South African Flag Songs
South Africa’s national anthem is a musical diamond, being the only neo-modal national anthem in the world. But what does that mean, and what are the lyrics?
South Africa’s national anthem combines new English lyrics with extracts from the 19th-century hymn ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ and the Afrikaans song ‘Die Stem van Suid-Afrika’.
‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (Lord, Bless Africa)’ is the official anthem of the African National Congress, while ‘Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (The Call of South Africa)’ was the country’s national anthem during Apartheid.
When South Africa won the Rugby World Cup back in 1995, the songs were as usual heard alongside each other – and the powers-that-be decided to finally acknowledge both songs as national anthems. Two years later, they merged into one song.
Today, South Africa’s anthem is the only neo-modal national anthem in the world, meaning it is the only one that starts in one key and finishes in another.
Read more: The greatest national anthems in the world
The South African national anthems
What are the lyrics to South Africa’s national anthem?
South Africa’s national anthem features five of the most widely spoken of the country’s eleven official languages – Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English.
You can find all the lyrics below, along with an English translation beside each line.
Language: isiXhosa and isiZulu
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa)
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo, (Raise high Her glory)
Yizwa imithandazo yethu, (Hear our Prayers)
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo
(God bless us, we her children)
Language: Sesotho
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, (God protect our nation)
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, (End all wars and tribulations)
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, (Protect us, protect our nation)
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika. (Our nation South Africa - South Africa)
Language: Afrikaans
Uit die blou van onse hemel, (Ringing out from our blue heavens)
Uit die diepte van ons see, (From the depth of our seas)
Oor ons ewige gebergtes, (Over our everlasting mountains)
Waar die kranse antwoord gee, (Where the echoing crags resound)
Language: English
Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land.
"The Call of South Africa"
Ringing out from our blue heavens,
From our deep seas breaking round;
Over everlasting mountains,
Where the echoing crags resound;
From our plains where creaking wagons
Cut their trails into the earth,
Calls the spirit of our country,
Of the land that gave us birth.
At thy call we shall not falter,
Firm and steadfast we shall stand,
At thy will to live or perish,
O South Africa, dear land.
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In our body and our spirit,
In our inmost heart held fast;
In the promise of our future,
And the glory of our past;
In our will, our work, our striving,
From the cradle to the grave –
There's no land that shares our loving,
And no bond that can enslave.
Thou hast borne us and we know thee,
May our deeds to all proclaim
Our enduring love and service
To thy honour and thy name.
​
In the golden warmth of summer,
In the chill of winter's air,
In the surging life of springtime,
In the autumn of despair;
When the wedding bells are chiming
Or when those we love do depart,
Thou dost know us for thy children
And dost take us to thy heart
Loudly peals the answering chorus:
We are thine, and we shall stand,
Be it life or death, to answer
To thy call, beloved land.
​
In thy power, Almighty, trusting,
Did our fathers build of old;
Strengthen then, O Lord, their children
To defend, to love, to hold –
That the heritage they gave us
For our children yet may be:
Bondsmen only to the Highest[a]
And before the whole world free.
As our fathers trusted humbly,
Teach us, Lord to trust Thee still:
Guard our land and guide our people
In Thy way to do Thy will.
Literal translation of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"
​From the blue of our heavens
From the depths of our sea,
Over our eternal mountain ranges
Where the cliffs give an echo.
Through our far-deserted plains
With the groan of ox-wagon –
Rises the voice of our beloved,
Of our country South Africa.
We will answer to your calling,
We will offer what you ask:
We will live, we will die –
We for Thee, South Africa.
​​
In the marrow of our bones,
In our heart and soul and spirit,
In the glory of our past,
In our hope of what will be.
In our will and work and wander,
From our crib to our grave –
Share no other land our love,
No other loyalty can sway us.
Fatherland! We will bear the nobility,
Of your name with honour:
Dedicated and true as Afrikaners –
Children of South Africa.
​
In the sunglow of our summer,
In our winter night's cold,
In the spring of our love,
In the autumn of our sorrow.
At the sound of wedding bells,
At the stonefall on the coffin –
Soothes your voice us never in vain,
You know where your children are.
At your call we never say no,
We always, always say yes:
To live, to die –
Yes, we come, South Africa.
​
On your almight steadfast entrusted
Had our fathers built:
Give to us also the strength, o Lord!
To sustain and to preserve –
That the heritage of our fathers
For our children heritage remain:
Servants of the almighty,
Against the whole world free.
As our fathers trusted,
Teach us also to trust, o Lord –
With our land and with our nation
It will be well, God reigns.
