Quick facts for kids
Боже правде
| English: God of Justice |
| Bože pravde |
Sheet music (for mixed choir)
|
| National anthem of |
Serbia |
| Lyrics |
Jovan Đorđević, 1872 |
| Music |
Davorin Jenko, 1872 |
| Adopted |
6 March 1882
(Kingdom of Serbia) |
"Bože pravde" (pronounced: BOH-zheh PRAHV-deh), which means "God of Justice," is the official national anthem of Serbia. A national anthem is a special song that represents a country. This song was first used by the Kingdom of Serbia until 1919. Later, it became the anthem again in 2006, after Serbia became an independent country once more.
History of the Anthem
The story of "Bože pravde" began in 1872. A new ruler, Prince Milan Obrenović, came to power in Serbia. He asked Jovan Đorđević, who managed the National Theater in Belgrade, to create a play.
How the Song Was Born
Jovan Đorđević wrote a play called Marko kazuje na kome je carstvo. This play was meant to celebrate Serbian history. For the play, a composer named Davorin Jenko wrote the music for "Bože pravde." The song quickly became very popular with the people.
Becoming the Official Anthem
In 1882, Prince Milan became the King of Serbia. Jovan Đorđević changed the words of the song slightly. This new version officially became the first national anthem of Serbia.
Later, in 1903, the Obrenović family stopped ruling Serbia. The Karađorđevićs family took over, with King Peter I. King Peter wanted to change the country's symbols, including the anthem. However, after trying different options, it was decided in 1909 to make "Bože pravde" the official anthem again. Only small changes were made to the words.
Changes Over Time
When "Bože pravde" was the anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia, its words sometimes changed. This depended on who was ruling the country. For example, when Prince Milan was in charge, the words were "God, save Prince Milan." When he became King, it changed to "King Milan." Later, the words were adjusted for other kings like Peter I and Alexander I.
"Bože pravde" was also part of the national anthem for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This country later became known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
A New Anthem and Its Return
After World War II ended in 1945, "Bože pravde" was no longer the national anthem. A new song called "Hey, Slavs" became the anthem for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This lasted for 47 years.
When Yugoslavia broke apart in the early 1990s, Serbia became independent again. Many Serbs did not like "Hey, Slavs" anymore. They often booed it at events like sports games. In 2004, the Serbian Parliament suggested using "Bože pravde" again. This was officially confirmed in 2006. The words were slightly changed to fit modern Serbia, which is no longer a kingdom. For example, "Serbian king" was changed to "Serbian lands."
"Bože pravde" was also used as a regional anthem for Republika Srpska (a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina) until 2006. However, a court decided that it was not allowed to be their anthem anymore.
Lyrics
The full national anthem of Serbia has eight parts, called stanzas. But usually, only the first two parts are sung at public events. This is done to keep the performance shorter. The third part is also often left out even in longer performances.
| Serbian Cyrillic |
Serbian Latin |
IPA transcription |
Poetic English translation |
I
Боже правде, ти што спасе
од пропасти досад нас,
чуј и одсад наше гласе
и од сад нам буди спас.
Моћном руком води, брани
будућности српске брод,
𝄆 Боже спаси, Боже xрани,
српске земље, српски род! 𝄇
II
Сложи српску браћу драгу
на свак дичан славан рад,
слога биће пораз врагу
а најјачи српству град.
Нек на српској блиста грани
братске слоге златан плод,
𝄆 Боже спаси, Боже xрани
српске земље, српски род! 𝄇
III
Нек на српско ведро чело
твог не падне гнева гром
Благослови Србу село
поље, њиву, град и дом!
Кад наступе борбе дани
к победи му води ход
𝄆 Боже спаси, Боже xрани
српске земље, српски род! 𝄇
IV
Из мрачнога сину гроба
српске славе нови сјај
настало је ново доба
Нову срећу, Боже дај!
Отаџбину српску брани
петвековне борбе плод
𝄆 Боже спаси, Боже брани
моли ти се српски род! 𝄇
|
I
Bože pravde, ti što spase
od propasti dosad nas,
čuj i odsad naše glase
i od sad nam budi spas.
Moćnom rukom vodi, brani
budućnosti srpske brod,
𝄆 Bože spasi, Bože hrani,
srpske zemlje, srpski rod! 𝄇
II
Složi srpsku braću dragu
na svak dičan slavan rad,
sloga biće poraz vragu
a najjači srpstvu grad.
