National Anthem

"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish–born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. In order for the song to become the anthem, it had to face a vote between the Royal anthem God Save the Queen and the "unofficial anthem" Waltzing Matilda. Other songs and marches have been influenced...

March of the Volunteers is the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, and therefore, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since July 1, 1997 and the Macau Special Administrative Region since December 20, 1999, written by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han with music composed by Nie Er. This composition is a musical march. The piece was first performed as part of a 1934 Shanghai play and its original lyrics are the official lyrics of the national anthem. In 2004, a...

, often translated as "May your reign last forever" is Japan's national anthem, and is also one of the world's shortest national anthems in current use. The lyrics are based on a ''Waka'' poem written in the ''Heian'' period, sung to a melody written in the later ''Meiji'' Era. The current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed eleven years earlier. Although Kimi ga Yo had long been Japan's de facto national anthem, it was only legally recognized as such in 1999 with...

"God Save the Queen", or "God Save the King", is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realm; it is the national anthem of the United Kingdom, one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, and the royal anthem of Australia, Canada, the Isle of Man, Belize and Jamaica. In countries not previously part of the British Empire the tune of "God Save the Queen" has also been used as the basis for different patriotic songs, though still generally connected with royal ceremony. The authorship of...

"Army March" (Vietnamese language: Tiến Quân Ca) is the national anthem of Vietnam. It was written and composed by Văn Cao (1923-1995) in 1944, and was adopted as the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945. It became the national anthem of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. Although written with 2 verses, only the first one is used as the official anthem. The sixth line was originally: "Thề phanh thây uống máu quân thù" The sixth line was originally: "We...

"Pheng Xat Lao" was composed by Dr. Thongdy Sounthonevichit (1905-1968) in 1941 and adopted as the national anthem of the Kingdom of Laos in 1947. The original lyrics were replaced when the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established in 1975 by new lyrics written by Sisana Sisane. ຊາດລາວຕັ້ງແຕ່ໃດມາ ລາວທຸກຖ້ວນຫນ້າເຊີດຊູສຸດໃຈຮ່ວມແຮງຮ່ວມຈິດຮ່ວມໃຈ ສາມັກຄີກັນເປັນກຳລັງດຽວເດັດດ່ຽວພ້ອມກັນກ້າວຫນ້າ ບູຊາຊູກຽດຂອງລາວສົ່ງເສີມໃຊ້ສິດເປັນເຈົ້າ ລາວທຸກຊົນເຜົ່າສະເໝີພາບກັນບໍ່ໃຫ້ຝູງຈັກກະພັດ ແລະພວກຂາຍຊາດເຂົ...

Jana Gana Mana ( Jôno Gôno Mono) is the national anthem of India. Written in Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was first sung at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress,on 27 December 1911. Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950. A formal rendition of the national anthem takes about forty-eight to fifty-two seconds. A...

The İstiklâl Marşı (Independence March) is the Turkish National Anthem, officially adopted on March 12, 1921 - two years before the October 29, 1923 establishment of the modern day Republic of Turkey, both as a motivational musical saga for the troops fighting on the Turkish War of Independence, and as a heroic anthem for the Republic that was to be established once victory was achieved. The composition has also been adopted as the National Anthem of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. A...

Aegukka (The Patriotic Song) is the national anthem of North Korea. It is also known by the first phrase of the song Ach'imŭn pinnara or "Let Morning Shine." Before the founding of North Korea, the northern part of Korea initially had as its anthem the same song as South Korea, but North Korea adopted this newly-written piece in 1947. The words were written by Pak Seyŏng (박세영; 朴世永; 1902–1989) and the music was composed by Kim Wŏn'gyun (김원균; 金元均; 1917–2002).

The National Anthem of Mongolia was created in 1950. The music is a composition by Bilegiin Damdinsüren (1919 - 1991) and Luvsanyamts Murdorj (1915 - 1996), the lyrics were written by Tsendiin Damdinsüren (1908 - 1988). Over the twentieth century, Mongolia had several national anthems. The first one was used between 1924 and 1950. The second between 1950 and 1962, and a third one between 1961 and 1991. Since 1991, most of the anthem of 1950 is used again, but the second verse (praising Lenin,...

The "National anthem of Honduras" (Spanish Himno Nacional de Honduras) was adopted under presidential decree 42 in 1915. The lyrics were written by Augusto Constancio Coello and the music composed by Carlos Hartling. In its entirety, the anthem is a brief chronology of Honduran history. The anthem consists of the chorus and seven verses. But, for official acts, only the chorus and the seventh are sung. The chorus, which is sung before and after the seventh verse, is a description of Honduras'...

Kassaman or Qassaman (The Pledge) is the national anthem of Algeria. It was adopted in 1963, shortly after independence from France. The lyrics are by Mufdi Zakariah (written in 1956 while imprisoned by French colonial forces) and the music is by Egypt composer Mohamed Fawzi. The following verse used to also be part of the anthem, but is no longer:

Das Deutschlandlied ("The Germany Song", also known as Das Lied der Deutschen, "The Song of the Germans") has been used wholly or partially as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. Outside Germany, the hymn is sometimes informally known by the opening words and refrain of the first stanza, Deutschland, Deutschland über alles (Germany, Germany above everything), but this was never the title of the original work. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as anthem for the birthday of...

La Borinqueña is the national anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The current official music and words were codified in 1903 and have since been taught in schools and generally adopted by the public. The music was officially adopted by the government in 1952, and the words in 1977. The title refers to the aboriginal Taíno name for the island of Puerto Rico, Boriken or Borinquen. The music was originally credited to Félix Astol Artés in 1867 as an habanera danza, with romantic lyrics,...