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History
National anthems of South Africa
"God Save the King"1901–1952
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"1938–1952
"God Save the Queen"1952–1957
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"1952–1994
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika"1994–1997
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"1994–1997
"National anthem of South Africa"1997–present
Duration: 2 minutes and 12 seconds.2:12
A 1938 recording of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" being performed by the ASAF Choir, featuring the first and last verses.
Duration: 1 minute and 5 seconds.1:05
Mid-20th century recording of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" being performed by the South African Air Force Band.
Duration: 5 minutes and 7 seconds.5:07
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"'s all four stanzas sung by a choir in the mid-20th century
Duration: 5 minutes and 19 seconds.5:19
"The Call of South Africa" all four stanzas sung by a choir in the mid-20th century in English
Duration: 1 hour, 23 minutes and 52 seconds.1:23:52
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" performed by a US military band in 1994 as part of an official state visit by South African president Nelson Mandela to the US capital of Washington, DC.
Background and inception
In May 1918, C.J. Langenhoven wrote an Afrikaans poem called "Die Stem", for which music was composed in 1921 by Marthinus Lourens de Villiers [af], a reverend.The music composed that ended up being accepted was actually a second version; the first did not satisfy Langenhoven. It was widely used by the South African Broadcasting Corporation in the 1920s, which played it at the close of daily broadcasts, along with "God Save The King". It was recorded for the first time in 1926 when its first and third verses were performed by Betty Steyn in England for the Zonophone record label it was sung publicly for the first time on 31 May 1928 at a raising of the new South African national flag. In 1938, South Africa proclaimed it to be one of the two co-national anthems of the country, along with "God Save the King".
It was sung in English as well as Afrikaans from 1952 onward, with both versions having official status in the eyes of the state, while "God Save the Queen" did not cease to be a co-national anthem until May 1957, when it was dropped from that role. However, it remained the country's royal anthem until 1961, as it was a Commonwealth realm until that point. The poem originally had only three verses, but the government asked the author to add a fourth verse with a religious theme. The English version is for the most part a faithful translation of the Afrikaans version with a few minor changes.
Composition
It is uplifting in tone, addressing throughout of commitment to the Vaderland (English: Fatherland) and to God. However, it was generally disliked by black South Africans, who saw it as triumphalist and strongly associated it with the apartheid regime where one verse shows dedication to Afrikaners (though the specific mention of Afrikaners is omitted in the English version to avoid alienating the British-descent Anglophone whites living in South Africa as they are not considered Afrikaners) and another to the Great Trek of the Voortrekkers. P. W. Botha, who was the state president of South Africa during the 1980s, was fond of the song and made his entourage sing it when they visited Switzerland during his presidency.
Decline
As the dismantling of apartheid began in the early 1990s, South African teams were readmitted to international sporting events, which presented a problem as to the choice of national identity South Africa had to present. Agreements were made with the African National Congress (ANC) that "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" would not be sung at rugby matches, due to its connection to the apartheid system and minority rule (which led the ANC and other such groups at the time to view the song as offensive). However, at a rugby union test match against New Zealand in 1992, the crowd spontaneously sang "Die Stem" during a moment of silence for victims of political violence in South Africa, and although it was ostensibly agreed upon beforehand that it would not be played, an instrumental recording of "Die Stem" was played over the stadium's PA system's loudspeakers after the New Zealand national anthem was performed, and spectators sang along, sparking controversy afterwards.
Although it remained the official national anthem of the state during this time period, both the usage of it and the then-national flag began to dwindle whenever possible, particularly overseas. For example, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona that year, Schiller's "Ode to Joy", as set to Beethoven's music, was used instead of it, along with a neutral Olympic-style flag instead of the South African flag at the time.
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika"'s future seemed in doubt as the country prepared to transition to majority rule, with many predicting that it would not remain after the transition into the new democratic dispensation. In 1993, a commission sought out a new national anthem for South Africa, with 119 entries being suggested, but none were chosen. Instead, it was decided to retain "Die Stem"'s official status after the advent of full multi-racial democracy which followed the 1994 general election. When the old South African flag was lowered for the last time at the parliament building in Cape Town, "Die Stem" was performed in Afrikaans and then in English as the new South African flag was raised. After 1994, it shared equal status with "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", which had long been a traditional hymn used by the ANC. In 1995, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" was sung by a black choir at the Rugby World Cup final match, as it had been done at the 1994 South African presidential inauguration in Pretoria, first in Afrikaans and then in English.