Nek na srpskoj blista grani
bratske sloge zlatan plod,
𝄆 Bože spasi, Bože hrani
srpske zemlje, srpski rod! 𝄇
III
Nek na srpsko vedro čelo
tvog ne padne gneva grom
Blagoslovi Srbu selo
polje, njivu, grad i dom!
Kad nastupe borbe dani
k pobedi mu vodi hod
𝄆 Bože spasi, Bože hrani
srpske zemlje, srpski rod! 𝄇
IV
Iz mračnoga sinu groba
srpske slave novi sjaj
nastalo je novo doba
Novu sreću, Bože daj!
Otadžbinu srpsku brani
petvekovne borbe plod
𝄆 Bože spasi, Bože brani
moli ti se srpski rod! 𝄇
|
1
[bôː.ʒe prâːʋ.de tîː ʃtô spâː.se]
[ôd prǒ.pas.ti dǒ.sad nâːs]
[t͡ʃûːj i ôdsâd nâ.ʃe ɡlâː.se]
[i ôd sâd nâm bu.di spâːs]
[môt͡ɕ.nom rǔː.koːm vo.di bra.ni]
[bu.dut͡ɕ.nos.ti sr̩p.ske brôːd]
𝄆 [bôː.ʒe spâː.si bôː.ʒe xra.ni]
[sr̩p.ske zem.ʎe sr̂p.ski rôːd] 𝄇
2
[slo.ʒi sr̩p.sku bra.t͡ɕu dra.gu]
[na sʋâːk di.t͡ʃan slâː.ʋan râːd]
[slô.ɡa bǐː.t͡ɕe pô.raːz ʋraː.gu]
[a naj.ja.t͡ʃi sřp.stʋu ɡrâːd]
[nek na sr̩p.skoj blis.ta ɡraː.ni]
[brat.skeː slo.ge zlǎː.tan plôːd]
𝄆 [bôː.ʒe spâː.si bôː.ʒe xra.ni]
[sr̩p.ske zem.ʎe sr̂p.ski rôːd] 𝄇
3
[nek na sr̩p.sko ʋed.r̩o t͡ʃě.lo]
[tʋôg ne pad.ne gne.ʋa ɡrôːm]
[bla.ɡo.slo.ʋi sr̩.bu sě.lo]
[pô.ʎe ɲi.ʋu ɡrâːd i dôːm]
[kâd na.stuː.pe bor.be daː.ni]
[k‿po.be.di mu ʋo.di xôːd]
𝄆 [bôː.ʒe spâː.si bôː.ʒe xra.ni]
[sr̩p.ske zem.ʎe sr̂p.ski rôːd] 𝄇
4
[iz mraːt͡ʃ.no.ga sîː.nu gro.ba]
[sr̩p.ske sla.ʋe nô.ʋi sjâːj]
[nǎ.sta.lo je no.ʋo dôː.ba]
[no.ʋu sre.t͡ɕu bôː.ʒe daj]
[o.tad͡ʒ.bi.nu sr̩p.sku bra.ni]
[pet.ʋe.koʋ.ne bor.be plôːd]
𝄆 [bôː.ʒe spâː.si bôː.ʒe xra.ni]
[mo.li ti se sr̂p.ski rôːd] 𝄇
|
I
God of Justice; Thou who saved us
when in deepest bondage cast,
Hear Thy Serbian children's voices,
Be our help as in the past.
With Thy mighty hand sustain us,
Still our rugged pathway trace;
𝄆 God, our hope; protect and cherish,
Serbian lands and Serbian race! 𝄇
II
Bind in closest links our kindred
Teach the love that will not fail,
May the loathed fiend of discord
Never in our ranks prevail.
Let the golden fruits of union
Our young tree of freedom grace;
𝄆 God, our Master! Guide and prosper,
Serbian lands and Serbian race! 𝄇
III
Lord! Avert from us Thy vengeance,
Thunder of Thy dreaded ire;
Bless each Serbian town and hamlet,
Mountain, meadow, hearth and spire!
When our host goes forth to battle
Death or victory to embrace-
𝄆 God of armies! Be our leader,
Strengthen then the Serbian race! 𝄇
IV
On our sepulcher of ages
Breaks the resurrection morn,
From the slough of direst slavery
Serbia anew is born.
Through five hundred years of durance
We have knelt before Thy face,
𝄆 All our kin, O God! Deliver,
Thus entreats the Serbian race! 𝄇
|
See also
In Spanish: Bože Pravde para niños
