The song, as "A Soldier's Song", was composed "early in 1910 or late in 1909", with words by Peadar Kearney, and music by his childhood friend and neighbour Patrick Heeney, who had collaborated on songs since 1903. Kearney assisted Heeney in setting the refrain. Heeney composed it with his melodeon. Seán Rogan, later of the Irish Citizen Army, may also have helped with the music, and first wrote it in musical notation. Kearney wrote much of the text in the Swiss Café at the corner of O'Connell Street and North Earl Street.
"Amhrán na bhFiann" (Irish pronunciation: [ˈəuɾˠaːn̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈvʲiən̪ˠ]), called "The Soldier's Song" in English, is the national anthem of Ireland. The music was composed by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney, the original English lyrics written by Kearney, and the Irish-language translation, now usually the version heard, by Liam Ó Rinn. The song has three verses, but only the choral refrain is used as the national anthem.
The Presidential Salute, played when the President of Ireland arrives at an official engagement, consists of the first four bars of the national anthem immediately followed by the last five.
The song was very popular during Italian unification and the following decades. However, after the Kingdom of Italy's 1861 proclamation, the republican and Jacobin connotations of "Fratelli d'Italia" were difficult to reconcile with the new state's monarchic constitution. The kingdom chose instead "Marcia Reale" (Royal March), the House of Savoy's official anthem, composed by order of King Charles Albert of Sardinia in 1831.
After the Second World War, Italy became a republic. On 12 October 1946, it chose "Il Canto degli Italiani" as a provisional national anthem. The song would retain this role as de facto anthem of the Italian Republic, and after several unsuccessful attempts, gained de jure status on 4 December 2017.
"Il Canto degli Italiani" - "The Song of Italians") is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, currently used as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "Inno di Mameli". "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the lyrics, or "Fratelli d'Italia" (Italian: [fraˈtɛlli diˈtaːlja]; transl. "Brothers of Italy"), from its opening line. The piece, in 4/4 time signature and B-flat major key, has six strophes, and a refrain sung after each. The sixth group of verses, almost never performed, recalls the first strophe's text.
"Dievs, svētī Latviju" is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920.
The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement. It is thought that Baumanis was inspired by a popular song "Dievs, svētī Kurzemi/Vidzemi" (lit. 'God Bless Kurzeme/Vidzeme', which was modified depending on the region it was used in) that was sung to the tune of "God Save the King".
The first public Lithuanian performance of the anthem took place in Vilnius in 1905, and it became the official national anthem in 1919, a year after Lithuania declared its independence.
The original lyrics, beginning Oberst am jungen Rhein, were written in the 1850s. The song may be grouped with the German "Rhine songs", i.e. songs that celebrate the River Rhine as part of the German national patrimony, opposing the French territorial claims on the left river bank.
"Oben am jungen Rhein" is the national anthem of Liechtenstein. Written in the 1850s, it is set to the melody of the British anthem, "God Save the King", which in the 19th century had been used for a number of anthems of German-speaking nations, including those of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Switzerland.
"Ons Heemecht" (formerly "Ons Hémecht", pronounced [ons ˈheːməɕt]; lit. 'Our Homeland') is the national anthem of Luxembourg. Written by Michel Lentz in 1859 and set to music by Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864, it is performed at national celebrations, while the grand ducal anthem "De Wilhelmus" is performed at entrances or exits of members of the Grand Ducal Family.
Luxembourgish poet Michel Lentz wrote the poem Ons Heemecht in 1859, and it was set to music by Luxembourgish composer Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864. The song was first performed in public in Ettelbruck, a town at the confluence of the Alzette and Sauer rivers (both of which are mentioned in the song), on 5 June 1864.