National anthem(s) In 16 editions of 36.

title:

• almost every country has a national anthem (and Denmark and New Zealand have two);
• most anthems have lyrics, which are usually in the official language or the most common language of the country;
• countries with more than one official language sometimes offer several versions

note: the first anthem to be officially adopted (1795) was "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille) of France; Japan claims to have the shortest anthem, "Kimigayo" (The Emperor's Reign), that consists of 11 measures; Japan's anthem has the world's oldest lyrics, dating to the 10th century or earlier; Greece has the anthem with the longest lyrics, "Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Hymn to Liberty), with 158 stanzas; Uruguay has the anthem with the longest musical score, "Himno Nacional" (National Anthem of Uruguay), with 105 bars (almost five minutes)

title:

"Kassaman" (We Pledge)

lyrics/music:

Mufdi ZAKARIAH/Mohamed FAWZI

history:

adopted 1962; ZAKARIAH wrote "Kassaman" as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces

title:

"Angola Avante" (Forward Angola)

lyrics/music:

Manuel Rui Alves MONTEIRO/Rui Alberto Vieira Dias MINGAO

history:

adopted 1975

title:

"L'Aube Nouvelle" (The Dawn of a New Day)

lyrics/music:

Gilbert Jean DAGNON

history:

adopted 1960

title:

"Fatshe leno la rona" (Our Land)

lyrics/music:

Kgalemang Tumedisco MOTSETE

history:

adopted 1966

title:

"Le Ditanye" (Anthem of Victory)

lyrics/music:

Thomas SANKARA

history:

• adopted 1974;
• also known as "Une Seule Nuit"(One Single Night) ;
• written by the country's former president, an avid guitar player

title:

"Burundi Bwacu" (Our Beloved Burundi)

lyrics/music:

Jean-Baptiste NTAHOKAJA/Marc BARENGAYABO

history:

adopted 1962

title:

"Cantico da Liberdade" (Song of Freedom)

lyrics/music:

Amilcar Spencer LOPES/Adalberto Higino Tavares SILVA

history:

adopted 1996

title:

"O Cameroun, Berceau de Nos Ancêtres" (O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers)

lyrics/music:

• Rene Djam AFAME,
• Samuel Minkio BAMBA,
• Moise Nyatte NKO'O [French],
• Benard Nsokika FONLON [English]/Rene Djam AFAME

history:

adopted 1957; lyrics were changed slightly to the current version in 1978

title:

"La Renaissance" (The Renaissance)

lyrics/music:

Barthelemy BOGANDA/Herbert PEPPER

history:

adopted 1960; BOGANDA wrote the anthem's lyrics and was the first prime minister of the autonomous French territory

title:

"La Tchadienne" (The Chadian)

lyrics/music:

Louis GIDROL and his students/Paul VILLARD

history:

adopted 1960

title:

"Udzima wa ya Masiwa" (The Union of the Great Islands)

lyrics/music:

Said Hachim SIDI ABDEREMANE/Said Hachim SIDI ABDEREMANE and Kamildine ABDALLAH

history:

adopted 1978

title:

"Debout Congolaise" (Arise, Congolese)

lyrics/music:

Joseph LUTUMBA/Simon-Pierre BOKA di Mpasi Londi

history:

adopted 1960; replaced when the country was known as Zaire, but readopted in 1997

title:

"La Congolaise" (The Congolese)

lyrics/music:

Jacques TONDRA and Georges KIBANGHI/Jean ROYER and Joseph SPADILIERE

history:

originally adopted 1959, restored 1991

title:

"L'Abidjanaise" (Song of Abidjan)

lyrics/music:

Mathieu EKRA, Joachim BONY, and Pierre Marie COTY/Pierre Marie COTY and Pierre Michel PANGO

history:

adopted 1960; named after the former capital city of Abidjan

title:

"Jabuuti" (Djibouti)

lyrics/music:

Aden ELMI/Abdi ROBLEH

history:

adopted 1977

title:

• "Bilady,
• Bilady,
• Bilady" (My Homeland, My Homeland, My Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Younis-al QADI/Sayed DARWISH

history:

