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Nad Tatrou sa blýska

Nad Tatrou sa blýska is the national anthem of Slovakia. The song arose in 1844 during a campaign of the students of the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum of Bratislava to the town of Levoča in protest against the deprival of Ľudovít Štúr by Hungarian authorities (for details see under Ľudovít Štúr). The text has been written by Janko Matúška in 1844 during the campaign, but the melody has been taken from the folk song Kopala studienku (She was digging a little well). It became popular during the Slovak Volunteer campaigns of 1848/1849. However, it was published in print only in 1851. In 1920 the first verse became part of the Czechoslovak anthem, which consisted of the present-day Czech anthem Kde domov můj? followed by the first part of the present-day Slovak anthem. In 1993, the first two verses became the national anthem of independent Slovakia. Only two verses are in the Slovak anthem

Text

Nad Tatrou sa blýska
hromy divo bijú.
Zastavme ich bratia,
ved' sa ony stratia,
Slováci ožijú.
To Slovensko naše
posiaľ tvrdo spalo.
Ale blesky hromu
vzbudzujú ho k tomu,
aby sa prebralo.


Už Slovensko vstáva
putá si strháva
Hej rodina milá
hodina odbila,
žije matka Sláva
Ešte jedle rastú
na krivánskej strane
Kto jak Slovák cíti,
nech sa šable chytí,
a medzi nás vstane


Literal translation:

There is lightning over the Tatra,
thunderclaps are striking ferociously.
Let us stop them, brothers,
(you will see that) they will disappear,
the Slovaks will revive.
This, our Slovakia
has long been fast asleep.
But the lightning of the thunder
is rousing it
to wake up.


Already Slovakia is waking up,
throwing off its bonds
Hey dear family
the hour has ticked away
Mother Slavia is alive
Firs yet grow
on the slopes of Kriváň
Whoever is feeling like a Slovak,
let him take a sword
and let him rise among us.

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Last updated: 06-02-2005 13:26:05
Last updated: 09-03-2005 18:37:12