​
Consolidation
The practice of singing two different national anthems had been a cumbersome arrangement during the transition to post-apartheid South Africa. On most occasions, it was usually the first verse of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" that was sung at ceremonies, in both official languages prior to 1994, with some English medium schools in what was then Natal Province singing the first verse in Afrikaans and the second in English. During this period of two national anthems, the custom was to play both "Die Stem" and "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" during occasions that required the playing of a national anthem. However, this proved cumbersome as performing the dual national anthems took as much as five minutes to conclude. In 1997, with the adoption of a new national constitution, a new composite national anthem was introduced, which combined part of "Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika" and part of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" into a single composition in order to form a new hybrid song.
Legacy
Since the end of apartheid and the adoption of a new national anthem in the 1990s, the status of "Die Stem" has become somewhat controversial in contemporary South Africa, due to its connection with the apartheid regime and white minority rule.
Although elements of it are used in the current South African national anthem, in recent years some South Africans have called for those segments to be removed due to their connection with apartheid, whereas others defend the inclusion of it, as it was done for post-apartheid re-conciliatory reasons. When "Die Stem" was mistakenly played by event organisers in place of the current South African national anthem during a UK-hosted women's field hockey match in 2012, it sparked outrage and confusion among the South African staff members and players present.
The Afrikaans version remains popular with Afrikaner nationalists[60] and far-right organisations such as the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, where it is sometimes performed at the funerals of such groups' members or at demonstrations by them. Die Stem was also the name of a far-right periodical during the apartheid era.
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Oranje-blanje-blou
Oranje-blanje-blou (Afrikaans for Orange, white and blue) refers, of course, to the old South African flag used between 1928 and 1994. This song was popular especially among Afrikaners when this flag flew over South Africa. The tune is by Henry Hugh Pierson (they don't say whether it was borrowed from this composer), and the lyrics are by an Afrikaans poet who wrote under the name Eitemal. The attribution for the text reads: "EITEMAL na: ,,O.D., hoch in Ehren''.
(There is a commonly used style of quotation marks, primarily German but often used in Afrikaans, that opens a quote with commas rather than the more familiar "inverted commas").
The title simply gives the colours of the 1928 South African flag, or, more strictly, the Dutch Princenvlag: orange, white and blue. (I am not certain of the derivation of "blanje", since it is not used in ordinary spoken Afrikaans, but I would guess that it is a form of the French "blanc", white).
The text reads:
Die Hoogland is ons woning,
die land van son en veld,
waar woeste vryheidswinde
waai oor graf van meenge held.
Die ruimtes het ons siel gevoed,
ons kan g'n slawe wees,
want vryer as die arendsvlug,
die vlugte van ons gees.
Chorus:
Dis die tyd, (repeated)
dis die dag, (repeated)
om te handhaaf en te bou.
Hoog die hart, (repeated)
hoog die vlag, (repeated)
hoog Oranje-blanje-blou!
Ons gaan saam die donker toekoms in
om as een te sneuwel of oorwin,
met ons oog gerig op jou,
ons Oranje-blanje-blou!
(Note: In the sixth line [hoog Oranje-blanje-blou], there is an echo of "blou, blanje-blou!")
Die ruwe berge-reekse
staan hoog teen awendlug,
soos gryse ewighede daar
versteen, verstyf in vlug.
En stewig soos die grou graniet
ons Boeretrots en -trou,
die fondament warop ond hier
'n nuwe nasie bou.
(Chorus)
Die God van onse vaders
het ons hierheen gelei
ons dien sy grootse skeppings-plan,
solank ons Boere bly.
Ons buig ons hoof
voor Hom alleen;
en as Hy ons verhoor
omgord ons bly die lendene:
Die toekoms wink daar voor.
Translation (off the cuff - any improvements welcome).
Note: the reference to Hoogland (translated here as highlands) is probably poetic licence for Highveld (Afrikaans Hoe"veld), a region which includes large parts of both the former Transvaal Province (Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek) and the current Free State Province (the old Oranje Vrij Staat).
The highlands are our home,
the land of sun and veld,
where wild winds of freedom
blow over [the] grave of many a hero.
The open spaces have fed our souls,
we cannot be slaves [literaaly "we can be no slaves"]
as freer than the eagle's flight,
the flights of our spirit.
Chorus:
It's the time, it's the day,
to maintain and to build.
High the heart,
high the flag,
high Orange-white-blue!
We go together into the dark future
together to die or win,
with our eye fixed on you,
our Orange-white-blue!
(Sneuwel means literally to die in warfare; oorwin means to win in battle.)