• adopted 1979;
• the current anthem was written after the 1979 peace treaty with Israel;
• the composer is considered the father of modern Egyptian music;
• of the three verses, only the first verse is sung, preceded and followed by the chorus

title:

"Caminemos pisando la senda" (Let Us Tread the Path)

lyrics/music:

Atanasio Ndongo MIYONO/Atanasio Ndongo MIYONO or Ramiro Sanchez LOPEZ (disputed)

history:

adopted 1968

title:

• "Ertra,
• Ertra,
• Ertra" (Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea)

lyrics/music:

SOLOMON Tsehaye Beraki/Isaac Abraham MEHAREZGI and ARON Tekle Tesfatsion

history:

adopted 1993, after gaining independence from Ethiopia

title:

"Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati" (O God, Bestower of the Blessings of the Swazi)

lyrics/music:

Andrease Enoke Fanyana SIMELANE/David Kenneth RYCROFT

history:

adopted 1968; uses elements of both ethnic Swazi and Western music styles

title:

"Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia)

lyrics/music:

DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu

history:

adopted 1992

title:

"La Concorde" (The Concorde)

lyrics/music:

Georges Aleka DAMAS

history:

adopted 1960

title:

"For The Gambia, Our Homeland"

lyrics/music:

Virginia Julie HOWE/adapted by Jeremy Frederick HOWE

history:

adopted 1965; the music is an adaptation of the traditional Mandinka song "Foday Kaba Dumbuya"

title:

"God Bless Our Homeland Ghana"

lyrics/music:

unknown/Philip GBEHO

history:

music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, in 1960 when a republic was declared and after a 1966 coup

title:

"Liberté" (Liberty)

lyrics/music:

unknown/Fodeba KEITA

history:

adopted 1958

title:

"Esta e a Nossa Patria Bem Amada" (This is Our Beloved Country)

lyrics/music:

Amilcar Lopes CABRAL/XIAO He

history:

• adopted 1974;
• a delegation from Portuguese Guinea visited China in 1963 and heard music by XIAO He;
• Amilcar Lopes CABRAL, the leader of Guinea-Bissau's independence movement, asked the composer to create a piece that would inspire his people to fight for independence

title:

"Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu" (O God of All Creation)

lyrics/music:

Graham HYSLOP, Thomas KALUME, Peter KIBUKOSYA, Washington OMONDI, and George W. SENOGA-ZAKE/traditional, adapted by Graham HYSLOP, Thomas KALUME, Peter KIBUKOSYA, Washington OMONDI, and George W. SENOGA-ZAKE

history:

adopted 1963; based on a traditional Kenyan folk song

title:

"Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona" (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers)

lyrics/music:

Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR

history:

adopted 1967; music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook

title:

• "All Hail,
• Liberia,
• Hail!"

lyrics/music:

Daniel Bashiel WARNER/Olmstead LUCA

history:

lyrics adopted 1847, music adopted 1860; the anthem's author later became the third president of Liberia

title:

• "Libya,
• Libya,
• Libya"

lyrics/music:

Al Bashir AL AREBI/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB

history:

• adopted 1951, but replaced in 1969 when QADHAFI came to power;
• readopted 2011 with some modification to the lyrics;
• also known as "Ya Beladi" (O My Country)

title:

"Ry Tanindraza nay malala o" (O Our Beloved Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

Pasteur RAHAJASON/Norbert RAHARISOA

history:

adopted 1959

title:

"Mulungu dalitsa Malawi" (O God, Bless Our Land of Malawi)

lyrics/music:

Michael-Fredrick Paul SAUKA

history:

adopted 1964

title:

"Le Mali" (Mali)

lyrics/music:

Seydou Badian KOUYATE/Banzoumana SISSOKO

history:

adopted 1962

title:

"National Anthem of Mauritania"

lyrics/music:

unknown/Rageh DAOUD

history:

adopted 2017

title:

"Motherland"

lyrics/music:

Jean Georges PROSPER/Philippe GENTIL

history:

adopted 1968

title:

"Hymne Cherifien" (Hymn of the Sharif)

lyrics/music:

