Desteapta-te, Romane!
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"Deşteaptă-te, române" ("Wake up, O, Romanian!") is Romania's national anthem.
The lyrics were composed by Andrei Mureşanu (1816-1863) and the music by Anton Pann (1796-1854). It was written and published during the 1848 revolution, initially with the name "Un răsunet" (An echo). It was first sung on July 29 of the same year in the city of Râmnicu Vâlcea. It was immediately accepted as the revolutionary anthem and renamed "Deşteaptă-te, române".
Since then, this song, which contains a message of liberty and patriotism, has been sung during all major Romanian conflicts, including during the 1989 anti-Communist revolution. After that revolution, it became the national anthem, replacing the communist-era national anthem "Trei culori" (Three colors).
It was also the national anthem of Moldova for a few years, but was replaced in 1994 by the current Moldavian anthem, "Limba Noastră" (Our language).
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History of the anthem
Since 1848, "Deşteaptă-te române" has been dear to Romanians, giving them courage during the crucial moments of events such as the Independence War (1877-1878), World War I and World War II. Especially in the moments of crisis following the state coup of August 23, 1944, when Romania turned against Nazi Germany and participated in the war along with the Allies, this anthem was spontaneously sung by everyone and was aired on the national radio, keeping the whole country on alert.
Immediately after the beginning of the communist dictatorship, on December 30, 1947, when King Mihai I had to resign from the throne, "Deşteaptă-te române" and other patriotic marches and songs were forbidden. Singing them, or even humming them was punished with years of prison. Only since the 1970s, could the song be sung again, albeit without the original verses.
Then, on December 22, 1989, at the time of the anti-Communist revolution, the anthem rose from the streets, sung by huge masses of people, dispelling the fear of death and uniting a whole people in the lofty feelings of the moment. Thus, its institution as a state anthem came by itself, due to the tremendous pressure of the demonstrators.
The message of the anthem "Deşteaptă-te române" is social and national at the same time; social because it imposes a permanent state of vigil meant to secure the passing to a new world; national because it gears this awakening to the historical tradition. The anthem proposes that sublime "now or never," present in many national anthems like the French revolutionary Marseillaise. This is probably the reason why Nicolae Bălcescu called it the "Romanian Marseillaise".
The invocation of the national fate is the peak a people can reach in its soaring towards the divine. This "now or never" historically calls upon all vital energies and mobilizes to the full.
Another anthem
Besides this anthem, the Romanians also have "Hora Unirii" ("The Union Dance"), written in 1855 by the great poet Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890) which was sung a lot on the Union of the Principalities (1859) and on all occasions when the Romanians aspired to union and harmony among themselves. "Hora Unirii" is sung on the Romanian folk tune of a slow but energetic round dance joined by the whole attendance. The round dance (hora) is itself an ancient ritual, symbolizing spiritual communion, equality and the Romanians' wish for a common life.
Original Verses in Romanian
Romania's national anthem has several stanzas, four of which are sung on ceremonial occasions.
- Deşteaptă-te, române, din somnul cel de moarte,
- În care te-adânciră barbarii de tirani!
- Acum ori niciodată croieşte-ţi altă soartă,
- La care să se-nchine şi cruzii tăi duşmani!
- Acum ori niciodată să dăm dovezi în lume
- Că-n aste mâni mai curge un sânge de roman,
- Şi că-n a noastre piepturi păstrăm cu fală-un nume
- Triumfător în lupte, un nume de Traian!
- Priviţi, măreţe umbre, Mihai, Ştefan, Corvine,
- Româna naţiune, ai voştri strănepoţi,
- Cu braţele armate, cu focul vostru-n vine,
- "Viaţă-n libertate ori moarte!" strigă toţi.
- Preoţi, cu crucea-n frunte! căci oastea e creştină,
- Deviza-i libertate şi scopul ei preasfânt,
- Murim mai bine-n luptă, cu glorie deplină,
- Decât să fim sclavi iarăşi în vechiul nost' pământ!
Translations
A somewhat literal translation
- Wake up, O Romanian, from your deathly sleep
- Into which you've been sunk by the barbaric tyrants
- Now, as at no other time, create yourself a new fate,
- For all others to bow to, even your cruelest enemies.
- Now or never let's give proof to the world
- That in these hands still flows a Roman blood,
- That in our chests we still maintain our pride in a name
- The victor in his battles, the name of Trajan!
- Watch on, shadows of highnesses, Mihai, Stefan, Corvinus,
- The Romanian Nation, your great grandchildren,
- With weapons in their arms, with your fire in their veins,
- "Live free or die!" all shout.
- Priests, lead with your crucifixes! Because the army is Christian,
- The motto is Liberty and the goal is holy,
- Better to die in battle, in full glory,
- Than to once again be slaves upon our ancient ground!
Better Translation
- Awaken thee, Romanian, shake off thy deadly slumber
- The scourge of inauspicious barbarian tyrannies
- And now or never to a bright horizon clamber
- That shall to shame put all your nocuous enemies.
- It's now or never to the world we readily proclaim
- In our veins throbs and ancestry of Roman
- And in our hearts for ever we glorify a name
- Resounding of battle, the name of gallant Trajan.
- Do look imperial shadows, Michael, Stephen, Corvinus
- At the Romanian nation, your mighty progeny
- With arms like steel and hearts of fire impetuous
- It's either free or dead, that's what they all decree.
- Priests, rise the cross, this Christian army's liberating
- The word is freedom, no less sacred is the end
- We'd rather die in battle, in elevated glory
- Than live again enslaved on our ancestral land.
External links
- MIDI sound file (http://www.romania.org/wav/romania.mid)
- MP3 sound file (http://www.pruteanu.ro/Sunet/desteapta-te.MP3)
- Official website of the Romanian president with the national anthem (public domain) (http://www.presidency.ro/?lang=en&id=13&_RID=htm)de:Desteapta-te, romane!
et:Deşteaptă-te, române! es:Desteapta-te, Romane! eo:Deşteaptă-te, române fr:Desteapta-te, romane! it:Deşteaptă-te, Române! ja:ルーマニアの国歌 nb:Desteapta-te române nl:Desteapta-te, romane nn:Desteapta-te, române pl:Hymn Rumunii ro:DeĹteaptÄ-te, române!