The rugged mountain ranges
stand high against the evening light
like petrified grey eternities there,
stiffened in flight.
And firmly like the grey granite
our Boer pride and loyalty,
the foundation upon which we here
are building a new nation.
(The word awendlug [evening air] seems to be an error; it seems more logical to say awendlig [evening light]; awend is a poetic form [harking back to Dutch] for the more usual Afrikaans "aand").
The God of our fathers
led us here,
we serve his mighty creation plan,
as long as we Boers remain.
Webend our heads before Him alone;
and if He hears us
we gird our loins joyfully:
The future waves us on.
(Source: The FAK [Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereninge] Sangbunde).
Mike Oettle, 06 Feb 2004
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Ons Vlag
Nou waai ons Vlag en wapper fier!
Sy kleure is ons vreugde;
hul skoonheid spoor ons harte aan
tot ware, ed'le deugde.
Oranje dui op heldemoed
wat krag vind by die Here;
die Blanje eis 'n rein gemoed;
die Blou verg trou en ere.
Ons Vlag bly steeds ons eenheidsband.
Al kom ook sware tye;
dis God wat waak oor Volk en Land,
Suid-Afrika ons eie.
Translation:
Now our flag waves and flaps bravely!
Its colours are our joy;
their beauty encourages our hearts
to true, noble virtues.
Orange stands for heroic courage
which draws strength from the Lord;
the White demands a pure attitude;
the Blue wants loyalty and honour.
Our flag remains our bond of unity.
Even if times get hard;
it's God who watches over Nation and Land,
South Africa our own.
The forms "sware" (where "swaar" would be the usual way of speaking), "ed'le" (for "edele") and "ere" (for "eer") are poetic forms, adaptations to the scansion. The same goes for the word "meen'ge" in Oranje-blanje-blou, which would normally be "menige".
(Source: The FAK [ Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereninge] Sangbunde).
Mike Oettle, 10 Feb 2004
​
DIE VLAGLIED
Die betekenis van 'n eie nasionale vlag word n�rens mooier en treffender besing as in die woorde van C.J. Langenhoven se Vlaglied nie. Die Vlaglied is slegs die laaste strofe van die gedig �Ons eie vlag�. Dit is deur F.J. Joubert getoonset.
Nooit hoef jou kinders wat trou is te vra:
Wat beteken jou vlag dan, Suid-Afrika?
Ons weet hy's die se�l van ons vryheid en reg
Vir naaste en vreemde,vir oorman en kneg;
Die pand van ons erf'nis,geslag op geslag,
Om te hou vir ons kinders se kinders wat wag;
Ons nasie se grondbrief van eiendomsland,
Uitgegee op gesag van die Hoogste se hand.
Oor ons hoof sal ons hys, in ons hart sal ons dra,
Die vlag van ons eie Suid-Afrika.
Which I translate as follows:
THE FLAG SONG
Nowhere the meaning of an own national flag is expressed more beautifully and fittingly than in the words of C.J. Langenhoven's Flag Song. This is the last stanza of the poem �Ons eie vlag� (Our own
flag). It was set to music by F.J. Joubert.
Never your children so faithful need ask:
What does you flag mean then, South Africa?
We know it's the seal of our freedom and rights
For neighbour and stranger, for servant and boss;
The pledge of our heritage, from parent to child
To keep for our children's children to be
The writ of our nation of the right to the land.
That was written on authority of the Highest own hand
We'll hoist ov'r our heads, and we'll hold in our heart
The flag of our dearest South Africa
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 31 Aug 2007
De Vlaamse Leeuw
This song is an odd one to find in the FAK Sangbundel, since its title translates as "The Flemish Lion" and the language is Dutch, definitely not Afrikaans. Clearly, it was included because, centuries after the Eighty Years
War, the symbol of Flanders still finds a resonance with Afrikaner descendants of those Protestant Flemings who fled Spanish rule and went to live in the Seven Provinces.
The words are credited to T H van Peene, and the tune to K Mirij, arrangement by Dirkie de Villiers (son of M L de Villiers, the composer of the music to Die Stem van Suid-Afrika, the former South African national anthem).
There are two verses and a refrain:
Zij zullen hem niet temmen,
de fiere Vlaamse Leeuw,
al dreigen zij zijn vrijheid
met kluisters en geschreeuw.
Zij zullen hem niet temmen,
zolang e'e'n Vlaming leeft,
zolang de Leeuw kan klauwen,
zolang hij tanden heeft.
