Bože pravde
| English: God of Justice | |
|---|---|
| Bože pravde | |
| National anthem of |  Serbia |
| Lyrics | Jovan Đorđević, 1872 |
| Music | Davorin Jenko, 1872 |
| Music sample | |
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Bože pravde (Instrumental)
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"Bože pravde" (Serbian Cyrillic: „Боже правде”, English: "God of Justice"[1]) is the official anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia[2]. "Bože pravde" was the anthem of the Principality of Serbia and Kingdom of Serbia until 1918 when Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed. It was recommended by the Parliament of Serbia on August 17, 2004[1] and constitutionally adopted on November 8, 2006. The recommended text was made Law on May 11, 2009[3]. The original song was written in 1872 with music by Davorin Jenko and lyrics by Jovan Đorđević. It was then a piece for the theater play "Marko kazuje na kome je carstvo" (Marko Names The Emperor), and its immense popularity with audiences prompted its adoption as the Serbian national anthem.
While being the anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia, it occasionally was referred to as "Serbian National Prayer" and the original lyrics contained a petition for the Serbian king. 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 the anthem was tailored to Peter I and Alexander I as well.[4] During the time of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Kingdom of Yugoslavia), "Bože pravde" was part of its national anthem.
It was also used as an anthem of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the period of 1991 to 2006, when it was ruled down by the country's constitutional court. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ruled against the use of "Bože pravde" as the anthem of Republika Srpska in 2006, declaring it unconstitutional[5], and the decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska[6]. The new anthem of Republika Srpska was adopted in 2008.
Republika Srpska retained the old lyrics, while Serbia uses slightly modified lyrics, asserting that it 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 Serbian king" (srpskog kralja Bože spasi) is changed in "God save, God defend" (Bože spasi, Bože brani).
In 1990s, "Vostani Serbije" and "Marš na Drinu" were proposed as the anthem of Serbia along with Bоže pravde.[7] The latter, promulgated by then-ruling Socialist Party of Serbia, even received a plurality of popular vote on 1992 referendum, but it never got officially adopted.[8]
Lyrics
The anthem officially has eight stanzas, but only the first two are usually sung.[3]
| Serbian Cyrillic[3] | Serbian Latin[3] | English translation[1][9] |
|---|---|---|
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Боже правде, ти што спасе |
Bože pravde, ti što spase |
God of Justice; Thou who saved us |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 English language lyrics at the site of the Government of Serbia
- ↑ Constitution of Serbia at the site of the Government of Serbia
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Zakon o izgledu i upotrebi grba, zastave i himne Republike Srbije — English: Law on the Appearance and Use of the Coat of arms, the Flag and the Anthem of the Republic of Serbia" (in Serbian). Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia – No. 36/2009. Narodna skupština Republike Srbije – JP "Službeni glasnik". 2009-05-11 (valid from 2009-05-19). http://www.parlament.gov.rs/content/lat/akta/akta_detalji.asp?Id=549&t=Z. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ↑ LJ. M. V. - J. Ž. S. (2006-08-01). "Hej, Bože pravde!". Vecernje novosti. http://www.novosti.rs/code/navigate.php?Id=1&status=jedna&vest=92154&datum=2006-07-25. Retrieved 2007-04-17. (Serbian)
- ↑ "Press Release". Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2007-01-27. http://www.ustavnisud.ba/eng/press/index.php?pid=1381&sta=3&pkat=507.
- ↑ "Republika Srpska court upholds complaint about anthem". RFE/RL. http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/rferl/2007/07-07-27.rferl.html#24.
- ↑ Konstantin Babić (2000-11-02). "Zašto Srbija još nema himnu". Vreme. http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/513/25.html.
- ↑ "Svi naši referendumi". Novi Sad: Radio-televizija Vojvodine. 2008-03-06. http://www.rtv.rs/sr/vesti/politika/izdvajamo/2008_03_06/vest_53944.jsp.
- ↑ Petrovitch, Voislav (1915). Serbia, Her People, History and Aspirations. Cosimo, Inc.. p. 15. ISBN 9781602069411. http://books.google.com/books?id=m0ZteuDbZg4C&pg=PA15. Translated by Elisabeth Christitch, originally published in The Times. Note: this is a free, not literal translation of the lyrics, also fitting the meter of the original.
External links
- Parliament of Serbia A page featuring sheet music for Brass Band, and for Orchestra with mixed choir, as well as an instrumental file (Serbian)
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