# La Brabançonne

"La Brabançonne" (French: (La Brabançonne); Dutch: "De Brabançonne"; German: "Das Lied von Brabant") is the national anthem of Belgium. The originally French title refers to the Duchy of Brabant; the name is usually untranslated in Belgium's other two official languages, Dutch and German.

## History

According to legend, the Belgian national anthem was written in September 1830, during the Belgian Revolution, by a young revolutionary called "Jenneval", who read the lyrics during a meeting at the Aigle d'Or café.
Jenneval, a Frenchman whose real name was Alexandre Dechet (sometimes known as Louis-Alexandre Dechet), wrote the Brabançonne. At the time, he was an actor at the theatre where, in August 1830, the revolution started, which led to independence from the Netherlands. Jenneval died in the war of independence. François van Campenhout composed the accompanying score, based on the tune of a French song called "L'Air des lanciers polonais" ("the tune of the Polish Lancers"), written by the French poet Eugène de Pradel, whose tune was itself an adaptation of the tune of a song, "L'Air du magistrat irréprochable", found in a popular collection of drinking songs called La Clé du caveau (The Key to the cellar) and it was first performed in September 1830.
In 1860, Belgium formally adopted the song and music as its national anthem, although the then prime minister, Charles Rogier, edited out lyrics attacking the Dutch House of Orange, inspired by the version written by Louis Hymans.
The Brabançonne is also a monument (1930) by the sculptor Charles Samuel on the Surlet de Chokier square in Brussels. The monument contains partial lyrics of both the French and Dutch versions of the anthem. Like many elements in Belgian folklore, this is mainly based on the French "La Marseillaise" which is also both an anthem and the name of a monument – the sculptural group Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, commonly called La Marseillaise, at the base of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