Refrain:
Zij zullen him niet temmen
zolang e'e'n Vlaming leeft,
zolang de Leeuw kan klauwen,
zolang hij tanden heeft,
zolang de Leeuw kan klauwen,
zolang hij tanden heeft.
De tijd verslindt de steden,
geen tronen blijven staan,
de legerbenden sneven,
een volk zal niet vergaan.
De vijand trekt te velde,
omringd van doodsgevaar.
Wij lachen met zijn woede,
die Vlaamse Leeuw is daar.
Here's an attempt at a translation:
They won't tame him,
the proud Flemish Lion,
even if they threaten his freedom
with chains and shouting.
They will not be able to tame him
as long as even one Fleming lives,
as long as the Lion can claw,
as long as he has teeth.
Refrain:
They will not tame him,
the proud Flemish Lion,
as long as one Fleming lives,
as long as the Lion has claws,
as long as he has teeth,
as long as the Lion has claws,
as long as he has teeth.
Time eats up the cities,
no thrones last forever,
the armed companies die in battle,
a people will not disappear.
The enemy goes out to war,
surrounded by deadly danger.
We laugh at his anger,
the Flemish Lion is there.
I have written the word een as e'e'n - each 'e' carries an acute accent. This emphasises the word, giving the meaning "even if only one Fleming is left alive". The word verslindt means to destroy by eating - this verb is used literally only of animals (never humans) and, poetically, of things that destroy in like manner. I am not certain that I have the right word for "kluisters" - I don't have a dictionary at hand as I write this - and would be grateful if some Dutch correspondent would check that. "Geschreeuw" can mean either shouting or screaming, but shouting seems more appropriate. In the second verse, "de legerbenden sneven" - "leger" means army, but "armed companies" seems to fit better with "benden" or bands. "Sneven" (in Afrikaans "sneuwel") means to die in war or in battle (rather than dying of disease, another common way in which soldiers have traditionally lost their lives). I have rendered "een volk" as "a people", but "a nation" could also be appropriate. "Trekt te velde" means literally to go out into the fields, but its application to an enemy means that it is out on campaign (after all, campaign comes from a word meaning "fields", also).
Mike Oettle, 02 Mar 2004
Words and tune of this song were created 1847, one of the most difficult times for Flemish identity and Dutch language in Belgium. Since 1973 it has been the official hymn of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Flemish Community).
More information (in Dutch) can be found at:
http://docs.vlaanderen.be/channels/hoofdmenu/vlaamseoverheid/volkslied.jsp
In 20th Century Protestant, and probably also Catholic, songbooks in the (Northern) Netherlands the song was a standard item. It was one of the first tunes I learnt to play on the piano (after listening to my grandfather playing it on his organ).
Gerard van der Vaart, 03 Mar 2004
I may add that the original version was deliberatly transposed (lowered, I believe) at the moment of adoption by the (then) Flemish Community so as to start with the same note as the Dutch hymn, 'Wilhelmus'.
As can be seen on the link provided, the flag relation is mainly prescribed usage; the Lion is present metaphorically. "Kluisters" are shackles, but "chains" is all right.
There are some who think that the song is old-fashioned, preferring "Waar Maas en Schelde vloeien" (Where Maas/Meuse and Scheldt are flowing").
In the recent past, song festivals such as the "Vlaams Nationaal Zangfeest" (Flemish National Songfest") ended by singing the 'Vlaamse Leeuw', the 'Wilhelmus', and 'Die Stem van Suid-Afrika'.
Jan Mertens, 03 Mar 2004
Transvaalse Volkslied
The Transvaalse Volkslied, although the official anthem of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and when the territory was officially called Transvaal (1879-81and 1901 onwards), it was not well thought of by the authorities.
The words and music of the Transvaalse Volkslied are by Catharina F van Rees, and it is dated 1875 - surprisingly it dates to the period before the annexation of 1879, since the emotions seem to blend well with those of the victorious rebels of 1881. Possibly this date accounts for the song's non-avoidance of the word Transvaal, which was the name of the state so strongly rejected in the uprising of 1880-81. The arrangement is by G G Cillie'. (There is an acute accent on the final letter in this surname; it is pronounced "Sil-yee". The surname is French, although its spelling is no longer authentically French; other members of this family spell it as Cilliers or Celliers.) The language is Dutch. (As mentioned previously, Afrikaans was the spoken language of all the 19th-century Boer republics, but was hardly ever written, and was not generally well thought of by
those who had been educated in either English or Dutch.)
Kent gij dat volk vol heldenmoed
en toch zo lang geknecht?
Het heeft geofferd goed en bloed
voor vryheid en voor recht.