Ali Squalli HOUSSAINI/Leo MORGAN

history:

music adopted 1956, lyrics adopted 1970

title:

“Pátria Amada” (Lovely Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

Salomão J. MANHICA/unkown

history:

adopted 2002; the new anthem reflects the new multi-party political system

title:

"Namibia, Land of the Brave"

lyrics/music:

Axali DOESEB

history:

adopted 1991

title:

"L'Honneur de la Patrie" (The Honor of the Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

a government-appointed committee wrote both the lyrics and the music

history:

adopted 2023; replaced previous national anthem, "La Nigérienne" (The Nigerien), that was adopted in 1961

title:

"Nigeria, We Hail Thee"

lyrics/music:

Lillie Jean WILLIAMS/Frances BERDA

history:

adopted 2024

note: Parliament voted in 2024 to revert to the former national anthem used from 1960 to 1978

title:

"Rwanda nziza" (Rwanda, Our Beautiful Country)

lyrics/music:

Faustin MURIGO/Jean-Bosco HASHAKAIMANA

history:

adopted 2001

title:

“My St. Helena Island”

lyrics/music:

Dave MITCHELL

history:

in use since 1975

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a UK overseas territory

title:

"Independencia total" (Total Independence)

lyrics/music:

Alda Neves DA GRACA do Espirito Santo/Manuel dos Santos Barreto de Sousa e ALMEIDA

history:

adopted 1975

title:

"Pincez tous vos koras, frappez les balafons" (Pluck Your Koras, Strike the Balafons)

lyrics/music:

Leopold Sedar SENGHOR/Herbert PEPPER

history:

• adopted 1960;
• lyrics written by Leopold Sedar SENGHOR, Senegal's first president;
• the anthem sometimes played incorporating the koras (harp-like stringed instruments) and balafons (types of xylophones) mentioned in the title

title:

"Koste Seselwa" (Seychellois Unite)

lyrics/music:

David Francois Marc ANDRE and George Charles Robert PAYET

history:

adopted 1996

title:

"High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free"

lyrics/music:

Clifford Nelson FYLE/John Joseph AKA

history:

adopted 1961

title:

"Qolobaa Calankeed" (Every Nation Has Its Own Flag)

lyrics/music:

Abdullahi QARSHE

history:

adopted 2012

title:

"National Anthem of South Africa"

lyrics/music:

Enoch SONTONGA and Cornelius Jacob LANGENHOVEN/Enoch SONTONGA and Marthinus LOURENS de Villiers

history:

• adopted 1997;
• a combination of "N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica" (God Bless Africa) and "Die Stem van Suid Afrika" (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid;
• official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English (the five most widely spoken of South Africa's 11 official languages)

title:

"South Sudan Oyee!" (South Sudan, Hooray!)

lyrics/music:

collective/Mido SAMUEL and Juba University students

history:

adopted 2011; anthem selected in a national contest

title:

"Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan" (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land)

lyrics/music:

Sayed Ahmad Muhammad SALIH/Ahmad MURJAN

history:

adopted 1956; originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military

title:

"Mungu ibariki Afrika" (God Bless Africa)

lyrics/music:

collective/Enoch Mankayi SONTONGA

history:

adopted 1961; the anthem, which is also a popular African popular song in Africa, shares the melody of Zambia's anthem and is part of South Africa's anthem

title:

"Salut à toi, pays de nos aieux" (Hail to Thee, Land of Our Forefathers)

lyrics/music:

Alex CASIMIR-DOSSEH

history:

adopted 1960, restored 1992; anthem was replaced during one-party rule between 1979 and 1992

title:

"Humat Al Hima" (Defenders of the Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Mustafa Sadik AL-RAFII and Aboul-Qacem ECHEBBI/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB

history:

adopted 1957, replaced 1958, restored 1987; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB also composed the music for the anthem of the United Arab Emirates

title:

"O Uganda, Land of Beauty!"

lyrics/music:

George Wilberforce KAKOMOA

history:

adopted 1962; one of the shortest national anthems in the world

title:

