For the Radiohead song see The National Anthem. "Patriotic song" redirects here. For songs known by the title "Patriotic Song" and similar see The Patriotic Song. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010) Instrumental performance of the Russian national anthem at the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade in Moscow's Red Square resplendent with a 21 gun salute

A national anthem (also national hymn song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song or by convention through use by the people. Contents 1 History 2 Usage 2.1 For parts of states 2.2 International organizations 3 Creators 4 Modality 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History

Anthems rose to prominence in Europe during the 19th century but some are much older in origin; the oldest national anthem is "Het Wilhelmus" the Dutch national anthem written between 1568 and 1572 during the Dutch Revolt. The Japanese anthem "Kimi ga Yo" has its lyrics taken from a Heian period (794-1185) poem yet it was not set to music until 1880.1 "God Save the Queen" the national anthem of the United Kingdom and one of the two national anthems of New Zealand was first performed in 1745 under the title "God Save the King". Spain's national anthem the "Marcha Real" (The Royal March) dates from 1770 (written in 1761). The oldest of Denmark's two national anthems "Kong Christian stod ved hjen mast" was adopted in 1780 and "La Marseillaise" the French anthem was written in 1792 and adopted in 1795. Serbia was the first Eastern European nation to have a national anthem Rise up Serbia! in 1804.

An anthem can become a country's national anthem by a provision in the country's constitution by a law enacted by its legislature or simply by tradition. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare.

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country whether de facto or official there are notable exceptions. India's anthem "Jana Gana Mana" is a highly Sanskritized version of Bengali. States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: For instance Switzerland's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French German Italian and Romansh). Canada's national anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's official languages (English and French) and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Sri Lankan national anthem has translated lyrics for each of the country's official languages Sinhala and Tamil. It was actually written in Sinhala but a Tamil translation is also played on some occasions and mostly played in Tamil Provinces and Tamil schools. On the other hand South Africa's national anthem is unique in that five of the country's eleven official languages are used in the same anthem (the first stanza is divided between two languages with each of the remaining three stanzas in a different language). Apart from God Save the Queen the New Zealand national anthem is now traditionally sung with the first verse in Mori (Aotearoa) and the second in English (God Defend New Zealand). The tune is the same but the words are not a direct translation of each other. Another multilingual country Spain has no words in its anthem La Marcha Real although in 2007 a national competition to write words was launched.2 Usage Schoolroom in Turkey with the words of the stikll Mar Musicians from the U.S. Navy perform The Star-Spangled Banner prior to a baseball game in Boston

National anthems are used in a wide array of contexts. They are played on national holidays and festivals and have also come to be closely connected with sporting events. During sporting competitions such as the Olympic Games the national anthem of the gold medal winner is played at each medal ceremony; also played before games in many sports leagues since being adopted in baseball during World War II.3 When teams from two different nations play each other the anthems of both nations are played the host nation's anthem being played last. The use of a national anthem outside of its country however is dependent on the international recognition of that country. For instance the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) is not recognized by the Olympics as a separate nation and must compete as Chinese Taipei; its National Banner Song is used instead of its national anthem.4

In some countries the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school as an exercise in patriotism. In other countries the anthem may be played in a theatre before a play or in a cinema before a movie. Many radio and television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign on in the morning and again when they sign off at night.

There may also be royal anthems presidential anthems state anthems etc. for special occasions.

Certain etiquette may be involved in the playing of a country's anthem. These usually involve military honours standing up removing headwear etc. In diplomatic situations the rules may be very formal. For parts of states