Komt burgers! laat de vlaggen wapp'ren,
ons lijden is voorbij;
roemt in die zege onzer dapp'ren:
Dat vrije volk zijn wij!
Dat vrije volk, dat vrije volk, dat vrije, vrije volk zijn wij!
Kent gij dat land, zo schaars bezocht
en toch zo heerlik schoon;
waar de natuur haar wond'ren wrocht,
en kwistig stelt ten toon?
Transvalers! laat ons feestlied schallen!
Daar waar ons volk hield stand,
waar onze vreugdeschoten knallen,
daar is ons vaderland!
Dat heerlik land, dat heerlik land, dat is, dat is ons vaderland!
Kent gij die Staat, nog maar een kind
in's werelds Statenrij,
maar tog door 't machtig Brits bewind
weleer verklaard voor vrij?
Transvalers! edel was uw streven,
en pijnlik onze smaad,
maar God die uitkomst heeft gegeven,
zij lof voor d'eigen Staat!
Looft onze God! Looft onze God! Looft onze God voor land en Staat!
Now for a translation (again lease excuse and correct! any errors):
Do you know the people full of heroic courage
and yet so long servants?
It has offered possessions and blood
for freedom and for justice.
Come, citizens, let the flags wave,
our suffering is past;
be joyous in the victory of our brave ones;
We are the free people!
The free people, the free people, the free, free people are we!
Do you know the land,
so seldom visited,
and yet so wonderfully beautiful;
where nature has wrought her wonders,
and profligately puts them on display?
Transvalers! let our festival song resound!
There were our people stood fast,
where our gunshots of joy resound,
there is our fatherland,
That wonderful land, that wonderful land, that is, that is our
fatherland!
Do you know the State,
yet still a child among the States of the world,
but nontheless by the mighty British power
truly declared as free?
Transvalers! Noble was your struggle,
and painful our suffering,
but God has given the outcome,
and praise for our own State!
Praise our God! Praise our God! Praise our God! Praise our God for land
and State!
In the first verse, "wapp'ren" and "dapp'ren" are poetic forms that omit the middle vowel. The same goes for "wond'ren" in the second verse. "Geknecht" means "reduced to the state of servants" (not quite slaves).
In the third verse the word Statenrij has no exact equivalent in English, although English occasionally uses the same construction of ending a word with -ry to form a noun from a shorter one, as in "heraldry".
"Statenrij" is perhaps best rendered as "the multitude of States" or "the variety of States" (independent states, that is). "Door't" is a typically Dutch construction which has disappeared from Afrikaans, except in one or two idioms, where the definite object "het" is reduced to its final letter and (sometimes) tagged onto the previous
word. (North country English has a comparable usage, although this is a shortening of "the".)
Mike Oettle, 04 Mar 2004
Vryheidslied
On flipping through the FAK book I came across a song. The title is Vryheidslied. The lyrics are by Jan F E Celliers, and the music by Emiel Hullebroeck. The words are:
Vrome vad're, fier en groot
Deur vervolging, ramp en nood,
was hul leuse, tot die dood:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Erf'nis van hul moed en trou
is die grond waar ons op bou.
Juigend tot die hemel-blou:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Ere wie die dood mag lei
om te rus aan hulle sy,
met die sterwenswoord te skei:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Op dan, broers, en druk hul spoor,
voorwaarts, broers, die vaandel voor,
laat die veld ons krygsroep hoor:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Woes geweld mag hoogty hou,
kettings mag ons lede knou,
maar die leuse bly ons trou:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Jukke mag vir slawe wees,
manneharte ken geen vrees,
duld geen boei vir lyf of gees:
Vryheid! Vryheid!
Now the English translation:
Pious fathers (ancestors), proud and brave
Through persecution, disaster and need
their motto, to the death, was:
Freedom! Freedom!
The heritage of their courage and faith
is the land we build on.
Joyful to the blue heavens:
Freedom! Freedom!
Honours to those led by death
to rest at its side,
uttering their final word:
Freedom! Freedom!
Up, then, brothers, and follow their tracks,
forwards, brothers, the banner in front,
may the veld hear our battle cry:
Freedom! Freedom!
Brutal force might with the day,
chains may chafe our limbs,
but to this motto we are faithful:
Freedom! Freedom!
Yokes may be for slaves,
the hearts of men know no fear,
tolerating no shackles for body or soul:
Freedom! Freedom!
