Bože pravde
"Bože pravde" (Serbian Cyrillic: Боже правде, Serbian pronunciation: [bǒʒe prâːʋde], "God of Justice")[2] is the national anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia.[3] "Bože pravde" was the state anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia until 1919 when Serbia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was re-adopted as the national anthem at first by the parliamentary recommendation on the use in 2004 and then constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia became independent again.[4]
| English: God of Justice | |
|---|---|
| Боже правде | |
Sheet music (for mixed choir) | |
National anthem of Serbia | |
| Lyrics | Jovan Đorđević, 1872 |
| Music | Davorin Jenko, 1872 |
| Adopted | 6 March 1882[1] (Kingdom of Serbia) |
| Readopted | 6 November 2006 19 December 1991 (Republic of Serbian Krajina) 9 January 1992 (Republika Srpska) |
| Audio sample | |
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (two verses)
| |
History
After the assassination of Prince Mihailo, Milan Obrenović came to the throne in 1872, celebrating his coming of age. Then he ordered a play from the manager of the National Theater in Belgrade, Jovan Đorđević, who quickly wrote and presented the play Marko kazuje na kome je carstvo (Marko names the Emperor), with the aim of glorifying Serbian history and the Obrenović dynasty, and Bože pravde, composed by Davorin Jenko. Đorđević's song quickly gained more popularity among the people than the piece itself, and in 1882, on the occasion of Milan's enthronement as Serbian king, Đorđević reworked the text and so his new version became the first official anthem of Serbia.[5][6] In 1903, after the May Coup, the Obrenović dynasty died out and the Karađorđevićs came to the helm of Serbia. The new Serbian king Peter I wanted to change the state symbols, even the anthem. The Austrian composer from Vienna, August Stol, composed a song for the Serbian king. Peter did not like the composition. Various competitions in which many Serbian poets (Aleksa Šantić among others) participated were also unsuccessful. In the end, in 1909, it was decided to make the anthem Bože pravde official again, with minor changes to the text. While being the national anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia, it occasionally was referred to as the Serbian national Prayer.[7] Various rulers of Serbia changed the words of the anthem to suit them. During the rule of Prince Milan I of Serbia, the words were "God, save Prince Milan" (knez Milana Bože spasi), which changed to King Milan when Serbia became a kingdom. Later it was tailored to Peter I and Alexander I as well.[8] During the time of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which later became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), "Bože pravde" was part of its national anthem. On the eve of the World War II, at the great international gathering of the Music Confederation, held in Paris, this anthem was declared one of the three most beautiful in the world.[5]
"Bože pravde" anthem was officially abandoned after liberation of the country at the end of World War II in 1945, in favour of "Hey, Slavs", under its Serbo-Croatian title Hej, Sloveni, which was the national anthem of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 47 years, from 1945 to 1992. After the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991-1992, only Serbia and Montenegro remained in the federation i.e. the newly-formed Serbia and Montenegro, but since no agreement over the anthem could be reached, "Hey, Slavs" remained the national anthem. Many Serbs disliked the song during this period and booed it whenever it was played, such as at sporting events.[9] In 1992, "Vostani Serbije" and "Marš na Drinu" were proposed as the regional anthem of Serbia along with "Bоže pravde".[10] The latter, promulgated by then-ruling Socialist Party of Serbia, even received a plurality of popular vote on referendum, but was never officially adopted.[11]
The recommendation on the use of "Bože pravde" was adopted unanimously by the Parliament of Serbia in 2004 and constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia restored independence, while the recommended text was promulgated into the law in 2009.[2][4] It utilizes slightly modified original lyrics, asserting that Serbia is no longer a monarchy — four verses are different. In three, "Serbian king" (srpskog kralja) is changed to "Serbian lands" (srpske zemlje) and in one, "God save the Serbian king" (srpskog kralja Bože spasi, literally "The Serbian king, O God, save") is changed to "O God, save; O God, defend" (Bože spasi, Bože brani).
"Bože pravde" was also used as the regional anthem of the Republika Srpska, a constituency of Bosnia and Herzegovina until 2006, when it was ruled down by the country's constitutional court for being unconstitutional and the decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska.[12][13]
Lyrics
The full Serbian national anthem as officially defined consists of eight stanzas, but usually only the first two are performed on public occasions for reasons of brevity.[4] The third verse is also usually omitted in full performances.[14]
| Serbian Cyrillic[4] | Serbian Latin | IPA transcription | Poetic English translation[2][15][a] |
|---|---|---|---|
I | I | 1 | I |
See also
Notes
- ^ Translated by Elizabeth Christitch, originally published in The Times. Note: this is a free, not literal, translation of the lyrics, also fitting the metre of the original.
- ^ a b In public performances, often sung on the repeat as Srbiju nam, Bože brani/moli ti se sаv naš rod ("Our Serbia, God defend/ Our whole race prays to you")[14][16]
References
- ^ "Pojavila se retka verzija himne "Bože pravde" koja će vas oduševiti, a evo kako je nastala" (in Serbian).
- ^ a b c . Government of Serbia. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ Constitution of Serbia 2013-06-16 at the Wayback Machine at the site of the Government of Serbia
- ^ a b c d [Law on the Appearance and Use of the Coat of arms, the Flag and the Anthem of the Republic of Serbia]. Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – No. 36/2009 (in Serbian). Narodna skupština Republike Srbije – JP "Službeni glasnik". 2009-05-11. Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ a b Jovanović, Nenad M. (2010). Grbovi, zastave i himne u istoriji Srbije. Belgrade-Cetinje. p. 132.
- ^ Софија (2016-03-04). "SVE SRPSKE HIMNE: Svečene pesme koje su izraz patriotskih, nacionalnih i religijskih emocija". Opanak.rs. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ . NationalAnthems.me. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
- ^ LJ. M. V. - J. Ž. S. (2006-08-01). . Vecernje novosti (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ "Serbia-Montenegro a World Cup team without a country". Associated Press. Associated Press. 15 June 2006. from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ Konstantin Babić (2000-11-02). . Vreme. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "Svi naši referendumi". Novi Sad: Radio-televizija Vojvodine. 2008-03-06.
- ^ . Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2007-01-27. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03.
- ^ "Republika Srpska court upholds complaint about anthem". RFE/RL.
- ^ a b "Аmbasada Republike Srbije u Velikoj Britaniji". www.london.mfa.gov.rs. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- ^ Petrovitch, Voislav (1915). Serbia, Her People, History and Aspirations. Cosimo, Inc. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-60206-941-1. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ "Pojavila se retka verzija himne "Bože pravde" koja će vas oduševiti, a evo kako je nastala (VIDEO)". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- ^ "Zakon o izgledu i upotrebi grba, zastave i himne Republike Srbije: 36/2009-3". www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- ^ "Zakon o izgledu i upotrebi grba, zastave i himne | RS". www.paragraf.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-03-04.
External links
- Serbian anthem streaming audio, lyrics and info ()
- National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia - Important Documents