The Soviet Union and the United Kingdom amongst others are notionally held to be unions of many "nations" by various definitions. Each of the different nations may have their own "national anthem" and these songs may be officially recognized. Fourteen of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union had their own official song which was used at events connected to that republic. The Russian republic used the USSR's national anthem. Some republics retained the melodies of those songs after the dissolution of the USSR (see the article National anthems of the Soviet Union and Union Republics). The United Kingdom's national anthem is "God Save the Queen" but its constituent countries also have their own anthems which have varying degrees of official recognition. England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland each have a number of songs which may be played at occasions such as sports matches and official events. The song usually played for England is "God Save the Queen" though sometimes Jerusalem I Vow To Thee My Country and Land of Hope and Glory may be played instead. Scotland has relatively recently adopted Flower of Scotland as its unofficial National Anthem while Wales has sung Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land Of My Fathers) since the 19th century and was sometimes accompanied by (or used on its own) the Hymn "Guide Me O thy Great Redeemer" the use of which has been discontinued. Northern Ireland too has traditionally used "God Save the Queen" though Londonderry Air is also used. In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia each of the republics (except the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) had the right to its own national anthem but only the Socialist Republic of Croatia had an anthem of its own later joined by the Socialist Republic of Slovenia on the brink of the breakup of Yugoslavia. The Socialist Republic of Macedonia did not officially use an anthem even though one was proclaimed during the World War II by ASNOM. Czechoslovakia used to have an anthem composed from two parts the Czech and the Slovak one. After the splitting of Czechoslovakia Czech Republic adopted the first part as its own anthem Slovakia adopted the second part with slightly changed lyrics and an additional stanza. Although the United States has "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its official national anthem each individual state also has its own state anthem and songs. In Mexico after the national anthem was established in 1854 most of the states of the Federation adopted local anthems which often emphasize heroes virtues or particular landscapes. International organizations Larger entities also sometimes have 'national' anthems in some cases known as 'international anthems'. The Internationale is the anthem of the socialist movement and the communist movement. Before March 1944 it was also the anthem of the Soviet Union and the Comintern. The tune of the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is the European anthem; the United Nations5 and the African Union6 also have unofficial anthems. The Olympic Movement also has its own anthem. Esperanto speakers at meetings often use the song "La Espero" as their anthem. Creators Rouget de Lisle performing "La Marseillaise" for the first time Most of the best-known national anthems were written by little-known or unknown composers such as Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composer of "La Marseillaise" and John Stafford Smith who wrote the tune for "The Anacreontic Song" which became the tune for "The Star-Spangled Banner". The author of "God Save the Queen" one of the oldest and best known in the world is unknown and disputed. Very few countries have a national anthem written by a world renowned composer some exceptions are Germany whose anthem "Das Lied der Deutschen" uses a melody written by Joseph Haydn and Austria whose national anthem "Land der Berge Land am Strome" was sometimes credited to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A few anthems have been composed by Nobel prize winners. India and Bangladesh adopted two songs written by the first Asian Nobel prize winner and noted Bengali poet/author Rabindranath Tagore as their national anthems Jana Gana Mana and Amar Shonar Bangla respectively. This is a very rare occasion where one person is the author of the national anthems of two different countries if not unique. Nobel prize winner Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson wrote the lyrics for the Norwegian national anthem Ja vi elsker dette landet. Other countries had its anthems composed by locally important people. This is the case for Colombia whose anthem was composed by a former president and poet Rafael Nuez who also wrote the ancient constitution. Modality While most national anthems are in the standard major scale there are a number of notable exceptions. "Hatikvah" (Israel) "Mila Rodino" (Bulgaria) "Nad Tatrou sa blska"' (Slovakia) "Surudi Milli" (Tajikistan) and "Meni Qazaqstanm" (Kazakhstan) are in a minor scale while "Kimi ga Yo" (Japan) "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu" (Kenya) and "Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka" (Nepal) use pentatonic scales. "Ey Iran" (Iran unofficial) uses the Phrygian mode (known in Middle Eastern music as a variety of maqam kurd). The national anthem of South Africa is the only national anthem of the world that does not end on the same key on which it starts. The Afghan National Anthem uses parallel key modulation. See also List of national anthems References Japan Policy Research Institute JPRI Working Paper No. 79. The Indian National anthem "Jana Gana Mana" was transcribed from a poem by Rabandrinath Tagore. Published July 2001. Retrieved July 7 2007 "Spain struggles for a new anthem". The Economist. July 26 2007.  "Musical traditions in sports". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photogallery/0711/music.traditions.sports/content.3.html.  Yomiuri Shimbun Foul cried over Taiwan anthem at hoop tourney. Published August 6 2007 "Does the UN have a hymn or national anthem Fact Sheet # 9". United Nations Organization. http://www.un.org/geninfo/faq/factsheets/hymn.pdf.  African Union AU Symbols. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National anthem Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: National anthems szbszig.atw.hu lyric and instrumental of national anthems every countries national-anthems.net lyric and instrumental of national anthems every countries' around the world Nationalanthems.info lyric and history of national anthems every countries' around the world Nationalanthems.us translate lyric of national anthems every countries' around the world. Cuban National Anthem Website Cuban National Anthem interpreted by Cuban artists with music and voice. Recordings of countries' anthems around the world by the US Navy band v d eNational anthems of the world (list) Abkhazia  Acadia  Afghanistan  land  Albania  Algeria  Alsace  American Samoa  Andorra  Angola  Anguilla  Antigua and Barbuda  Argentina  Armenia  Aruba  Australia  Austria  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Bahamas  Bangladesh  Barbados  Basque Country  Belarus  Belgium  Belize  Benin  Bermuda  Bhutan  Bolivia  Bonaire  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Botswana  Brazil  Brittany  Brunei  Bulgaria  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cambodia  Cameroon  Canada  Cape Verde  Catalonia  Cayman Islands  Central African Republic  Chad  Chile  China  China (mainland) People's Republic of China  China (Taiwan) Republic of China  Colombia  Comoros  Congo Democratic Republic of the  Congo Republic of the  Cook Islands  Cornwall  Corsica  Costa Rica  Cte d'Ivoire  Croatia  Cuba  Curaao  Cyprus  Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Djibouti  Dominica  Dominican Republic  East Timor  Ecuador  Egypt  El Salvador  England  Equatorial Guinea  Eritrea  Estonia  Ethiopia  Faroe Islands  Federated States of Micronesia  Fiji  Finland  Flanders  France  French Guiana  French Polynesia  Gabon  Galicia  Gambia  Georgia  Germany  Ghana  Gibraltar  Greece  Greenland  Grenada  Guadeloupe  Guam  Guatemala  Guernsey  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Guyana  Haiti  Hawaii  Honduras  Hungary  Iceland  India  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Ireland  Isle of Man  Israel  Italy  Jamaica  Japan  Jersey  Jordan  Republic of Karelia  Kenya  Kazakhstan  Kiribati  Kurdistan  Kuwait  Kyrgyzstan  Laos  Latvia  Lebanon  Lesotho  Liberia  Libya  Liechtenstein  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Macedonia Republic of  Madagascar  Malawi  Malaysia  Maldives  Mali  Malta  Marshall Islands  Martinique  Mauritania  Mauritius  Mexico  Moldova  Monaco  Mongolia  Montenegro  Montserrat  Morocco  Mozambique  Myanmar  Nagorno-Karabakh  Namibia  Nauru  Nepal  Netherlands  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Niger  Nigeria  Niue  North Korea  Northern Ireland  Norway  Oman  Pakistan  Palau  Palestine  Panama  Papua New Guinea  Paraguay  Peru  Philippines  Poland  Portugal  Puerto Rico  Qatar  Runion  Romania  Russia  Rwanda  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Samoa  San Marino  So Tom and Prncipe  Saudi Arabia  Scotland  Senegal  Serbia  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Singapore  Slovakia  Slovenia  Solomon Islands  Somalia  South Africa  South Korea  Spain  Sri Lanka  Sudan  Suriname  Svalbard  Swaziland  Sweden  Switzerland  Syria  Tajikistan  Tanzania  Tatarstan  Thailand  Togo  Tonga  Trinidad and Tobago  Transnistria  Tunisia  Turkey  Turkmenistan  Tuva  Tuvalu  Uganda  Ukraine  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom  United States  Uruguay  Uzbekistan  Vanuatu  Vatican City  Venezuela  Vietnam  Virgin Islands British  Virgin Islands U.S.  Wales  Wallis and Futuna  Yemen  Wallonia  Zambia  Zimbabwe Complete List  Africa  Asia  Europe  North America  Oceania and the Pacific Islands  South America