Notes: The word "vader" translates as "father", and its usual plural is "vaders" ("fathers"). The plural form "vadere" (here poetically shortened to "vad're") means "ancestors". The word "lede" means "members", but is here an abbreviation of "ledemate" ("body parts" or "limbs"). "Ledemate" is used also of members of a church community, a reference to St Paul's description of the Church as being the Body of Christ, made up of people with different functions. The ordinary translation of "vaandel" is "ensign" (a naval ensign is a vlootvaandel), but in the poetic context, "banner" seems more appropriate.
Mike Oettle, 14 April 2004
Vaarwel aan die Vierkleur
Here are the lyrics of Vaarwel aan die Vierkleur, as they appear in the FAK-Sangbundel (Fourth Edition 1979, sixth printing of 2002) published by Protea Boekhuis for the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK).
I don't know if I've managed to turn out an acceptable rendition in English. The original is rather tearful I'm afraid. The word 'Vierkleur' I kept, 'Fourhue' rather sounds like a steed ridden by a LOTR character. To
pronounce 'Vierkleur', say "veerckler" with -er as in 'her'. One strong image gets lost in translation, the word 'vlag' is feminine you see. Here goes:
No longer may the Vierkleur wave,
in tears we gave it up,
it has been buried with our braves
sunk into an honourable grave
it has been buried with our braves
sunk into an honourable grave.
Happier those who fell
when still the Flag was borne,
than us who had to see and mourn
it dragged into the dust
than us who had to see and mourn
it dragged into the dust.
No happy morning for it there,
we part from it forever
now resting in the Nation's heart
and dedicated to the Past
now resting in the Nation's heart
and dedicated to the Past.
Blessed to those who bore it boldly
to brave the prideful foe
whose feeble arms to it did cling
as they went to their death
whose feeble arms to it did cling
as they went to their death.
Let Future Ages never forget them
as long as men endure
till even Heaven is outworn
and Earth reels before its fall,
till even Heaven is outworn
and Earth reels before its fall.
Jan Mertens, 30 Apr 2004
​
Die Vlaglied / The Song of the Flag
Another flag song, this time abut the former South African flag called "Die Vlaglied" / "The Song of the Flag" which was composed by CJ Langenhoven, the composer of the former South African National Anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" / "The Call of South Africa".
This song was sung by a Children's Choir at the dedication ceremony marking the establishment of the Republic of South Africa held at the Cape Show Grounds in Cape Town on 31 May 1961.
The English and Afrikaans versions are as follows:
"The Song of the Flag"
Cradled in beauty forever shall fly
In the gold of her sunshine the blue of her sky,
South Africa's pledge of her freedom and pride
In their home by sacrifice glorified.
By righteousness armed, we'll defend in our might
The sign and the seal of our freedom and right,
The emblem and loyalty, service and love;
To our own selves true and to God above,
Our faith shall keep what our hearts enthrone -
The flag of the land that is all our own.
"Die Vlaglied"
Nooit hoef jou kinders wat trou is te vra:
"Wat beteken jou vlag dan, Suid-Afrika?"
On sweet hy's die seel van ons vryheid en reg
Vir naaste en vreemde, vir oorman en kneg;
Die pand van ons erf'nis, geslag op geslag,
Om te hou vir ons kinders se kinder swat wag;
Ons nasie se grondbrief van eiendomsland,
Uitgegee op gesag van die Hoogste se hand.
Oor ons hoof sal ons hys, in ons hart sal ons dra,
Die vlag van ons eie Suid-Afrika.
Bruce Berry, 31 Aug 2007
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The Fallen Flag
​
While this is not a song about a flag (it has no tune that I am aware of), it is very much a poem about the vierkleur of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, and to my mind belongs with the South African flag songs which have already been posted to FOTW. This poem was published in England in 1902 as part of a collection entitled "Songs of the Veld". The book was banned in South Africa by the British
military authorities at that time. A new edition of "Songs of the Veld" has just been published in Cape Town, with the addition of commentary and historical notes in both Afrikaans and English. The ISBN is 978-0-620-39432-1.
THE FALLEN FLAG
Inscribed to Albert Cartwright � The African Bonivard.
Furl the fourfold banner,
Lay that flag to rest;
In the roll of honour �
The brightest, bravest, best.
Now no hand may wave it,
O'er valley, pass or hill;
Where thousands died to save it �
The patriot hearts are still.
It flew o'er proud Majuba,
Where the victor farmers stood:
O'er the tide of the Tugela �
Dark-dyed with hostile blood.
On Stormberg passes glorious �
And o'er Ma'rsfontein* height, �
Wher Cronje's host victorious
Withstood the British might.