## Lyrics
### Current version

Various committees were charged with reviewing the text and tune of the Brabançonne and establishing an official version. A ministerial circular of the Ministry of the Interior on 8 August 1921 decreed that only the fourth verse of the text by Charles Rogier should be considered official for all three, French, German and in Dutch.
| French (La Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
| Noble Belgique, ô mère chérie, À toi nos cœurs, à toi nos bras, À toi notre sang, ô Patrie ! Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras ! Tu vivras toujours grande et belle Et ton invincible unité 𝄆 Aura pour devise immortelle : Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! 𝄇 𝄆 Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! 𝄇 | [nɔ.blœ bɛl.ʒi.kœ | o mɛ.ʁø ʃe.ʁi.œ] [a twa no kœʁ | a twa no bʁa] [a twa nɔ.tʁœ sɑ̃ | o pa.tʁi.œ ǁ] [nu lø ʒy.ʁɔ̃ tus | ty vi.vʁa ǁ] [ty vi.vʁa tu.ʒuʁ ɡʁɑ̃d‿e bɛ.lœ] [e tɔ̃ ɛ̃.vɛ̃.sibl‿y.ni.te] 𝄆 [o.ʁa puʁ dø.vi.z(ø)(‿)i.mɔʁ.tɛ.lœ |] [lø ʁwa | la lwa | la li.bɛʁ.te ǁ] 𝄇 𝄆 [lø ʁwa | la lwa | la li.bɛʁ.te ǁ] 𝄇 | Noble Belgium, O dear mother To you our hearts, to you our arms, To you our blood, O Fatherland! We all swear, you shall live! You shall always live great and beautiful, And your invincible unity 𝄆 Shall have as an immortal motto: The King, the Law, Liberty! 𝄇 𝄆 The King, the Law, Liberty! 𝄇 |
| Dutch (De Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
| O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren, Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd. Aanvaard ons kracht en het bloed van onze ad'ren, Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd. Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken; Wees immer uzelf en ongeknecht, 𝄆 Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken, Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! 𝄇 𝄆 Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! 𝄇 | [oː(w) ˈdiːr.baːr ˈbɛɫ.ɣ(i)jø̜ | oː(w) ˈɦɛi̯.ləx lɑn‿dɛr ˈvaː.drən |] [ˈɔn.zø̜ ziɫ ɛn ɔns ɦɑrt zɛi̯n y ɣø̜.ˈʋɛi̯t ǁ] [aːn.ˈvaːrt ɔns krɑxt ɛn ɦø̜t blut vɑn ˈɔn.zø̜ ˈaː.drən |] [ʋeː(i̯)s ɔns dul ɪn ˈɑr.bɛi̯t ɛn ɪn strɛi̯t ǁ] [blui̯ | oː(w) lɑnt | ɪn ˈeː(i̯)n.drɑxt nit tø̜ ˈbreː(i̯).kən |] [ʋeː(i̯)s ˈɪ.mø̜r y.ˈzɛɫf ɛn ˌɔn.ɣø̜.ˈknɛxt |] 𝄆 [ɦət ʋoːrt ɣø̜.ˈtrɑu | dɑt ɣ(ø̜)(‿)ɔn.bø̜.ˈvreː(i̯)st moː(w)xt ˈspreː(i̯).kən |] [voːr vɔrst | voːr ˈvrɛi.ɦɛi̯t ɛn voːr rɛxt ǁ] 𝄇 𝄆 [voːr vɔrst | voːr ˈvrɛi.ɦɛi̯t ɛn voːr rɛxt ǁ] 𝄇 | O dear Belgium, O holy land of the fathers, Our soul and our heart are devoted to you. Accept our strength and the blood in our veins, Be our goal in labour and in strife. Prosper, O land, in unbreakable unity; Always be yourself and unenslaved, 𝄆 Faithful to the word that you may speak fearlessly, For King, for Freedom and for Justice! 𝄇 For King, for Freedom and for Justice! 𝄇 |
| German (Die Brabançonne) | IPA transcription | English translation |
| O liebes Land, o Belgiens Erde, Dir unser Herz, Dir unsere Hand, Dir unser Blut, o Heimaterde, wir schwören's Dir, o Vaterland! So blühe froh in voller Schöne, zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog, 𝄆 und fortan singen Deine Söhne: Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! 𝄇 𝄆 Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! 𝄇 | [oː ˈliː.bəs lant | oː ˈbɛl.ɡi̯əns ˈʔeːɐ̯.də |] [diːɐ̯ ˈʔʊn.zɐ hɛɐ̯t͡s | diːɐ̯ ˈʔʊn.zʁə hant | ] [diːɐ̯ ˈʔʊn.zɐ bluːt | oː ˈhaɪ̯.ma(ː)t.ʔeːɐ̯.də |] [viːɐ̯ ˈʃvøː.ʁəns diːɐ̯ | oː ˈfaː.tɐˌlant ǁ] [zoː ˈblyː.ə fʁoː ʔɪn ˈfɔ.lɐ ˈʃøː.nə |] [t͡suː deːɐ̯ diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t dɪç ʔɛɐ̯.ˈt͡soːk |] 𝄆 [ʔʊnt fɔʁt.ˈʔan ˈzɪŋ.ən ˈdaɪ̯.nə ˈzøː.nə |] [ɡə.ˈzɛts ʊnt ˈkøː.nɪç ʔʊn‿diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t hoːx ǁ] 𝄇 𝄆 [ɡə.ˈzɛts ʊnt ˈkøː.nɪç ʔʊn‿diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t hoːx ǁ] 𝄇 | O dear country, O Belgium's soil; To you our heart, to you our hand, To you our blood, O homeland, We swear it to you, O fatherland! So bloom happily in full beauty, To which freedom has raised you, 𝄆 And henceforth your sons sing: Law and King and Freedom high! 𝄇 𝄆 Law and King and Freedom high! 𝄇 |

### Modern short trilingual version

In recent years, an unofficial short version of the anthem is sung during Belgian National Day on 21 July each year, combining the words of the anthem in all three of Belgium's official languages, similar to the bilingual version of "O Canada". The lyrics are from the 4th verse of the anthem.
| 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 – |
| Dutch | 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! |
| French | 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, |
| German | 6 | zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog, | [t͡suː deːɐ̯ diː ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t dɪç ʔɛɐ̯.ˈt͡soːk |] | Into what freedom has taught you to be, |
| German | 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, |
| Dutch | 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! |