ideas to Occupy Wall Street and beyond.
The lyrics/chord sheet gives the chords in Am, using C-A-cc tuning. For this take I tuned down to Gm, using B♭-G-b♭b♭ tuning.

I’m sure the references to violence in the song resonated with those involved in the May ’68 uprising. But I have elsewhere given my opinion that while those engaged in a some future popular uprising for revolutionary social change might need to use some violent tactics, I find little use for violence today’s struggles. Nevertheless, I would not want to edit out the references to violence in Vaneigem’s song. [Jim Burrill]