But a prouder grander story
Is the record of the band,
Which surpassed all former glory,
In the latest greatest stand.
When ten to one outnumbered �
Of hope and help bereft,
On ground with graves encumbered,
Defenders still were left.
There were hero hearts to lead them,
On the path where death was won;
To float the flag of Freedom
Where the eagle sees the sun.
To keep the Vierkleur flying
On every fortress hill;
From the cold clasp of the dying
There were hands to sieze it still.
O Land, so fondly cherished �
Endeared by patriot graves, �
The soil where such have perished
Is not the soil for slaves.
From age to age your story
Shall sound to other days:
You leave your sons the glory
That fallen flag to raise.
O sacred smitten Nation,
Crowned on thy Calvary,
There's a day of restoration �
An Easter Morn for Thee.
Vierkleur, young hands shall grab thee �
New armies round thee stand;
Men whose fathers died shall clasp thee
On the blood-bought Burghers' Land.
* Magersfontein should thus be pronounced.
[This footnote, explaining the spelling Ma'rsfontein, appears under the second stanza.]
Mike Oettle, 18 Dec 2008
Nkosi Sikelele Afrika Song
Nkosi Sikelel\'i Afrika (Herr Gott segne Afrika)
Maluphakanyisw\'uphondo Iwayo (Lass seinen Ruf erhoben sein)
Yizwa imithandazo ythu (Höre und vernehme unsere Gebete)
Nkosi sikelela, Nkosi sikelela (Oh Herr Gott segne Afrika)
Nkosi Sikelel\'i Afrika (Herr Gott segne Afrika)
Maluphakanyisw\'uphondo Iwayo (Lass seinen Ruf erhoben sein)
Yizwa imithandazo ythu (Höre und vernehme unsere Gebete)
Nkosi sikelela, Thina lusapho Iwayo (Oh Gott segne uns, uns Kinder Afrikas)
Woza moya (Komm Geist)
Woza moya woza (Komm Geist komm)
Woza moya (Komm Geist)
Woza moya woza (Komm Geist komm)
Nkosi sikelela (Oh Herr Gott segne)
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso (Gott segne unsere Nation)
Ofedise dintwa le matshwenyeho (und stop alle Kriege und Leiden)
Oh se boloke (Und segne es)
O se boloke morena (Und segne es Herr, Oh Gott)
Setjhaba sa heso (Segne unsere Nation)
Setjhaba sa Afrika (Unsere Nation, Afrika)
Nkosi Sikelel\'i Afrika (Herr Gott segne Afrika)
Maluphakanyisw\'uphondo Iwayo (Lass seinen Ruf erhoben sein)
Yizwa imithandazo ythu (Höre und vernheme unsere Gebete)
Nkosi sikelela (Oh Gott segne uns, uns Kinder Afrikas)
Nkosi sikelel\'i Afrika (Gott segne Afrika)
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"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes
Waar die kranse antwoord gee.
Deur ons vêr-verlate vlaktes
Met die kreun van ossewa –
Ruis die stem van ons geliefde,
Van ons land Suid-Afrika.
Ons sal antwoord op jou roepstem,
Ons sal offer wat jy vra:
Ons sal lewe, ons sal sterwe –
Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika.
​​
In die murg van ons gebeente,
In ons hart en siel en gees,
In ons roem op ons verlede,
In ons hoop op wat sal wees.
In ons wil en werk en wandel,
Van ons wieg tot aan ons graf –
Deel geen ander land ons liefde,
Trek geen ander trou ons af.
Vaderland! Ons sal die adel,
Van jou naam met ere dra:
Waar en trou as Afrikaners –
Kinders van Suid-Afrika.
​
n die songloed van ons somer,
In ons winternag se kou,
In die lente van ons liefde,
In die lanfer van ons rou.
By die klink van huw'liks-klokkies,
By die kluit-klap op die kis –
Streel jou stem ons nooit verniet nie,
Weet jy waar jou kinders is.
Op jou roep sê ons nooit nee nie,
Sê ons altyd, altyd ja:
Om te lewe, om te sterwe –
Ja, ons kom, Suid-Afrika.
​
Op U Almag vas vertrouend
Het ons vadere gebou:
Skenk ook ons die krag, o Here!
Om te handhaaf en te hou –
Dat die erwe van ons vad're
Vir ons kinders erwe bly:
Knegte van die Allerhoogste,
Teen die hele wêreld vry.
Soos ons vadere vertrou het,
Leer ook ons vertrou, o Heer –
Met ons land en met ons nasie
Sal dit wel wees, God regeer.