Himni i Flamurit

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Himni i Flamurit is the national anthem of Albania. The words were written by the Albanian poet Aleksander Stavre Drenova. The hymn was first published as a poem in Liri e Shqipërisë (in English: Freedom of Albania), an Albanian newspaper in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1912. It was later printed in a volume of poems by Drenova titled Ëndra e lotë (in English: Dreams and tears), which was published in Bucharest.

The music of the anthem was composed by the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu, originally for the song "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire".

1 Naming
2 Lyrics
- 2.1 Original text of the poem
- 2.2 English Version of the poem
3 Media

[edit] Naming

The original title of the anthem as adopted in 1912 was Betimi mi flamur (in English: Pledge [to] the flag). In the Albanian constitution the name of the national anthem currently is Rreth Flamurit të Përbashkuar (English: literally United Around the Flag, though sometimes translated as United Around Our Flag), which is also the first verse of the poem. Sometimes the more generic name Himni Kombëtar (National Anthem) is used.

Note: Hymni i Flamurit is also the name of a poem by Fan S. Noli.

[edit] Lyrics

There are two versions of the anthem: a long and a short one. Below is the text for the long version. Strophe 2 is considered as refrain and is repeated at the end. The short version makes use of the first two strophes only and repeats the last two verses of the 2nd strophe. Usually, in sportive events among national teams, the short version is the one officially used. (The original poem has three more strophes that are not part of the anthem.)

[edit] Original text of the poem

Rreth flamurit të përbashkuar
Me një dëshir' e një qëllim,
Të gjith' atje duke' e betuar
Të lidhim besën për shpëtim.

Prej lufte veç ai largohet
Që është lindur tradhëtar,
Kush është burrë nuk frikesohet,
Po vdes, po vdes si një dëshmor!

Në dorë armët ne do t'i mbajmë
Të mbrojmë atdheun në çdo kënd,
Të drejtat tona ne s'i ndajmë;
Këtu armiqtë s'kanë vënd.

Se Zoti vetë e tha me gojë
Që kombe shuhen përmi dhe,
Po Shqipëria do të rrojë;
Për të, për të luftojmë ne!

[edit] English Version of the poem

United around the flag
With one desire and one goal
Together we give our pledge of honor
We covenant to fight for our freedom

From the fight flees only he
Who's born a traitor
He who is brave is not daunted
But falls, a martyr to the cause

With arms in hand we shall remain
To defend our fatherland in every corner
Our rights we will not relinquish
Enemies have no place here

For the Lord Himself has said
That nations vanish from the earth
But Albania shall live on
Because for her, it is for her that we fight