“Fida’i” was declared the anthem of Palestinians by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (an organization charged with the governance of Arab Palestinians) in 1972, in advance of their 1988 declaration of independence. The anthem, also known as the “Anthem of the Intifada” (or “Anthem of the Palestinian Revolution”) was written by Said Al Muzayin (also known as Fata Al Thawra (“The Rebel Boy”)), and its music was composed by Egyptian maestro Ali Ismael. While being the official national anthem for use in the areas currently controlled by the Palestinian government, “Mawtini” is considered an “unofficial Palestinian anthem”, popular with many Palestinians, and was considered the Palestinian anthem before “Fida’i” was adopted.

The word “فدائي” (fida’i), in addition to being the anthem’s title, appears several times in the anthem as well. The term is difficult to express in a single word or two in English; it refers to a man (the feminine form is “fida’iya”, plural is “fida’iyeen”) who is willing to sacrifice his life. The object that he will sacrifice to can be anything, his lover, tribe, religion, etc., but in the modern sense it is usually meant as a sacrifice to your country. It has been translated various ways in the anthem, depending on context, the terms “sacrificer”, “resistor”, “freedom fighter”, “warrior”, or “revolutionary” could all express the intended meaning to an extent.

The song quickly became popular with Slovaks, especially the other students involved in the protest and was used as the Slovak anthem when Czechoslovakia was created. Upon restoration of Slovak independence in 1993, the anthem was made the anthem of Slovakia, slightly altering the version in use until then by replacing the phrase “Zastavme sa” (“Let us pause”), which was a common variant to that point, with “Zastavme ich” (“Let us stop them”), which was determined to be the original words in Matúška’s poem. For more of my original music, great arrangements and all the national anthems of the world, check out my on-line stores: http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/keith_terret http://musicforalloccasions.org.uk http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/search?Ntt=keith+terrett Need an anthem fast? They are ALL in my store! All my anthem arrangements are also available for Orchestra, Recorders, Saxophones, Wind, Brass and Flexible band. If you need an anthem urgently for an instrumentation not in my store, let me know via e-mail, and I will arrange it for you FOC if possible! keithterrett@gmail.com Love anthems, then join me on twitter, facebook & sounndcloud for updates.