"God Defend New Zealand" (Māori: "Aotearoa", meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a poem, it was set to music as part of a competition in 1876. Over the years its popularity increased, and it was eventually named the second national anthem in 1977. It has English and Māori lyrics, with slightly different meanings. Since the late 1990s, the usual practice when performed in public is to perform the first verse of the national anthem twice, first in Māori and then in English.
"Ja, vi elsker dette landet" - 'Yes, We Love This Country') is the national anthem of Norway. Originally a patriotic song, it became commonly regarded as the de facto national anthem of Norway in the early 20th century after being used alongside "Sønner av Norge" since the 1860s. It was officially adopted in 2019.
The lyrics were written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson between 1859 and 1868, and the melody was written by his cousin Rikard Nordraak sometime during the winter of 1863 to 1864. It was first performed publicly on 17 May 1864 in connection with the 50th anniversary of the constitution. Usually, only the first and the last two verses are sung, with the first being by far the most common.
"Poland Is Not Yet Lost", also known as the "Dąbrowski Mazurka", and the "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy", is the national anthem of Poland.
The State Anthem of the Russian Federation is the name of the national anthem of Russia. First used in 2001, the song's music is the same as that of the former State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which was composed by Alexander Alexandrov in 1938. The words were newly written by Sergey Mikhalkov in 2000, who also wrote the words for the Soviet national anthem back in 1943.
Written in 1872 as part of a play, the popularity of “Bože Pravde” helped to have it officially adopted as the Serbian anthem in 1904, after Serbia became an independent nation in the 1880s. Upon forming the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later to be called Yugoslavia) in 1918, “Bože Pravde” was retained as the anthem of the Serbs within the federation. In fact, the first anthem of the federation, in use until 1945, uses part of “Bože Pravde” in the melody to represent the Serbs of the land.
After World War II, “Bože Pravde” continued to be popular with Serbs, and identified as their anthem. During the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s, Serbian areas that broke away from Croatia (Krajina) and Bosnia (Srpska) also used “Bože Pravde” upon their creation to identify themselves as a Serbian state. In August, 2004, 18 months after Yugoslavia became the new federation of Serbia and Montenegro, “Bože Pravde” was recommended as Serbia’s anthem by the Serb national assembly and was constitutionally adopted upon the dissolution of the union and the regaining of Serbian independence in 2006. Although the anthem has four verses officially, it is usually only the first that is performed.
The original lyrics, present in the former Yugoslav anthem, refer to the Serbian monarchy, which was replaced with a republican-style government in 1945. The current lyrics of the Serbian anthem replace the references to the king with references to the Serbian race. The music of the anthem is by a Slovene, Davorin Jenko.
Zdravljica” was written by France Prešeren, considered as Slovenia’s national poet, as a drinking song (in his original manuscript, the layout of the words resemble a wine glass), but also was seen as politically charged piece when it was written in 1844 as it spoke of pan-Slavic nationalism, which was controversial in Austria-Hungary (which Slovenia was part of at the time). It was finally published in 1848, after revolutions in Austria-Hungary lifted the censorship.
In 1905, Zdravljica was set to music for the first time, the entire poem had a choral composition composed for it by Stanko Premrl, and this was the composition chosen as the Slovenian anthem in September 1989. The constitution of Slovenia, adopted on December 23, 1991, does not specify a specific verse and just states that “Zdravljica” is the national anthem. The 1994 act regulating the flag, anthem, and other symbols states that is is just the seventh verse that is the anthem, and in government publications and in practice, only the seventh verse (as also presented here) is the anthem.
Du gamla, du fria, is the de facto national anthem of Sweden. Its music is based on a Swedish folk tune with lyrics written by Swedish antiquarian Richard Dybeck in 1844.
The song is notable for neither mentioning nor referring to Sweden specifically at all, or even a nation; making the Polish national anthem the only national anthem to mention Sweden.
The Swiss Psalm is the national anthem of Switzerland.
It was composed in 1841, by Alberich Zwyssig (1808–1854). Since then, it has been frequently sung at patriotic events. The Federal Council declined, however, on numerous occasions to accept the psalm as the official anthem. This was because the council wanted the people to express their say on what they wanted as a national anthem. From 1961 to 1981, it provisionally replaced "Rufst du, mein Vaterland" ("When You Call, My Country"; French "Ô monts indépendants"; Italian "Ci chiami o patria", Romansh "E clomas, tger paeis"), the anthem by Johann Rudolf Wyss (1743–1818) that was set to the melody of "God Save the King". On 1 April 1981, the Swiss Psalm was declared the official Swiss national anthem.
The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States. To celebrate their victory over British forces during the War of 1812, U.S. soldiers raised a large American flag at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 14, 1814.