Braban onne

The Brabançonne is the national anthem of Belgium. The anthem has both a Dutch and a French version, for the two major languages of the country.

History

According to legend, the Belgian national anthem was written in September 1830 by a young revolutionary called Jenneval, who read the lyrics during a meeting at the l'Aigle d'Or café.

Jenneval, whose real name was Alexandre Dechet (sometimes known as Louis-Alexandre Dechet), did in fact write the Brabançonne. He was at the time an actor at the theatre where, in August 1830, the revolution started which lead to independence from the Netherlands. Jenneval died in the war of independence. François Van Campenhout composed the accompanying score and it was first performed in September 1830.

In 1860, Belgium formally adopted the song and music as its national anthem, although the prime minister at the time edited lyrics attacking the Dutch Prince of Orange.

Trivia

The Brabançonne is not only the name of the Belgian national anthem, it is also a monument on the Surlet de Chokiersquare in Brussels. The monument contains the partial lyrics of both the French and Dutch version of the anthem.

Lyrics

French

O Belgique, ô mère chérie,
A toi nos coeurs, à toi nos bras,
A toi notre sang, ô Patrie !
Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras !
Tu vivras toujours grande et belle
Et ton invincible unité
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! (3 x)

Dutch

O dierbaar België
O heilig land der vaad'ren
Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd.
Aanvaard ons hart en het bloed van onze adren,
Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd.
Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken;
Wees immer u zelf en ongeknecht,
Het woord getrouw, dat ge onbevreesd moogt spreken:
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht. (3 x)

English translation

O my dear Belgium
To you our hearts and arms
and blood, holy fatherland!
We all swear that you shall live,
shall live forever, great and beautiful!
O land, in unity unbreakable
Be always yourself unsubjugated.
Your motto be immortally spoken:
For King, for Freedom, and for Right. (or "For King, for Right, and for Freedom" according to the French version)