"Lumbanyeni Zambia" (Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free)

lyrics/music:

multiple/Enoch Mankayi SONTONGA

history:

adopted 1964; the melody, which comes from the popular song "God Bless Africa," a popular song and anthem in southern Africa

title:

"Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe" [Ndebele] "Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe" [Shona] (Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe)

lyrics/music:

Solomon MUTSWAIRO/Fred Lecture CHANGUNDEGA

history:

adopted 1994; lyrics in the country's three main languages were written by Zimbabwean poet and academic MUTSWAIRO

title:

"La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)

lyrics/music:

Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle

history:

official anthem, as a French territory

title:

"Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit" (Our Country, Who's Become So Old)

lyrics/music:

Henrik LUND/Jonathan PETERSEN

history:

adopted 1916

_____

title:

"Nuna asiilasooq" (The Land of Great Length)

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

adopted 1979, when home rule was granted; the Greenlandic government recognizes this local Kalaallit song as a secondary anthem

title:

"Lofsongur" (Song of Praise)

lyrics/music:

Matthias JOCHUMSSON/Sveinbjorn SVEINBJORNSSON

history:

adopted 1918

title:

"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, We Love This Country)

lyrics/music:

Bjornstjerne BJORNSON/Rikard NORDRAAK

history:

official anthem, as a Norwegian territory

title:

"Milli Surood" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA

history:

adopted 2006

title:

"Mer Hayrenik" (Our Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

Mikael NALBANDIAN/Barsegh KANACHYAN

history:

adopted 1991; based on the anthem of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (1918-1922), but with different lyrics

title:

"Azerbaijan Marsi" (March of Azerbaijan)

lyrics/music:

Ahmed JAVAD/Uzeyir HAJIBEYOV

history:

adopted 1992; originally written in 1919 during a brief period of independence, but did not become the official anthem until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union

title:

"Amar Shonar Bangla" (My Golden Bengal)

lyrics/music:

Rabindranath TAGORE

history:

adopted 1971; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote India's national anthem

title:

"Druk tsendhen" (The Thunder Dragon Kingdom)

lyrics/music:

Gyaldun Dasho Thinley DORJI/Aku TONGMI

history:

adopted 1953

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a UK overseas territory

title:

"Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" (The March of the Volunteers)

lyrics/music:

TIAN Han/NIE Er

history:

adopted 1982; the anthem, which was banned during the Cultural Revolution, is more commonly known as "Zhongguo Guoge" (Chinese National Song)

title:

"Tavisupleba" (Liberty)

lyrics/music:

Davit MAGRADSE/Zakaria PALIASHVILI (adapted by Joseb KETSCHAKMADSE)

history:

adopted 2004, after the Rose Revolution; based on music from the operas "Abesalom da Eteri" and "Daisi"

title:

"Jana-Gana-Mana" (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)

lyrics/music:

Rabindranath TAGORE

history:

adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem

title:

"Kimigayo" (“His Majesty’s Reign)

lyrics/music:

unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI

history:

• adopted 1999;
• unofficial national anthem since 1883;
• oldest anthem lyrics in the world, dating to the 10th century or earlier;
• some oppose the anthem because of its association with militarism and worship of the emperor

title:

"Menin Qazaqstanim" (My Kazakhstan)

lyrics/music:

Zhumeken NAZHIMEDENOV and Nursultan NAZARBAYEV/Shamshi KALDAYAKOV

history:

adopted 2006; President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV played a role in revising the lyrics

title:

"Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)

lyrics/music:

PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun

history:

• adopted 1947;
• North Korea's and South Korea's anthems have the same name and a similar melody, but different lyrics;
• the North Korean anthem is also known as "Ach'imun pinnara" (Let Morning Shine)

title:

"Aegukga" (Patriotic Song)

lyrics/music:

YUN Ch'i-Ho or AN Ch'ang-Ho/AHN Eaktay

history:

adopted 1948, well-known by 1910; North Korea's and South Korea's anthems have the same name and a similar melody, but different lyrics

title:

"Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Mamlekettik Gimni" (National Anthem of the Kyrgyz Republic)

lyrics/music:

Djamil SADYKOV and Eshmambet KULUEV/Nasyr DAVLESOV and Kalyi MOLDOBASANOV

history:

adopted 1992

title:

