La Brabançonne
La Brabançonne (French pronunciation: [la bʁabɑ̃sɔn]; Dutch: De Brabançonne, German: Das Lied von Brabant; "The Brabantian") is the national anthem of Belgium. It was written by Frenchman Alexandre Dechet. It currently has official lyrics in Belgium's three official languages- French, Dutch, and German. Before the main song, "Vive la Belgique" is said in French.
Lyrics
Modern lyrics
French (La Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
---|---|---|
Noble Belgique, ô mère chérie, |
[nɔ.blœ bɛl.ʒi.kœ | o mɛ.ʁø ʃe.ʁi.œ] |
Noble Belgium, O dear mother |
Dutch (De Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren, |
[oː(w) ˈdiːr.baːr ˈbɛɫ.ɣ(i)jø̜ | oː(w) ˈɦɛi̯.ləx lɑn‿dɛr ˈvaː.drən |] |
O dear Belgium, O holy land of the fathers, |
German (Die Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
O liebes Land, o Belgiens Erde, |
[oː ˈliː.bəs lant | oː ˈbɛl.ɡi̯əns ˈʔeːɐ̯.də |] |
O dear country, O Belgium's soil; |
Trilingual version
Language | No. | Line | IPA transcription | Translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dutch | 1 | O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren, | [oː(w) ˈdiːr.baːr ˈbɛɫ.ɣ(i)jø̜ | oː(w) ˈɦɛi̯.ləx lɑn‿dɛr ˈvaː.drən |] | O dear Belgium, O holy land of the fathers – |
2 | Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd. | [ˈɔn.zø̜ ziɫ ɛn ɔns ɦɑrt zɛi̯n y ɣø̜.ˈʋɛi̯t ǁ] | Our soul and our heart are devoted to you! | |
French | 3 | À toi notre sang, ô Patrie ! | [a twa nɔ.tʁœ sɑ̃ | o pa.tʁi.œ ǁ] | With blood to spill for you, O fatherland! |
4 | Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras ! | [nu lø ʒy.ʁɔ̃ tus | ty vi.vʁa ǁ] | We swear with one cry – You shall live! | |
German | 5 | So blühe froh in voller Schöne, | [zoː ˈblyː.ə fʁoː ʔɪn ˈfɔ.lɐ ˈʃøː.nə |] | So gladly bloom in beauty full, |
6 | zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog, | [t͡suː deːɐ̯ diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t dɪç ʔɛɐ̯.ˈt͡soːk |] | Into what freedom has taught you to be, | |
7 | und fortan singen Deine Söhne: | [ʔʊnt fɔʁt.ˈʔan ˈzɪŋ.ən ˈdaɪ̯.nə ˈzøː.nə |] | And evermore shall sing your sons: | |
French | 8 | Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! | [lø ʁwa | la lwa | la li.bɛʁ.te ǁ] | The King, the Law, the Liberty! |
Dutch | 9 | Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken, | [ɦət ʋoːrt ɣø̜.ˈtrɑu | dɑt ɣ‿ɔn.bø̜.ˈvreː(i̯)st moː(w)xt ˈspreː(i̯).kən |] | Faithful to the word that you may speak boldly, |
10 | Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! | [voːr vɔrst | voːr ˈvrɛi.ɦɛi̯t ɛn voːr rɛxt ǁ] | For King, for Freedom and for Law! | |
German | 11 | Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! | [ɡə.ˈzɛts ʊnt ˈkøː.nɪç ʔʊn‿diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t hoːx ǁ] | To Law and King and Freedom, hail! |
French | 12 | Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! | [lø ʁwa | la lwa | la li.bɛʁ.te ǁ] | The King, the Law, the Liberty! |
La Brabançonne Media
Monument for the anthem in Brussels
Lithograph of Jenneval
Lithograph of Campenhout singing the Brabançonne