Els Segadors

**National anthem of Catalonia**

"**The Reapers**" is the national anthem of Catalonia. Composed by Francesc Alió in 1892 and written by Emili Guanyavents in 1899, the original song dates back to 1640 based on *Corpus de Sang* during the Thirty Years' War, where the event started the Catalan Revolt—known as the Reapers' War (*Guerra dels Segadors*).

For a long time, this song has been the *de facto* national anthem, sometimes alongside the *Cant de la Senyera*. The Catalan government made *Els Segadors* official in 1993. This desicion was confirmed by the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006's Article 8.4.

In October 2017 after the aftermath of the Catalan independence referendum, American heavy metal band A Sound of Thunder produced their own heavy metal version of *Els Segadors* with lyrics in both Catalan and English. The lead singer and lyricist Nina Osegueda is of Catalan and Salvadoran origin, and the band became famous in Catalonia and well-respected among Catalonians after releasing their version of *Els Segadors*.

## Lyrics

### Catalan original

Catalunya triomfant,

tornarà a ser rica i plena.

Endarrera aquesta gent

tan ufana i tan superba.

**Tornada:**

Bon cop de falç!

Bon cop de falç!

Defensors de la terra!

Bon cop de falç!

Ara és hora, segadors.

Ara és hora d'estar alerta.

Per quan vingui un altre juny,

esmolem ben bé les eines.

***Tornada***

Que tremoli l'enemic,

en veient la nostra ensenya.

Com fem caure espigues d'or,

quan convé seguem cadenes.

***Tornada***

### In other languages

Catalunya triomfant (Catalonia triumphant)
Our land will be bountiful again
So destroy the enemy
Their conceit has sentenced them to death

**Chorus:**
Raise up your scythes
Raise up your scythes
Defenders of the land
Raise up your scythes

Now is the time reapers
You can see our vengeance is nigh
So when June comes again
Sharpen your blades, raise them high

***Chorus***

And the enemy will tremble
When they see our symbols raised
Just as we cut the golden ears of wheat
Now they will see us cut our chains

***Chorus***

Catalonha triomfant,
tornarà èsser rica e plena.
Endarrièra aquelas gents
amb tan d'ufan e supèrba.

**Arrepic:**
Bon còp de fauç!
Bon còp de fauç!
Defensors de la tèrra!
Bon còp de fauç!

Ara es l'ora, segadors.
Ara es l'ora sètz a l'espèra.
Per quand vendrà un autre junh
amolam plan ben las asinas.

***Arrepic***

Que tremòle l'enemic
en vesent la nòstra ensenha.
Coma dalham espigas d'aur,
quand nos cal segam cadenas.

***Arrepic***

Cataluña, triunfante,
¡volverá a ser rica y plena!
¡Atrás esta gente
tan ufana y tan soberbia!

**Estribillo:**
¡Buen golpe de hoz!
¡Buen golpe de hoz!
Defensores de la tierra!
¡Buen golpe de hoz!

¡Ahora es hora, segadores!
¡Ahora es hora de estar alerta!
Para cuando venga otro junio
¡afilemos bien las herramientas!

***Estribillo***

Que tiemble el enemigo
al ver nuestra enseña:
como hacemos caer espigas de oro,
cuando conviene segamos cadenas.

***Estribillo***

## References

1. ↑ Law 1/1993, 25 February, of the national anthem. *dogc.vlex.es*.
2. ↑ Generalitat de Catalunya: National symbols
3. ↑ Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, Article 8.1: "The flag, the holiday and the anthem are the national symbols of Catalonia, defined as a nationality by Article 1" (PDF). *parlament.cat*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 LLETRA A SOUND OF THUNDER ELS SEGADORS NATIONAL ANTHEM OF CATALONIA – M'agrada Catalunya
5. ↑ How A Heavy Metal Band From The DC Region Has Gone Viral in Catalonia (2017-12-10). WAMU.
6. ↑ Todo sobre ‘Els Segadors': la letra y su significado (2017-09-20). *El Plural*.
7. ↑ National anthem. *gencat.cat*.