"Gaumee Salaam" (National Salute)

lyrics/music:

Mohamed Jameel DIDI/Wannakuwattawaduge DON AMARADEVA

history:

lyrics adopted 1948, music adopted 1972; the anthem has seven verses, but only the first two are commonly used

title:

"Mongol ulsyn toriin duulal" (National Anthem of Mongolia)

lyrics/music:

Tsendiin DAMDINSUREN/Bilegiin DAMDINSUREN and Luvsanjamts MURJORJ

history:

music adopted 1950, lyrics adopted 2006; lyrics altered on numerous occasions

title:

"Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka" (Hundreds of Flowers)

lyrics/music:

Pradeep Kumar RAI/Ambar GURUNG

history:

adopted 2007

title:

"Qaumi Tarana" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Abu-Al-Asar Hafeez JULLANDHURI/Ahmed Ghulamali CHAGLA

history:

adopted 1954; also known as "Pak sarzamin shad bad" (Blessed Be the Sacred Land)

title:

“Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii” (National Anthem of the Russian Federation)

lyrics/music:

Sergey Vladimirovich MIKHALKOV/Aleksandr Vasilyevich ALEKSANDROV

history:

• adopted 2000;
• Russia adopted the tune of the Soviet Union's anthem (composed in 1939), as well as new lyrics;
• MIKHALKOV, who wrote the new lyrics, also authored the Soviet lyrics in 1943

title:

"Sri Lanka Matha" (Mother Sri Lanka)

lyrics/music:

Ananda SAMARKONE (Sinhala),M. NALLATHAMBY (Tamil)/Ananda SAMARKONE

history:

adopted 1951

title:

"Surudi milli" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Gulnazar KELDI/Sulaimon YUDAKOV

history:

adopted 1994; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem, but adopted new lyrics

title:

"Garaşsyz, Bitarap Türkmenistanyň" (Independent, Neutral, Turkmenistan State Anthem)

lyrics/music:

collective/Veli MUKHATOV

history:

adopted 1997; lyrics revised in 2008 to eliminate references to deceased President Saparmurat NYYAZOW

title:

"O'zbekiston Respublikasining Davlat Madhiyasi" (National Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

lyrics/music:

Abdulla ARIPOV/Mutal BURHANOV

history:

adopted 1992; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics

title:

"God Bless Anguilla"

lyrics/music:

Alex RICHARDSON

history:

local anthem, adopted 1981

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as an overseas UK territory

title:

"Fair Antigua, We Salute Thee"

lyrics/music:

Novelle Hamilton RICHARDS/Walter Garnet Picart CHAMBERS

history:

adopted 1967

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

royal anthem, as a Commonwealth country

title:

"Aruba Deshi Tera" (Aruba Sweet Land)

lyrics/music:

Juan Chabaya 'Padu' LAMPE/Rufo Inocencio WEVER

history:

national anthem adopted 1976

_____

title:

“Het Wilhelmus”

lyrics/music:

Philips VAN MARNIX van Sint Aldegonde (presumed)/unknown

history:

official anthem, as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

title:

"March On, Bahamaland!"

lyrics/music:

Timothy GIBSON

history:

adopted 1973

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

royal anthem, as a Commonwealth country

title:

"The National Anthem of Barbados"

lyrics/music:

Irving BURGIE/C. Van Roland EDWARDS

history:

adopted 1966

title:

"Land of the Free"

lyrics/music:

Samuel Alfred HAYNES/Selwyn Walford YOUNG

history:

adopted 1981

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

royal anthem, as a Commonwealth country

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a UK overseas territory

title:

"Beloved Isle Cayman"

lyrics/music:

Leila E. ROSS

history:

adopted 1960; served as an unofficial anthem since 1930

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as an overseas UK territory

title:

"Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (National Anthem of Costa Rica)

lyrics/music:

Jose Maria ZELEDON Brenes/Manuel Maria GUTIERREZ

history:

• adopted 1949;
• the music was originally written for a welcome ceremony in 1852 for the US and UK diplomatic missions;
• the lyrics were added in 1900

title:

