Czech National Anthem
18/02/2013 22:51
Kde domov můj? (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɡdɛ ˈdomof ˈmuːj]; in English: Where is my home?) is a piece of music written by the composer František Škroup and the playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl.
The piece was written as a part of the incidental music to the comedy Fidlovačka aneb Žádný hněv a žádná rvačka (Fidlovačka, or No Anger and No Brawl). The original song consists of two verses (see below). Although J. K. Tyl is said to have considered leaving the song out of the play, not convinced of its quality, it soon became very popular among Czechs and was accepted as an informal anthem of a nation seeking to revive its identity within the Habsburg Empire.
Soon after Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, the first verse of the song became the Czech part of the national anthem, followed by the first verse of the Slovak song Nad Tatrou sa blýska. Because of the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the First Republic, official translations were made into Hungarian and German as well.
With the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czechoslovak anthem was divided as well. While Slovakia extended its anthem by adding a second verse, the Czech Republic's national anthem was adopted unextended, in its single-verse version.
Original lyrics (from Fidlovačka, 1834) - click here for musical version :-)
Kde domov můj!? Kde domov můj!?
Voda hučí po lučinách
bory šumí po skalinách,
v sadě skví se jara květ
zemský ráj to na pohled!
A to je ta krásná země,
země česká domov můj!
země česká domov můj!
Kde domov můj!? Kde domov můj!?
V kraji znáš-li bohumilém
duše útlé v těle čilém,
mysl jasnou, vznik a zdar
a tu sílu vzdoru zmar,
to je Čechů slavné plémě
mezi Čechy domov můj!
mezi Čechy domov můj!
English translation of original version
Where is my home? Where is my home?
Waters murmur across the meads
Pinewoods rustle upon the cliff-rocks,
Bloom of spring shines in the orchard,
Paradise on Earth to see!
And that is the beautiful land,
The Czech land, my home!
The Czech land, my home!
Where is my home? Where is my home?
If, in the heavenly land, you have met
Tender souls in agile frames,
Of clear mind, vigorous and prospering,
And with a strength that frustrates all defiance,
That is the glorious race of Czechs,
Among the Czechs (is) my home!
Among the Czechs, my home!