"La Bayamesa" (The Bayamo Song)

lyrics/music:

Pedro FIGUEREDO

history:

• adopted 1940;
• Pedro FIGUEREDO first performed it in 1868 during the Ten Years War against the Spanish;
• a leading figure in the uprising, FIGUEREDO was captured in 1870 and executed by a firing squad;
• just before being shot, he is said to have shouted, "Morir por la Patria es vivir" (To die for the country is to live), a line from the anthem

title:

"Himmo di Korsou" (Anthem of Curacao)

lyrics/music:

• Guillermo ROSARIO,
• Mae HENRIQUEZ,
• Enrique MULLER,
• Betty DORAN/Frater Candidus NOWENS,
• Errol "El Toro" COLINA

history:

adapted 1978; the lyrics, originally written in 1899, were rewritten in 1978 to remove colonial references

title:

"Isle of Beauty"

lyrics/music:

Wilfred Oscar Morgan POND/Lemuel McPherson CHRISTIAN

history:

adopted 1967

title:

"Himno Nacional" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Emilio PRUD'HOMME/Jose REYES

history:

• adopted 1934;
• also known as "Quisqueyanos valientes" (Valiant Sons of Quisqueye);
• the anthem refers to the Dominican people as Quisqueyanos, which comes from the ethnic name for the island

title:

"Himno Nacional de El Salvador" (National Anthem of El Salvador)

lyrics/music:

Juan Jose CANAS/Juan ABERLE

history:

officially adopted 1953, in use since 1879; at four minutes and 20 seconds, the anthem is one of the world's longest

title:

"Hail Grenada"

lyrics/music:

Irva Merle BAPTISTE/Louis Arnold MASANTO

history:

adopted 1974

_____

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

royal anthem, as a Commonwealth country

title:

"Himno Nacional de Guatemala" (National Anthem of Guatemala)

lyrics/music:

Jose Joaquin PALMA/Rafael Alvarez OVALLE

history:

• adopted 1897, modified lyrics adopted 1934;
• Cuban poet Jose Joaquin PALMA anonymously submitted lyrics to a public contest calling for a national anthem and it was not discovered until 1911;
• anthem has four verses with four separate choruses at the end of each verse -- all are official, and the anthem is sung in its entirety when performed in Guatemala

title:

"La Dessalinienne" (The Dessalines Song)

lyrics/music:

Justin LHERISSON/Nicolas GEFFRARD

history:

adopted 1904; named for Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, founder of Haiti

title:

"Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)

lyrics/music:

Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING

history:

• adopted 1915;
• the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history;
• on official occasions, only the chorus and last verse are sung

title:

"Jamaica, Land We Love"

lyrics/music:

Hugh Braham SHERLOCK/Robert Charles LIGHTBOURNE

history:

adopted 1962

title:

"Motherland"

lyrics/music:

Howard FERGUS/George IRISH

history:

adopted 2013; used as a local anthem and for sporting events and local ceremonies

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a UK territory

title:

"Salve a ti, Nicaragua" (Hail to Thee, Nicaragua)

lyrics/music:

Salomon Ibarra MAYORGA/traditional, arranged by Luis Abraham DELGADILLO

history:

music was approved in 1918 and the lyrics in 1939

title:

"Himno Istmeno" (Isthmus Hymn)

lyrics/music:

Jeronimo DE LA OSSA/Santos A. JORGE

history:

adopted 1925

title:

"La Borinquena" (The Puerto Rican)

lyrics/music:

Manuel Fernandez JUNCOS/Felix Astol ARTES

history:

• music adopted 1952, lyrics adopted 1977;
• the local anthem's name refers to the local name for the island, Borinquen;
• the music was originally composed as a dance in 1867 and gained popularity in the early 20th century

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title:

"The Star-Spangled Banner"

lyrics/music:

Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH

history:

official anthem, as a US commonwealth

title:

"L'Hymne à St. Barthelemy" (Hymn to St. Barthelemy)

lyrics/music:

Isabelle Massart DERAVIN/Michael VALENTI

history:

local anthem in use since 1999

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title:

"La Marseillaise"

lyrics/music:

Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle

history:

official anthem, as a French collectivity

title:

"O Land of Beauty!"

lyrics/music:

Kenrick Anderson GEORGES

history:

adopted 1983

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

in use since 1745

title:

"Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia"

lyrics/music:

Charles JESSE/Leton Felix THOMAS

history:

adopted 1967

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

in use since 1745

title:

"O Sweet Saint Martin's Land"

lyrics/music:

Gerard KEMPS

history:

the song, written in 1958, is used as an unofficial anthem for the entire island (both French and Dutch sides)

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title:

"La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)

lyrics/music:

Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle

history:

official anthem, as a French collectivity

title:

"St. Vincent! Land So Beautiful!"

lyrics/music:

Phyllis Joyce MCCLEAN PUNNETT/Joel Bertram MIGUEL

history:

adopted 1969

title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

in use since 1745

title:

"O Sweet Saint Martin's Land"

lyrics/music:

Gerard KEMPS

history:

the song, written in 1958, is used as a local anthem for the entire island (both French and Dutch sides)

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title:

“Het Wilhelmus” (The William)

lyrics/music:

Philips VAN MARNIX van Sint Aldegonde (presumed)/unknown

history:

adopted 1932

title:

"Forged From the Love of Liberty"

lyrics/music:

Patrick Stanislaus CASTAGNE

history:

• adopted 1962;
• song originally written as an anthem for the West Indies Federation;
• Trinidad and Tobago adopted it when the Federation dissolved

title:

"This Land of Ours"

lyrics/music:

Conrad HOWELL

history:

serves as a local anthem

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title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a UK overseas territory

title:

"Virgin Islands March"

lyrics/music:

multiple/Alton Augustus ADAMS, Sr.

history:

adopted 1963; serves as a local anthem

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title:

"The Star-Spangled Banner"

lyrics/music:

Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH

history:

official anthem, as a US territory

title:

"Hymni i Flamurit" (Hymn to the Flag)

lyrics/music:

Aleksander Stavre DRENOVA/Ciprian PORUMBESCU

history:

adopted 1912; only the first two stanzas of the original poem are used, with the second stanza as a chorus

title:

"El Gran Carlemany" (The Great Charlemagne)

lyrics/music:

Joan BENLLOCH i VIVO/Enric MARFANY BONS

history:

adopted 1921; the anthem provides a brief history of Andorra in a first-person narrative

title:

"Bundeshymne" (Federal Hymn)

lyrics/music:

Paula von PRERADOVIC/Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART or Johann HOLZER (disputed)

history:

• adopted 1947;
• Austria adopted a new national anthem after World War II to replace the former imperial anthem composed by Franz Josef HAYDN, which Germany had appropriated in 1922 and was thereafter associated with the Nazi regime;
• the Austrian Federal Assembly adopted a gender-neutral version of the lyrics in 2012

note: the beloved waltz "The Blue Danube" ("An der schoenen, blauen Donau"), composed in 1866 by Johann STRAUSS II, is widely considered Austria's unofficial national anthem

title:

"My, Bielarusy" (We Belarusians)

lyrics/music:

Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI

history:

• music adopted 1955, lyrics adopted 2002;
• after the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarus kept the music of its Soviet-era anthem but adopted new lyrics;
• also known as "Dziarzauny himn Respubliki Bielarus" (State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus)

title:

"La Brabançonne" (The Song of Brabant)

lyrics/music:

Louis-Alexandre DECHET [French] and Victor CEULEMANS [Dutch]/Francois VAN CAMPENHOUT

history:

adopted 1830; according to legend Louis-Alexandre DECHET, an actor at the theater where the revolution against the Netherlands began, wrote the lyrics with a group of young people in a Brussels cafe

title:

"Drzavna himna Bosne i Hercegovine" (The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

lyrics/music:

none officially/Dusan SESTIC

history:

music adopted 1999; lyrics proposed in 2009 were accepted by a parliamentary commission but are still awaiting adoption, so the anthem remains officially wordless

title:

“Mila Rodino” (Dear Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Tsvetan RADOSLAVOV

history:

adopted 1964; composed in 1885 by a student en route to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War

title:

"Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Antun MIHANOVIC/Josip RUNJANIN

history:

adopted in 1972 while still part of Yugoslavia; the lyrics were written in 1835, and it served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891

title:

"Kde domov muj?" (Where is My Home?)

lyrics/music:

Josef Kajetan TYL/Frantisek Jan SKROUP

history:

• adopted 1993;
• the anthem was originally written as incidental music for the play "Fidlovacka" (1834), but it soon became popular as an unofficial anthem of the Czech nation;
• its first verse served as the official Czechoslovak anthem beginning in 1918, and the second verse (Slovak) was dropped after Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1993

title:

"Der er et yndigt land" (There is a Lovely Country)

lyrics/music:

Adam Gottlob OEHLENSCHLAGER/Hans Ernst KROYER; Johannes EWALD/unknown

history:

adopted 1844; national anthem

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title:

“Kong Christian stod ved højen mast” (King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast)

lyrics/music:

Johannes EWALD/unknown

history:

• adopted 1780;
• one of the oldest royal anthems in the world;
• used for events when Danish royalty is present;
• anthem has equal status with the national anthem

note: Denmark is one of only two countries that has two national anthems of equal status (New Zealand is the other)

title:

"Mu isamaa, mu onn ja room" (My Native Land, My Pride and Joy)

lyrics/music:

Johann Voldemar JANNSEN/Fredrik PACIUS

history:

• adopted 1920, but banned between 1940 and 1990 under Soviet occupation;
• unofficially in use since 1869, it has the same melody as Finland's anthem, but with different lyrics

title:

"European Anthem" (Ode to Joy)

lyrics/music:

no lyrics/Ludwig VAN BEETHOVEN, arranged by Herbert VON KARAJAN

history:

adopted 1985; the anthem is meant to represent all of Europe rather than just the organization, conveying the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity

title:

"Mitt alfagra land" (My Fairest Land)

lyrics/music:

Simun av SKAROI/Peter ALBERG

history:

• adopted 1948;
• the anthem is also known as "Tu alfagra land mitt" (Thou Fairest Land of Mine);
• as a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are permitted to have their own national anthem

title:

"Maamme" (Our Land)

lyrics/music:

Paavo Eemil KAJANDER, Johan Ludvig RUNEBERG/Fredrik PACIUS

history:

in use since 1848; although never officially adopted, the anthem has been popular since a student group first sang it in 1848

title:

"La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)

lyrics/music:

Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle

history:

• adopted 1795, restored 1870;
• acquired its name when the National Guard of Marseille sang the song while marching into Paris in 1792 during the French Revolution;
• one of the most recognized anthems in the world

title:

“Lied der Deutschen”(Song of the Germans)

lyrics/music:

August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN/Franz Joseph HAYDN

history:

• first adopted 1922;
• the anthem, also known as "Deutschlandlied" (Song of Germany), was originally adopted for its connection to the March 1848 liberal revolution;
• the Nazis later appropriated the first verse -- specifically the phrase "Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles" (Germany, Germany above all) -- to promote nationalism, and the anthem was banned after 1945;
• in 1952, West Germany adopted the third verse as its national anthem;
• in 1990, it became the national anthem for the reunited Germany

title:

"Gibraltar Anthem"

lyrics/music:

Peter EMBERLEY

history:

adopted 1994; serves as a local anthem

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title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as an overseas UK territory

title:

"Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Hymn to Freedom)

lyrics/music:

Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS

history:

• adopted 1864;
• the anthem is based on a 158-stanza poem by the same name, which was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottomans (only the first two stanzas are used);
• Cyprus also uses "Hymn to Freedom" as its anthem

title:

"Sarnia Cherie" (Guernsey Dear)

lyrics/music:

George DEIGHTON/Domencio SANTANGELO

history:

adopted 1911; serves as a local anthem

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title:

"God Save the King"

lyrics/music:

unknown

history:

official anthem, as a British crown dependency

title:

“Hymnus Pontificius" (Pontifical Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Raffaello LAVAGNA/Charles-Francois GOUNOD

history:

adopted 1949